ISTANBUL: (HRNW) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a surprise visit to Hagia Sofia just days before the first Muslim prayers are due to be held at the Istanbul landmark since it was reconverted to a mosque last week.
In a lightning visit billed as an inspection, Erdogan took stock of the conversion work, the president’s office said, providing pictures showing scaffolding inside the building.
It was unclear whether Erdogan planned to be among some 500 worshippers set to attend Friday prayers.
Turkey’s top court paved the way for the conversion in a decision to revoke the edifice s museum status conferred nearly a century ago.
The sixth-century building had been open to all visitors, regardless of their faith, since its inauguration as a museum in 1935.
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