But it is now the latest structure to be converted back into a mosque by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, following ...

A woman wrapped in a Turkish national flag gestures outside the Hagia Sophia museum The world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul - originally founded as a cathedral - has been turned back into ...

"We've waited for years to pray here" - the history of Hagia Sophia Crowds gathered in Istanbul as the historic Hagia Sophia site opened for Friday prayers for the first time since Turkish ...

Turkey's Hagia Sophia will open to visitors outside prayer times and its Christian icons will remain, religious officials said on Tuesday, after a court ruling paved the way for it to become a mosque.

Tourists flock en masse to the Hagia Sophia for its stunning architecture, glorious interior views and historical significance. Built between 532 and 537, the building was a church for nearly a ...

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

Hagia Sophia is a near-incomparable treasure; at root, a sixth-century basilica, that, though, converted to a different creed, wears its back-story in gorgeous mosaics and frescoes.

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

Take for instance, the Hagia Sophia mosque - once the world's largest interior space - which beautifully blends Muslim and ...

Built by the Romans 1,500 years ago, the Hagia Sophia was the biggest church in the world. No expense was spared: it contained coloured marble from around the Roman Empire and nearly 10,000 square ...

The Four Seasons Istanbul is situated just around the corner from the crown jewel of the Istanbul skyline—the Hagia Sophia—which provides some of the absolute best views of the Byzantine ...