Hagia Sophia holds first Friday prayers in 86 years

Friday prayers were held for the first time in 86 years at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia after its reconversion into a mosque.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan along with Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli also attended the first Friday prayers. Thousands of worshippers gathered and sat on prayer mats in secured areas outside the building in Sultanahmet Square.

In preparation for the prayers, a turquoise carpet selected by the president was laid on the floor and Christian relics were covered up with white drapes.

Last week, a top Turkish court revoked the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia's status as a museum. Following the judgment, Erdogan had declared the building once again a mosque.

"Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims," he said in his address to the nation.

Built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque in 1453. In 1934 it became a museum and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.