Kariye Mosque draws large crowd during inauguration week

ISTANBUL

The Kariye Mosque has reopened for worship after serving as a museum for 79 years, attracting a significant crowd during its inauguration week, with Muslims now praying in the section where the frescoes are veiled.

Türkiye on May 6 reopened the mosque, which was converted from an ancient Orthodox church in Istanbul for Muslim worship, four years after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered its transformation.

The central chamber, known as the "Naos," has been adorned with carpets and furnished with a pulpit, while the marble mihrab remains from its days as a mosque.

Inside the main chamber, worshippers offer prayers, while tourists pray before the frescoes in the "narthex" outer section. Three mosaics depicting Jesus and Mary, located above the entrance door and on either side of the pulpit, have been delicately concealed using special techniques. Teams from the Culture and Tourism Ministry similarly cleaned and restored the exterior mosaics using specialized methods.

During the inauguration week, visitors were immediately captivated and intrigued, while Christian tourists also engaged in prayers before the frescoes in other parts of the mosque.

Guided by tour leaders, tourists gazed in awe at the mosaics and frescoes within the place of worship.

"It's a profoundly spiritual place. The architecture is magnificent. There's both religion and history on these walls. I'm deeply moved," expressed a tourist from Utah, the United States.

Originally a church, it was converted into a mosque by Ottoman official Atik Ali Pasha in 1511, 58 years after the conquest of Istanbul.

Frescoes were plastered over, and a minaret was erected in place of the church bell. Initially referred to as the "Church Mosque," it suffered damage in the major earthquake in 1766 but was subsequently repaired. Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II restored the structure after it was damaged in the 1894 earthquake, with its frescoes and mosaics always preserved.

Following the establishment of the Turkish Republic, it was converted into a museum in 1945. In 2020, by presidential decree, it was reconverted into a mosque and, following restoration, opened for worship on May 6.