Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently proudly referenced the Hagia Sophia in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of its re-conversion in 2020 from a museum to a mosque, calling it “an act of liberation.” He boasted, “Hagia Sophia will remain free forever.”
The story of the architectural marvel known as the Hagia Sophia spans nearly 1,500 years. From its origins as a Christian basilica to its conversion into a mosque, then a museum, and back to a mosque, the Hagia Sophia stands as an epic monument to the rise and fall of empires, the ongoing clash of faiths, and the politics of identity.
