20 April 2024,   02:58
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Turkey to cover Hagia Sophia’s Christian icons during prayers

Mosaics in Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia will be covered by curtains or lasers during the Muslim prayers, the spokesman for Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party said.


The Christian icons would be uncovered and be open to all visitors at other times, and admission would be free of charge.


A Turkish court last week ruled that the conversion of the sixth-century Byzantine site into a museum in 1934 was unlawful. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the building a mosque and said the first prayers would be held there within two weeks.

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