Turkey’s Hagia Sophia reopens to worshippers after 86 years
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Friday prayers have begun at Turkey’s Hagia Sophia for the first time in 86 years, since the Istanbul landmark was reconverted to a mosque earlier this month despite international condemnation.
Thousands of worshipers from across Turkey have flocked to Istanbul for a chance to pray in or outside the now-mosque.
Police set up checkpoints around the sites, holding back large crowds gathering around the site after reaching capacity, according to state-owned Daily Sabah.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key proponent of changing the long-time museum to a place of worship, joined the prayers.
Turkey’s top administrative court ruled on June 10 that the sixth-century Hagia Sophia can be converted into a mosque, annulling a 1934 decision by the government that established the site as a museum, reported state media.
Hagia Sophia was a church under the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium, but it was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire and stayed so for nearly five centuries until the founder of modern Turkey, secularist Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned it into a museum in 1934.
In 1985, it was added to UNESCO’s official World Heritage List.
Critics of the decision have condemned the "politicization" of the religious site.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) “condemns the unequivocal politicization of the Hagia Sophia, an architectural wonder that has for so long stood as a cherished testament to a complex history and rich diversity," said its vice chair Tony Perkins.
"Both Christians and Muslims alike ascribe great cultural and spiritual importance to the Hagia Sophia,” he added, saying it holds “universal value to humankind.”
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni also condemned Turkey's decision, calling it "an open provocation."
Thousands of worshipers from across Turkey have flocked to Istanbul for a chance to pray in or outside the now-mosque.
Police set up checkpoints around the sites, holding back large crowds gathering around the site after reaching capacity, according to state-owned Daily Sabah.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key proponent of changing the long-time museum to a place of worship, joined the prayers.
Turkey’s top administrative court ruled on June 10 that the sixth-century Hagia Sophia can be converted into a mosque, annulling a 1934 decision by the government that established the site as a museum, reported state media.
Hagia Sophia was a church under the Byzantine Empire for nearly a millennium, but it was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire and stayed so for nearly five centuries until the founder of modern Turkey, secularist Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned it into a museum in 1934.
In 1985, it was added to UNESCO’s official World Heritage List.
Critics of the decision have condemned the "politicization" of the religious site.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) “condemns the unequivocal politicization of the Hagia Sophia, an architectural wonder that has for so long stood as a cherished testament to a complex history and rich diversity," said its vice chair Tony Perkins.
"Both Christians and Muslims alike ascribe great cultural and spiritual importance to the Hagia Sophia,” he added, saying it holds “universal value to humankind.”
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni also condemned Turkey's decision, calling it "an open provocation."