Turkey: Erdogan joins Muslim prayers at Hagia Sophia

Thousands of Muslim faithful made their way to Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia on Friday to take part in the first prayers in 86 years at the structure that once was one of Christendom's most significant cathedrals, then a mosque and museum before its reconversion into a Muslim place of worship.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the inaugural prayers inside the sixth-century monument along with around 500 dignitaries, as he fulfills what he has described as the "dream of our youth" anchored in Turkey's Islamic movement.

Thousands of men and women, including many who travelled from across Turkey, quickly filled specially-designated, segregated areas outside of Hagia Sophia, to be part of the first prayers.

Several camped near the structure overnight.

Dozens of worshipers broke through one police checkpoint to rush toward Hagia Sophia and social distancing practices, in place due to the coronavirus outbreak, were being ignored, Turkish media reported.

Orthodox church leaders in Greece and the United States, meanwhile, were scheduled to observe "a day of mourning" over the inaugural prayers.

Brushing aside international criticism, Erdogan issued a decree restoring the iconic building as a mosque earlier this month, shortly after a Turkish high court ruled that the Hagia Sophia had been illegally made into a museum more than eight decades ago.

The structure, listed as UNESCO World Heritage site, has since been renamed "The Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque."

The move sparked dismay in Greece, the United States and among Christian churches who had called on Erdogan to maintain it as a museum as a nod to Istanbul's multi-religious heritage and the structure's status as a symbol of Christian and Muslim unity.

Pope Francis expressed his sadness.

Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537, Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque with the 1453 Ottoman conquest of Istanbul.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding leader of the secular Turkish republic converted the structure into a museum in 1934.