Istanbul's historic Kariye Mosque reopened for worship
"79 years later, Kariye Mosque was restored by our Foundations General Directorate and reopened for worship," Safi Arpaguş, the mufti of Istanbul, said at the opening ceremony.
Originally built in the fourth century in the Byzantine era, with architectural changes over the centuries, it became a mosque in the 16th century, after the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul.
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Under the Republic of Türkiye, it was turned into a museum under the Museum Administration in 1948, but under the 2020 presidential decree, it was restored to return to its historic mosque status.