ISTANBUL — Fulfilling a dream of his Islamic-oriented youth, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds of worshipers on July 24 for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia Sophia, the Istanbul landmark that served as one of Christendom’s most significant cathedrals, a mosque and a museum before its conversion back into a Muslim place of worship.
Associated Press: Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia opens as a mosque for Muslim prayers
A man wearing a traditional Ottoman costume visits Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, on July 24, 2020, during the first Muslim prayers since the controversial reconversion of the iconic Istanbul cathedral into a mosque.
