Shaikha Mai: Hagia Sophia a unique heritage site

TDT Manama

Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) president Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa stressed the importance of the Hagia Sophia museum. Shaikha Mai, also Arab Regional Center for World Heritage (ARC-WH) president, described the Hagia Sophia monument as a “unique ancient site and a distinguished cultural heritage icon”.

In a statement yesterday, she stressed the necessity of reaching “a consensus among religious scholars as well as cultural and heritage experts”, regretting that the “monument has become a subject of disagreement and division”.

Bahrain currently features among the 21 countries that are members of the World Heritage Committee, emanating from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, a UN agency concerned with the preservation, protection and care of human heritage sites listed on the World Heritage List.