Now, visiting the world-famous Istanbul Hagia Sophia Mosque (Hagia Sophia Cathedral) has become a fee for foreign tourists. A separate entrance will be allocated for them, and the current one will be used by persons who arrive at the mosque for worship, Azernews reports, citing Turkish Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

"We have developed a management plan for visits to Hagia Sophia, including taking into account UNESCO recommendations and global practice. Starting from January 15, visiting the mosque by foreign tourists will be paid. We will divide the flows: the current entrance will be used by those who arrive at the mosque for religious purposes, and tourists will enter it through another entrance," the minister said.

He added that a special audio guide has been developed for tourists, which can be downloaded to mobile devices. If desired, they can get headphones at the entrance and take a tour of the temple on their own.

St. Sophia Cathedral is a monument of Byzantine architecture, which was erected in 532-537 on the instructions of Emperor Justinian. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, it was turned into a mosque. In 1935, according to a decree of the Turkish government signed by the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the cathedral became a museum. In 1985, the architectural complex, along with other monuments located in the historical part of Istanbul, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In July 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree according to which Hagia Sophia became a mosque and Muslim services resumed there.