The historical Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque celebrated its third anniversary after the momentous decision to revert Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque on July 24, 2020.
Ali Erbaş, the head of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), led the morning prayer at the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
Calling the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque as "one of the happiest days" of his life, Erbaş recalled the lawsuit filed by the Permanent Foundations Service to Historical Artifacts and Environment Association when the Council of Ministers decided to restore its status as a mosque. The decision was upheld and a grand ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marked the historic return of the first Friday prayer after 86 years.
He recalled that nearly 21 million visitors have visited this iconic landmark, ever since its reopening, which served as a church for 916 years before becoming a mosque in 1453 and later a museum for 86 years, and noted the epic site has once again turned into a cherished place of worship and a symbol of historical significance.
Noting that the place was inherited from Mehmed the Conqueror and is the most important symbol of the conquest of Istanbul, Erbaş said he hopes that millions of people worship in Hagia Sophia. Fatih Sultan Mehmed, an Ottoman sultan, performed his first Friday prayer after conquering Istanbul in 1453.
