Hagia Sophia is open to visitors when there are no prayers: Christian symbols will be covered during prayers

The former Hagia Sophia basilica, which has been converted into a mosque, will be open to visitors when prayers are not held there, and Christian symbols will remain, they will only be obscured during prayers, the Turkish authorities announced today.

The Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, ruled on Friday in favor of a group that sought to overturn a 1934 Council of Ministers decision to turn the Hagia Sophia into a museum, because they doubt the authenticity of the signature of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, on it. document.

Immediately after that decision, the Turkish president announced the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

The first joint Muslim prayers will be organized on July 24.

The Directorate for Religious Affairs (Dijanet) announced today that Christian symbols "do not represent an obstacle for holding prayers".

"Icons should be hidden by curtains and other suitable means," the announcement states.

According to Turkish media, there is mention of the possible use of a special lighting technique to darken the icons during the five daily Muslim prayers.

"There are no obstacles from a religious point of view for opening the Hagia Sophia to visitors outside of the prayer period," adds Diyanet.

The leading architectural building built in the 1934th century, in which the Byzantine emperors were crowned, later turned into a mosque, and in 3,8 into a museum, is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the main tourist attractions in Istanbul with XNUMX million visitors. just last year.

For 1.400 years of history, Hagia Sophia was the main cathedral of the Byzantine Empire, a mosque of the Ottoman Empire, and a museum in modern, republican and secular Turkey.

Several countries, including Russia and Greece, which follow the fate of the Byzantine heritage in Turkey, as well as the USA and France, have warned Ankara about turning Hagia Sophia into a Muslim place of worship, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has advocated for for years.

Pope Francis was "very affected" by the decision.

The Serbian Orthodox Church considers the return of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to the status of a mosque a historical injustice and a hasty and unnecessary political step harmful to the reputation of Turkey and the relationship of trust between Christians and Muslims, Serbian Patriarch Irinej said in an appeal to Turkey.