Turkey's Muslim worshipers attended Eid al-Adha prayers in Hagia Sophia on Friday (July 31) for the first time after the historic building was converted to a mosque.
Eid al-Adha -- the Feast of Sacrifice -- is one of the most important holidays in the Muslim Calendar. It includes the pilgrimage to holy city of Mecca, known as "Haj", which is one of the five pillars of Islam and is supposed to be undertaken by every Muslim who can afford to do so.
Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for 900 years until its capture by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, after which it was one of Islam's most exalted mosques for nearly another 500 years until it was converted to a museum in 1934 by modern Turkey's secularist founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The ancient monument was once again declared a mosque earlier in July following a court ruling revoking its status as a museum, sparking criticism from Western countries, particularly Greece.