Hagia Sophia

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu renewed his call for snap elections in Turkey and accused President Recep Tayyip of running away from the idea of early polls.

Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting on June 1, Kılıçdaroğlu criticized Erdoğan for "running away" from his call for snap elections.

The Turkish president on May 29 shared a message celebrating the 568th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "I congratulate the 568th anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul, one of the most glorious victories of our history," on Twitter.

Turkey celebrated the first day of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day Muslim festival celebrated after the fasting month of Ramadan, under the shadow of strict measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 disease for the second year in a row.

The restoration works being carried out using the most advanced techniques in Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia have set a clear example for the world to see a work of exceptional precision, keeping the cultural heritage of different beliefs and civilizations intact, the provincial director of culture and tourism has said.

The imam at Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia mosque announced on April 8 he is stepping down from his duties to return to academic studies.

Mehmet Boynukalın, whose assignment at the nearly 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia was temporary, asked to leave the post, and his request was accepted.

Gezi Park is one of over 1,000 properties that the Directorate General of Foundations has taken over within the last few years, but undoubtedly the most symbolic one for Erdogan alongside Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia.

A Turkish court on April 6 sentenced four men to life in jail over a 2016 suicide bombing in the heart of Istanbul that killed 12 German tourists and was blamed on ISIL. 

The blast ripped through Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet square in January 2016 - near the iconic Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, among the world's most visited tourist sites.

Over the last 18 years, Turkey's AKP governments have brought back some 4,440 artifacts to the land where they belong, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 28. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the State Museum of Paintings and Sculptures in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said Turkey embraces everything which belongs to its land as part of its wealth.

The decision on Friday by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Culture Committee condemning Turkey's move to convert Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from a museum into a mosque was hailed by the Greek delegation head, Dora Bakoyannis, as Europe's response to Turkey's "systematic violations of democratic principles and values."

A figure of a "Seraphim Angel" on a ceiling of the Hagia Sophia Mosque has come to light on dismantling a scaffold that was inside the mosque for about seven years.

"We have completely demounted the scaffold today," said the officials on Nov. 22.