Atatürk turned a Byzantine church and Ottoman mosque into a neutral museum
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk transformed the Hagia Sophia from a place of worship into a secular museum in 1934, preserving centuries of both Christian and Islamic heritage under a single roof.
In a bold move to modernize Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk issued a 1934 decree converting the iconic Hagia Sophia into a museum. This architectural marvel served as the world largest Byzantine cathedral for nine centuries before becoming an Ottoman imperial mosque in 1453.
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