Isidore of Miletus

The first Hagia Sophia was built in 360 AD with a basilica layout and architectural features. In 405, Hagia Sophia was rebuilt after it was burnt down during an uprising and was reopened in 415. The monument today is the third Hagia Sophia built on the same ground, according to records.

A group of devout Muslims from across Turkey prayed before the city's historic Hagia Sophia on the 562nd anniversary of the Turkish conquest of Istanbul, demanding that the site be turned back into a mosque.

Hundreds of people demanded that the historic Istanbul Hagia Sophia museum be converted into a mosque during a rally in Istanbul on May 24.

People gathered outside Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, in the historical Sultanahmet district, with some carrying signs that read: "Hagia Sophia needs to be reopened as a mosque," and "Let our lives be sacrificed for Islam."