New statistics on places to pray in Turkey

"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."

Hürriyet - New statistics on places to pray in Turkey

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