NEW STATISTICS ON PLACES TO PRAY IN TURKEY

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 11 2007

According to newly released statistics from the Turkish Police
Headquarters, Turkey is rich in places for prayer. While there are
currently 77,777 mosques throughout the country, there are 373 official
houses of worship for non-Muslims living in Turkey as of the end of
2006. This number was lower, at 273, in 2005. Though counted by the
government as "cultural centers" rather than houses of worships,
the "cemevis" used by the non-Sunni Alevi portion of the Turkish
population were counted at 900.

Most of the 321 churches in Turkey today are Greek Orthodox. Of the 90
active churches, 1 is on the island of Bozcaada, 8 are in Gokceada,
6 are in Hatay, and 75 are in Istanbul. With the Greek population
estimated at under 2,000 currently in Turkey, this means that there
is one church for every 20 Greek-Turks. For the Armenian-Turkish
population, there are fewer churches, despite the fact that there
are more of this group; an estimated 45,000 Armenians make their
permanent home in Turkey. With 55 working churches, the Armenians’
houses of worship are mostly in Istanbul too, though there are 7
Armenian churches in Hatay, and one each in Mardin, Diyarbakir, and
Kayseri. Other churches spread throughout Turkey include 60 Suryani
Orthodox churches, Bulgarian Orthodox churches, Georgian Catholic,
Arab Orthodox, and other Christian churches, including 52 Protestant
churches which have been at the center of controversy due to missionary
activity.

In terms of Judaism, there are 36 active synagogues in Turkey today,
found in Istanbul, Adana, Ankara, Izmir, Canakkale, Hatay, Bursa,
and Kirklareli. There are an additional 3 which are registerd but
not active.