HAGIA SOPHIA BECOMES MOSQUE AFTER COURT RULING

1,500-YEAR-OLD MONUMENT

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday declared Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia a mosque, hours after a court annulled a 1934 decision that had made the religious landmark a museum. The first prayers inside the heritage site will be held on July 24 |

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday formally converted Istanbul’s 6th century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and declared it open for worship, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had made the religious landmark a museum.

The decision sparked deep dismay among Orthodox Christians. Originally a cathedral, Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque after Istanbul’s conquest by the Ottoman Empire but had been a museum for the last 86 years, drawing millions of tourists annually.

Scenes of jubilation

There was jubilation outside the terracotta-hued structure with its cascading domes and four minarets. Dozens of people awaiting the court’s ruling chanted “Allah is great!” when the news broke. A large crowd later prayed outside it.

In Ankara, legislators stood and applauded as the decision was read in Parliament.

Turkey’s high administrative court threw its weight behind a petition brought by a religious group and annulled the 1934 Cabinet decision that turned the site into a museum. Within hours, Erdogan signed a decree handing over Hagia Sophia to Turkey’s Religious Affairs Presidency.

First prayers on July 24

In a televised address to the nation, Erdogan said the first prayers inside Hagia Sofia would be held on July 24.

“I underline that we will open Hagia Sophia to worship as a mosque by preserving its character of humanity’s common cultural heritage,” he said. “It is Turkey’s sovereign right to decide for which purpose Hagia Sophia will be used.”

Tensions with Greece

The decision threatens to deepen tensions with neighboring Greece, whose culture minister, Lina Mendoni, denounced the move as “an open challenge to the entire civilised world that recognises the unique value and universality of the monument”. In Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, protesters gathered outside a church that is modelled on Hagia Sophia and bears the same name.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, called the action “a mistake”.

AFP ■ Tourists at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul yesterday. The nearly 1,500-year-old monument is revered by Muslims and Christians.

Reuters ■ People gather in front of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul yesterday. The dispute, which is popular with many pious AKP-voting Turks, gained prominence during local elections last year.

AFP ■ The Ottomans added huge calligraphic panels inside Hagia Sophia, bearing the Arabic names of the early caliphs alongside the monument’s ancient Christian iconography.