Friday prayers at Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia have concluded after the historic building resumed its function as a mosque following an 86 year-long break
After more than eight decades as a museum, Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia held Islamic prayer services for the first time in 86 years.
The prayer started with Islamic rites, such as the takbir and salavat, which are invocations of God’s greatness and salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad. On Thursday, President Erdogan formally opened the Hagia Sophia. He unveiled a nameplate on Thursday that reads “Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque”. Architecture student Vural Hocaoglu described Hagia Sophia as a historic symbol of religious tolerance and respect.
Shortly after the decision was announced, crowds of Turkish citizens gathered outside the building, waving Turkish flags and reciting the Islamic call to prayer. Despite alarmist rhetoric coming from some quarters of the media and foreign leaders, Christian iconography inside the mosque will be preserved as they had been by Muslims for centuries prior to its conversion to a museum, the Turkish official added.
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