Editing Hagia Sophia (section)

===Museum (1935–2020)===
[[File:Hagia Sophia. Fortepan 76187.jpg|alt=|thumb|Hagia Sophia in 1937]]
[[File:MG08 on the minaret of the Ayasofya Museum 1941.jpg|thumb|MG08 on the minaret of the Ayasofya Museum in Istanbul, Turkey (1941)]]
In 1935, the first [[President of Turkey|Turkish President]] and founder of the Republic of Turkey, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], transformed the building into a museum. During the Second World War, the minarets of the museum housed [[MG 08]] machine guns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tarihin aktığı takvim... |url=https://www.ntv.com.tr/galeri/sanat/tarihin-aktigi-takvim,lra5rGquz0O-fcrG5BsF_w |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.ntv.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref> The carpet and the layer of mortar underneath were removed and marble floor decorations such as the ''[[omphalion]]'' appeared for the first time since the [[Fossati brothers|Fossatis]]' restoration,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pedone |first=Silvia |title=11th International Colloquium on Ancient Mosaics, October 16th-20th, 2009, Bursa, Turkey: Mosaics of Turkey and parallel developments in the rest of the ancient and medieval world: questions of iconography, style and technique from the beginnings of mosaic until the late Byzantine era |publisher=Uludağ Üniversitesi, Mozaik Araştırmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi |year=2011 |isbn=978-605-5607-81-4 |editor-last=Şahin |editor-first=Mustafa |location=İstanbul |pages=749–768 |chapter=The Marble ''Omphalos'' of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. An Analysis of an ''Opus Sectile'' Pavement of Middle Byzantine Age |oclc=801099151}}</ref> when the white plaster covering many of the mosaics had been removed. Due to neglect, the condition of the structure continued to deteriorate, prompting the [[World Monuments Fund]] (WMF) to include the Hagia Sophia [[1996 World Monuments Watch|in their 1996]] and [[1998 World Monuments Watch|1998 Watch Lists]]. The building's copper roof had cracked, causing water to leak down over the fragile frescoes and mosaics. Moisture entered from below as well. Rising [[ground water]] increased the level of humidity within the monument, creating an unstable environment for stone and paint. The WMF secured a series of grants from 1997 to 2002 for the restoration of the dome. The first stage of work involved the structural stabilization and repair of the cracked roof, which was undertaken with the participation of the [[Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)|Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism]]. The second phase, the preservation of the dome's interior, afforded the opportunity to employ and train young Turkish [[conservator (museum)|conservators]] in the care of mosaics. By 2006, the WMF project was complete, though many areas of Hagia Sophia continue to require significant stability improvement, restoration, and conservation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wmf.org/project/hagia-sophia |publisher=World Monuments Fund |title=Hagia Sophia |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

In 2014, Hagia Sophia was the second most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually.<ref name="mus">{{cite news |date=10 November 2014 |title=Top 10: Turkey's most visited museums |work=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/top-10-turkeys-most-visited-museums.aspx?pageID=238&nID=74133&NewsCatID=385}}</ref>

[[File:Hagia Sophia Interior Dome.jpg|thumb|upright|The interior undergoing restoration in 2007]]

While use of the complex as a place of worship (mosque or church) was strictly prohibited,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=343 |title=İstanbul Tanıtımı – Ayasofya Müzesi |publisher=Istanbul |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124014309/http://www.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=343 |archive-date=24 January 2012}}</ref> in 1991 the Turkish government allowed the allocation of a pavilion in the museum complex (''Ayasofya Müzesi Hünkar Kasrı'') for use as a prayer room, and, since 2013, two of the museum's minarets had been used for voicing the call to prayer (the [[Adhan|ezan]]) regularly.<ref name="designatedimam">{{cite web |title=Ayasofya'nın 4 minaresinden 5 vakit ezan sesi yükseliyor: Ayasofya Müzesi'nin ibadete açık olan bölümü Hünkar Kasrı'na, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı tarafından uzun yıllardan sonra ilk kez asaleten imam atandı. |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur-sanat/ayasofyanin-4-minaresinden-5-vakit-ezan-sesi-yukseliyor/668646 |agency=[[Anadolu Agency]] |date=20 October 2016 |language=tr}}</ref><ref name="ezanread" />

[[File:Cat at Ayasofya.jpg|thumb|[[Gli]], Hagia Sophia's famous cat, in 2014]]

