“The status of the Hagia Sophia may be reverted from a museum to a mosque after the local bodies’ elections on 31 March. Tourists of all faiths can now enter the Blue Mosque located next to the Hagia ...

Throughout history, several churches have been transformed into mosques due to political, cultural, and religious shifts.

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 ...

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 ...

Pope Francis on Sunday joined an international chorus of condemnation of Turkey's decision to convert Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia landmark back into a mosque. “I think of Hagia Sophia ...

Hagia Sophia, being turned into a mosque in 1453. Yet there is a weighty symbolism in the proposed conversion of St John that reveals deep anxieties about Britain’s shifting religious identity.

Hagia Sophia was a cathedral for nearly 1,000 years before being converted into a mosque in 1453 and a museum in 1935. Diyanet said in a statement on Tuesday that the Christian icons in Hagia ...

In 2020, the building once again became a working mosque. Once the biggest cathedral in the world, the Hagia Sophia is considered the magnum opus of Byzantine architecture. Visitors say it is a ...

Sultan Ahmed I was determined to build a mosque that rivaled the nearby Hagia Sophia, and most would agree that he accomplished this task or, at least, came close. Since the early 1600s ...