Turkey: First Islamic prayers held in Hagia Sophia since mosque reconversion

Istanbul: Several thousand people including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated on Friday in the first Muslim prayers at Hagia Sophia since the controversial reconversion of the former cathedral into a mosque.

The prayers come after a July 10 ruling revoked the Byzantine-era building's status as a museum, in place since 1934. Erdogan recited a verse from the Quran before the call to prayer was heard from the four minarets of Hagia Sophia.