Mosques in Turkey to resume prayers after several weeks of virus break

As Turkish nationals crawl out of weeks of stay-at-home orders amid the country's normalization phase, mass prayers in mosques across Turkey will begin with the Friday prayer that will be held on May 28.

The country's iconic mosques are about to complete their final preparations for mass prayers that will begin after a two-and-a-half-month break.

Istanbul's world-famous Süleymaniye Mosque, one of the best-known works of the Ottoman-era architect Sinan, was thoroughly disinfected by municipal teams before Friday prayers.

As the teams sprayed the places where there might be high human contact such as rosaries, columns and entrances in the mosque, and prayer rugs, where worshipers would put their hands and foreheads, were also cleaned.

Rosaries were removed from use in the historical mosque where only midday, afternoon and Friday prayers can be performed in the initial normalization phase.

Disinfection works were carried out meticulously in 11 monumental mosques, such as the Blue Mosque, Beyazıt and Yavuz Sultan Selim.

Workers conducted thorough sanitization works in the Sultanahmet Mosque, which is also a major tourist attraction spot on the historical peninsula of the city's European part.

Another masterpiece of architect Sinan, the Selimiye Mosque in the northwestern province of Edirne, also opens its doors to the faithful, but prayers will be held in the courtyard and garden of the mosque for a while as part of the pandemic measures.

Yusuf Serenli, the preacher of the Selimiye Mosque, said he was eager about the re-opening and explained a series of measures taken in the mosques.

"Cleaning has been ongoing for about two days. Citizens coming to mosques have to bring their own prayer rugs. There will be...