Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia has reopened for Friday prayers for the first time since a decision was made to turn it back into a mosque after more than 80 years as a museum.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated in the Friday prayers, where he recited verses of the Quran.
Erdogan later visited the Fatih Mosque, where he visited the tomb of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, or Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered what was then Constantinople in 1453. The city was renamed Istanbul.
The Hagia Sophia was one of the Roman Empire’s first Christian cathedrals, after St. John Lateran in Rome, and is among the best-known Byzantine structures in the world. It switched from a Greek Orthodox cathedral to a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453.
Speaking at Fatih Mosque, Erdogan said Hagia Sophia had returned to its “original” use. “Hopefully it will serve as a mosque until eternity. It is the cultural heritage of all humanity that everybody can come and visit,” he said.
However, the move has not prompted wide opposition within Turkey.
The Turkish government has tried to reassure skeptics that the building’s Christian artworks and frescoes will not be touched, with technology instead being used to conceal them during Friday prayers.
Erdogan has positioned himself as a friend of conservative Islamists in Turkey, moving the country further from its secularist roots.
Pope Francis said he was “very saddened” by the building’s conversion. Greece’s culture minister, meanwhile, decried the move as “an open provocation to the entire civilized world.”
Turkish officials have emphasized that when it is not being used as a mosque, the Hagia Sophia — which is popular with tourists visiting Istanbul — will be open to all to visit free of charge, according to state-run news agency Anadolu.
Erdogan used a televised speech on July 10 to urge people to respect the decision to convert the building back to a mosque.
“Like all our mosques, its doors will be open to everyone — Muslim or non-Muslim. As the world’s common heritage, Hagia Sophia with its new status will keep on embracing everyone in a more sincere way,” he said.
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