Ankara: Turkish president Erdogan has signed the presidential order to convert the historic Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque.
According to foreign media reports, Erdogan had signed the presidential order soon after the Turkey’s Council of State gave decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
After the presidential order, now the Hagia Sophia has turned into a mosque and the religious affairs department has taken its control.
In its verdict, the Turkey’s highest court said that on November 24, 1934, the decision of the then government to convert the Hagia Sophia building from a mosque into a museum does not conform to the law.
It is to be noted that the said structure was built in Istanbul in the sixth century during the Byzantine era.
After conquering Istanbul in 1453, the ottoman empire had turned this building into a mosque. It remained a mosque for about 500 years. However, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey had converted the Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934.
