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Latest chapter in battle over Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

The ancient aspiration of Turkish Islamism to transform Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque is back on the agenda.
A Macedonian couple (C) takes souvenir pictures as they visit the Byzantine monument of Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, now a museum, in Istanbul May 25, 2011. The number of foreign visitors to Turkey rose 31.3 percent year-on-year in April to 2.29 million people, the Tourism Ministry said on Wednesday, after climbing 14.36 percent in March. Last year, the number of visitor arrivals rose 5.74 percent to 28.6 million. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTR2MVLK
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Everyone may know the Ayasofya [Hagia Sophia] but it is best we share some basic information about this historic edifice because this article is about what it was and what it may be. In short, this is about the identity of Ayasofya. This is an issue that is closely linked to Turkey’s identity and future as much as it is to the country’s relations with the Christian, especially the Orthodox, world.

Ayasofya’s main cupola, which together with the Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul’s historic peninsula makes up the city’s silhouette, acquired its final shape in the sixth century. There are three landmark dates in Ayasofya’s long history.

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