Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked through the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora in Istanbul on Saturday, Octo...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked through the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora in Istanbul on Saturday, October 24, alongside his wife Diana Fox Carney. The building, now called the Kariye Mosque, holds some of the finest Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in the world, dating to the 14th century. It is one of the most significant surviving monuments of Constantinople's Christian heritage. The church was first converted to a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, then operated as a museum for decades before Erdogan ordered it returned to mosque use in 2020. That 2020 decision came just a month after the equally controversial reconversion of Hagia Sophia and drew sharp condemnation from Greece, which called it a provocation against religious communities worldwide. Carney's office framed the visit as a gesture toward cultural heritage as a bridge between peoples. The Istanbul stop came two days after Carney's October 22 meeting with Erdogan in Ankara, which was the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a sitting Canadian prime minister. The two leaders signed a strategic partnership backed by a three-year action plan covering defence industry cooperation, energy security, and trade. Erdogan said both sides aim to grow bilateral trade from roughly $3 billion to $5 billion, with a longer-term target of $10 billion. Defence industry ties are a core piece of the deal, with Canadian and Turkish officials signing an agreement to connect companies in both countries for joint projects and technology partnerships. Energy was also prominent, with civil nuclear, liquefied natural gas, renewables, and critical minerals all named as cooperation areas. Free trade negotiations are scheduled to begin in Ankara on November 30. Canada's push to deepen ties with Turkey reflects Ottawa's broader effort to reduce dependence on the US market amid ongoing trade tensions with Washington. Canada and Turkey are both NATO members, giving the new partnership an established security framework to build on. #Turkey #Greece #Byzantine