Built as a Byzantine church, turned into an Ottoman mosque, and later declared a museum, the Hagia Sophia has carried many identities. Today, it remains one of the most contested monuments in the ...

The Hagia Sophia, originally built as a church in the sixth century, is an architectural site that reflects the various religious changes the Mediterranean region faced over the years.

Hagia Sophia appeals to the long memories and emotions of both Christianity and Islam. One of the greatest churches and architectural wonders of Christianity for almost 1,100 years, it was converted ...

One of the world’s most famous religious buildings, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia was extraordinary when it was built in the sixth century, and with a history surrounded in myth, legend and ...

WASHINGTON — As Christians and world leaders lament Turkey’s reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, some experts warn that the act could spell a religious resurgence as much as a ...

Hagia Sophia was built as a church around AD 530 and was used as a church until the Ottoman Sultan Mohammad the Conqueror converted it into a masjid (i.e., mosque).

In mid-2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan converted Istanbul's world-famous Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. Admission has been free ever since - but now things are about to ...

As Christians and world leaders lament Turkey’s reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, some experts warn that the act could spell a religious resurgence as much as a nationalist action.

Visitors walk inside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to join hundreds ...

Many see the conversion of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia back into a mosque as a victory for the conservative agenda of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkey is set to begin restoration and reinforcement work on the dome of the Hagia Sophia, in one of the biggest repair projects carried out on the 1,486-year-old structure, experts said on Monday ...

Opening up Hagia Sophia to Muslim prayers is also seen as a part of Erdogan’s efforts to deepen Turkey’s Muslim identity and to roll back his predecessor’s secular legacy.