Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia becomes mosque again

Turkey turns iconic Istanbul museum into mosque.

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed a decree to formally turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque again.

The monument was built as a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in 537AD but was turned into a mosque after the city was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453.

In 1934 it became a museum during Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s reign.

However, in a move that has angered even the Pope, a landmark decision by Turkey’s high court ruled that the 1934 conversion into a museum was illegal.

Muslim prayers will be held inside the building starting July 24.

“My thoughts go to Istanbul. I’m thinking about Hagia Sophia. I am very distressed,” the pope said.

A spokesperson for the Turkish government assured that the conversion will not prevent people from visiting the site.

“All of our major mosques such as the Blue Mosque, Fatih and Suleymaniye Mosques, they are open to both visitors and worshippers,” he said.

He also said the building’s Christian icons will be preserved and that the change would not deprive the Hagia Sophia of its identity as a world heritage site.