Greece angered over Turkey's calls to reinstate Hagia Sophia as mosque

Turkey and Greece entered on Wednesday in a war of words over the possible conversion of Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's landmarks, into a mosque.

The feud is the latest to erupt between the two neighbors over religion.

Greece reacted furiously to remarks made by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc that he hoped to change the status of Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum.

"Statements made by high ranking Turkish officials about converting Byzantine Christian churches into mosques are offending the religious feeling of millions of Christians," the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement.

But Turkey responded  that it has "nothing to learn" from Greece about freedom of religion.

Hagia Sophia, which dates back to 537, was a Greek Orthodox church for centuries and the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

However, it was being converted to a mosque under the Ottoman empire in 1453.