From the early 2010s, several campaigns and government high officials, notably Turkey's deputy prime minister [[Bülent Arınç]] in November 2013, demanded the Hagia Sophia be converted back into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |title=Call to reinstate Hagia Sophia as mosque |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0794494a-4e1b-11e3-8fa5-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0794494a-4e1b-11e3-8fa5-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=24 December 2013 |newspaper=Financial Times |date=15 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Greece angered over Turkish Deputy PM's Hagia Sophia remarks |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/greece-angered-over-turkish-deputy-pms-hagia-sophia-remarks.aspx?PageID=238&NID=58153&NewsCatID=351 |access-date=20 November 2013 |newspaper=[[Hürriyet]] |date=19 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey: Pressure mounts for Hagia Sophia to be converted into mosque |url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/turkey.pressure.mounts.for.hagia.sophia.to.be.converted.into.mosque/35055.htm |access-date=24 December 2013 |newspaper=[[Christian Today]] |date=13 December 2013}}</ref> In 2015, [[Pope Francis]] publicly acknowledged the [[Armenian genocide]], which is [[Armenian genocide denial|officially denied in Turkey]]. In response, the mufti of Ankara, Mefail Hızlı, said he believed the Pope's remarks would accelerate the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope's remarks 'to accelerate Hagia Sophia's conversion into mosque' |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/popes-remarks-to-accelerate-hagia-sophias-conversion-into-mosque.aspx?PageID=238&NID=81128&NewsCatID=338 |agency=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |date=16 April 2015}}</ref>

On 1 July 2016, Muslim prayers were held again in the Hagia Sophia for the first time in 85&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/first-call-to-prayer-inside-istanbuls-hagia-sophia-in-85-years.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101161&NewsCatID=341 |title=First call to prayer inside Istanbul's Hagia Sophia in 85 years |work=Hürriyet}}</ref> That November, a Turkish [[non-governmental organization|NGO]], the ''Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment'', filed a lawsuit for converting the museum into a mosque.<ref name="Turkish politics Hurriyet">{{cite news |title=Turkish politics heats up over Hagia Sophia |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-politics-heats-up-over-hagia-sophia-155597 |website=hurriyetdailynews |date=12 June 2020}}</ref> The court decided it should stay as a 'monument museum'.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court declares Hagia Sophia a 'monument museum' |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/religion/2016/11/22/court-declares-hagia-sophia-a-monument-museum |website=hurriyetdailynews |date=22 November 2016}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} In October 2016, Turkey's [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]] (''Diyanet'') appointed, for the first time in 81 years, a designated [[imam]], Önder Soy, to the Hagia Sophia mosque. Since then, the [[adhan]] has been regularly called out from the Hagia Sophia's minarets five times a day.<ref name="designatedimam" /><ref name="ezanread">{{cite web |title=Ayasofya'da her ezan okuduğunda ilk günkü heyecanı yaşıyor: Büyük Ayasofya Camisi İmam Hatibi Kurra Hafız Önder Soy, Ayasofya'da 4 yıldır ilk günkü heyecanıyla görevini yapıyor. |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/ayasofyada-her-ezan-okudugunda-ilk-gunku-heyecani-yasiyor-/1873252 |agency=[[Anadolu Agency]] |date=11 June 2020 |language=tr}}</ref><ref name="DWislamdrive">{{cite web |title=Hagia Sophia imam: part of Erdogan's Islamization drive? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/hagia-sophia-imam-part-of-erdogans-islamization-drive/a-36299221 |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=7 November 2016}}</ref>

On 13 May 2017, a large group of people, organized by the Anatolia Youth Association, gathered in front of Hagia Sophia and prayed the morning prayer with a call for the re-conversion of the museum into a mosque.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/muslim-group-prays-in-front-of-hagia-sophia-to-demand-re-conversion-into-mosque.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113064&NewsCatID=341 |title=Muslim group prays in front of Hagia Sophia to demand re-conversion into mosque |work=Hürriyet}}</ref> On 21 June 2017 the [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]] (''{{Langx|tr|Diyanet|label=none}}'') organized a special programme, broadcast live by state-run television [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]], which included the recitation of the [[Quran]] and prayers in Hagia Sophia, to mark the [[Laylat al-Qadr]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-rejects-greek-criticism-of-hagia-sophia-prayers.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114671&NewsCatID=341 |title=Turkey rejects Greek criticism of Hagia Sophia prayers |work=Hürriyet}}</ref>