Turkey's Hagia Sophia will open to visitors outside prayer times and its Christian icons will remain, religious officials said on Tuesday, after a court ruling paved the way for it to become a mosque.

The Turkish daily Hürriyet reports on concerns that Turkey’s Islamist government will reverse over 75 years of official secularist policy, and turn the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

Many travelers to Istanbul, Turkey, may find themselves at one of the most beautiful sacred places in the world: the Hagia Sophia. The ancient temple attracts scores of visitors from the West.

Tourists flock en masse to the Hagia Sophia for its stunning architecture ... Second, you will want to avoid prayer times, which happen five times daily. You will especially want to avoid noon ...

In Istanbul, Muslims will offer Friday prayer at Hagia Sophia today after 86 years. Talking to media, the Governor of Istanbul Ali Yerlikaya said everyone is looking forward to attending the special ...

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 ...

TASS/. Turkish law enforcement officers are beefing up security as Hagia Sophia, the status of which has been changed from a museum to a mosque, prepares for Friday prayer, TASS reports from the ...

ISTANBUL — Turkey has begun a new phase in sweeping restorations of the nearly 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, focusing on preserving the monument's historic domes from the threat of ...

Tourists and worshippers stand in front of the entering area of The Hagia Sophia. The dome of Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia, a former church converted into a mosque, is to be restored and made ...