Istanbul's Hagia Sophia opens as a mosque for Muslim prayers

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds of worshipers Friday for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia Sophia, a mosque and a museum before its conversion back into a Muslim place of worship.

Thousands of other Muslim faithful came from across Turkey and quickly filled specially designated areas outside of the Byzantine era monument to join in the inaugural prayers.

As many as many as 350,000 people took part in Friday's prayers, the president said.

Erdogan issued a decree restoring the iconic building as a mosque earlier this month, shortly after a Turkish high court ruled that the Hagia Sophia had been illegally made into a museum more than eight decades ago.

The structure, listed as UNESCO World Heritage site, has since been renamed "The Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque."

The move sparked dismay in Greece, the United States and among Christian churches who had called on Erdogan to maintain it as a museum as a nod to Istanbul's multi-religious heritage and the structure's status as a symbol of Christian and Muslim unity. Pope Francis expressed his sadness.

Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537, Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque with the 1453 Ottoman conquest of Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding leader of the secular Turkish republic converted the structure into a museum in 1934.

Although an annex to the Hagia Sophia, the Sultan's pavilion, has been open to prayers since the 1990s, religious and nationalists group in Turkey have long yearned for the nearly 1,500-year-old edifice, which they regard as the legacy of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer, to be reverted into a mosque.

In Istanbul, hundreds had camped near the structure overnight. Dozens of worshipers broke through one police checkpoint to rush toward Hagia Sophia and social distancing practices, in place due to the coronavirus outbreak, were being ignored, Turkish media reported.

People pray as they visit Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque after Friday prayers, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey has vowed to protect Hagia Sophia's artifacts and has said it will remain open to visits by Muslims and non-Muslims outside of prayer hours.

The structure's mosaics depicting Christian figures are being covered with sail-like white drapes during the prayers.