Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suddenly arrived to take stock of the transformation work ahead of the first prayers on Friday at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which is being converted from the museum to the mosque. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin informed that work is going on to use the building as a mosque. During Friday prayers, pictures related to Christianity are about to be draped from the curtain. Not only this, Erdogan announced the opening of Hagia Sophia for Namaz earlier this month, after the Turkish top court ruled that the building to be converted into a museum in 1934 was illegal. The religious heads of Turkey have said that this building is going to continue for people of all religions, except for the period of Namaz. Before making this sixth-century building a museum, it has been both a church and a mosque and is included in UNESCO World Heritage.
The EU has strongly criticized Erdogan's decision to convert Hagia Sophia from the museum to the mosque. The EU's head of foreign issues said that this decision will increase mistrust and disintegration among various communities. Pope Francis also condemned the decision to convert the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque. He has said that this decision taken by Turkey has shocked him.
The Hagia Sophia building was constructed in the year 360 AD. It was a church at that time. After the construction of the Hagia Sophia building, it was one of the major churches of the world for almost 1 thousand years. In the 15th century, Osman Byzantines invaded Istanbul and took possession. After this, the church was converted into a mosque. When the builders of modern Turkey overthrew the Ottoman Empire, they declared this building a museum the year before.
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