This talk will focus on: • the construction of Hagia Sophia and its symbolism during the Byzantine period • Hagia Sophia as a Royal Mosque during the Ottoman period • Hagia Sophia as a museum after the foundation of the Turkish Republic • the current reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque • the symbolism of Hagia Sophia/Ayasofya in Orthodox Christian and Islamic popular culture as a common cultural heritage - with some reference to other historical examples of conversion or adaptation of religious spaces between different faiths

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