But other than these magnificent mosaics, nearly the entire church’s interior is decorated with simpler geometric patterns. ... For 482 years, Hagia Sophia was a mosque (1453-1935).

Istanbul, a cacophonous metropolis that straddles East and West, is home to more than 3,000 mosques. One of these, Hagia Sophia, is the city’s star attraction. It began life as a Christian ...

Interior conversions also took place during Ottoman rule. ... Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the move to reconvert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Published On 11 Jul 2020 11 Jul ...

Turkish President Erdoğan ordered Aug. 21 that Chora Church, a much-visited site in the Fatih district of Istanbul, be turned into a mosque and opened for Muslim worship.

Turkey’s Hagia Sophia mosque began charging tourists nearly $28 on Monday for entrance to the landmark site. The UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned for its blue-tiled interior, will no longer ...

A Turkish court has paved the way for the government to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, one of Istanbul's most famous landmarks, into a mosque. The Hagia Sofia, a major draw for tourists, has a long ...

Hagia Sophia was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and first converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest nine centuries later. While there was considerable excitement as crowds ...