15 centuries, two faiths and a contested fate

Hagia Sophia, or ‘divine wisdom’ in Greek, was completed in 537 by Byzantine emperor Justinian. The vast structure overlooked the Golden Horn harbour and entrance to the Bosphorus from the heart of Constantinople. It was the centre of Orthodox Christianity and remained the world’s largest church for centuries.

Hagia Sophia stayed under Byzantine control — except for a brief seizure by Crusaders in the 13th century — until the city was captured by forces of the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet the Conqueror, who converted it into a mosque.

The Ottomans built four minarets, covered Hagia Sophia’s Christian icons and luminous gold mosaics, and installed huge black panels embellished with Arabic calligraphy.

In 1934, Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk converted Hagia Sophia into a museum.

The association, which has sought to annul Ataturk’s decree for 16 years, claimed in its petition that his signature was forged. The argument was based on a discrepancy in Ataturk’s signature on the edict, passed around the same time that he assumed his surname, from his signature on subsequent documents.