Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Ali Yaycıoğlu

Ali Yaycıoğlu is associate professor of Ottoman and Middle East history at Stanford University.

Church, Mosque, Museum? Reflections on Monuments in Turkey and Spain — Russian tourists visit Ayasofya-i Kebir Camii or Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, January 29, 2021. Murad Sezer/ReutersFigure 1: Exterior view of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. Patricia Blessing, 2015.Figure 2: Interior the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. Patricia Blessing, 2014.Figure 3: Exterior view of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. Patricia Blessing, 2018.Figure 4: Interior view of Hagia Sophia as a museum, Istanbul. Patricia Blessing, 2011.

Current Analysis

Church, Mosque, Museum? Reflections on Monuments in Turkey and Spain

On July 24, 2020 the Turkish government opened Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to prayer for the first time in 86 years, reverting the building’s status from museum back to mosque. Blessing and Yaycıoğlu explain the politics behind this decision and explore the ramifications for Hagia Sophia and other monu

Patricia Blessing, Ali Yaycıoğlu • 15 min read