Turkey's benchmark stock index started the week with an increase of over 1,453 points, a symbolic number for the country as it coincides with the year the Ottoman Empire conquered Istanbul.

It also comes on the next trading day after Turkey decided to revert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, which was initially turned into a Muslim place of worship by Sultan Mehmed the Conquerer the year he captured Istanbul.

The BIST 100 index hit 116,262.12 points early Monday, up 1,453.56 points or 1.27%,

At Friday's close, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index was down 0.85% at 114,808.56 points with a daily trading volume of TL 22.87 billion ($3.3 billion).

The U.S. dollar to TL exchange rate stood at 6.8650 as of 9:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. GMT), compared with 6.8670 at the previous close.

The euro-to-Turkish lira exchange rate rose to 7.7810 from 7.7680 and one British pound traded for 8.7090 Turkish liras, down from 8.7160 in the last week's close.

One barrel of Brent crude oil sold for around $42.97 as of 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. GMT).

Turkey’s top administrative court on Friday annulled the 1934 government decree that turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum, ruling it unlawful. The long-awaited ruling opened the way for Istanbul’s iconic structure to be used as a mosque.