ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's president recited an Islamic prayer Saturday in the Hagia Sophia, a historic Istanbul landmark that has become a symbol of interfaith and diplomatic tensions. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited the first verse of the Quran at the end of his remarks for an art festival opening, dedicating the prayer to the "souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especially Istanbul's conqueror." The Hagia Sophia was built during the 6th century Christian Byzantine Empire and served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was converted into an imperial mosque with the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453.
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