The Hagia Sophia

The most iconic building in Istanbul, if not all of Turkey, the Hagia Sophia was once the largest and grandest Orthodox cathedral in the world.  That all changed with the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 when Mehmed the Conqueror had it converted into a mosque.

These days it serves as a museum but now a Christian group has come forward and demanded that as a prerequisite to Turkish entry into the EU, the Hagia Sophia should be restored to its original function as a cathedral.

The campaign is spearheaded by the International Hagia Sophia Coalition, a Greek-American group of around 200 members.  They came to prominence when they announced their intention to hold a religious service in the building, although they were rebuffed by the Turkish authorities.

In a letter to the Turkish Prime Minister, Coalition President Chris Spirou said: "How a State can justify the selling of tourist admission tickets to a museum called 'Agia Sophia Muzesi,' the Museum of God’s Ηοly Wisdom in the 21st century is beyond any imagination."

In addition, several Facebook pages exist, calling for its restoration as a cathedral.

The Turkish government however, remains adamant that the building will become neither a church nor a mosque and so it remains a musuem, in line with Turkey's secular ideaology.