Shafaqna English- Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque welcomes over 30 million people since it reopens six years ago. Originally built as a church, Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years until the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453, when Sultan Mehmed II converted it into a mosque through his endowment. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decision transferring Hagia Sophia to the Presidency of Religious Affairs the same day, and the mosque reopened for worship with its first Friday prayers on July 24, 2020. Speaking to Anadolu, Istanbul Deputy Mufti Arif Cevlek said the reopening was welcomed with great joy across Türkiye and the wider Muslim world. Cevlek said pilgrimage tours from Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Indonesia had increasingly included Istanbul and Hagia Sophia, contributing to a rise in visitors from East and Central Asia.