Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship

Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship

Subject : Culture / IR

Context : Turkey’s president RecepTayyip Erdogan has declared Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship after a top court ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman was illegal.

Concept :

• It was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.
• It is a historic house of worship located in Istanbul.
• It is revered by Christians and Muslims alike.
• In 1935, in the early days of the modern secular Turkish state under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it became a museum.
• It is a UNESO world heritage site.