In most areas of the world, Ramadan festivities have already begun, with the Muslim community fasting first time today. Muslims prepared for the first Tarawih prayer as soon as the crescent was seen yesterday night.
Thousands of Muslims also flocked to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, where the first Tarawih prayer was conducted after an almost nine-decade gap.
Hagia Sophia, the biggest Christian church in Constantinople, the Roman Empire’s capital, was erected in 537. Hagia Sophia was used as a church until 1453.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 2020 that Hagia Sophia would be converted back into a mosque. On July 24, the same year, Hagia Sophia reopened its doors to worshipers for the first time.
