For centuries, the site has marked the ebb and flow of Christian, Muslim and secular influences. Now another chapter is beginning as it becomes a mosque once more.

ISTANBULTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended Muslim prayers in this citys iconic Hagia Sophia on Friday, two weeks after he declared the buildinga museum for the past 86 years a mosque again in a controversial move aimed at reviving nationalist sentiment.
Wearing a face mask and flanked by his defense minister, Hulusi Akar, Mr. Erdogan sat in the middle of a front row facing the imam. Throngs of people gathered on the square and in the maze of cobbled streets surrounding Hagia Sophia to take part in the prayers.
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