Istanbul's Hagia Sophia opens as a mosque for first Friday prayers


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Hundreds of Muslims took part in congregational prayers inside Istanbul's Hagia Sophia for the first time in 86 years on Friday, joined by tens of thousands worshipping outside the 1,500-year-old former cathedral.
The Friday prayers were televised around the world in the culmination of a decades-long fight over changing the building from a museum to use as a mosque.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was at the fore of 500 dignitaries for the landmark service, kneeling on a 2,000 square metre turquoise-coloured carpet, which the manufacturer boasted consisted of wool fibres pointing towards Makkah.

Mr Erdogan read passages from the Quran during the service, after which he visited the nearby tomb of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. “Reverting Hagia Sophia to its original form as a mosque was a dream of my youth,” he said, adding that 350,000 had attended the prayers.

He arrived at midday to cheers and shouts of "The chain has been broken, Hagia Sophia has been opened" from the crowds surrounding the 6th-century Unesco World Heritage site.
Hagia Sophia's famed Byzantine frescoes and mosaics – relics of its 900-year history as a centrepiece of Christianity – were obscured by curtains to comply with Islam's rejection of the representation of the human form.
Worshippers camped out overnight to secure a prayer place in the streets and squares surrounding the newly-designated mosque. Istanbul's governor had warned them to bring just four things to the event, "a mask, a prayer mat, patience and understanding".
"We have turned years of sadness into joy, that's the reason for our happiness," Ali Kemal Evlioglu, who hitchhiked from the Black Sea city of Samsun, told the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Some 21,000 security personnel and 700 health workers were on duty for what Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said would be the largest mass gathering during the coronavirus pandemic. Free buses were laid on to bring people from around Istanbul and beyond.
The Treasury minted commemorative coins to mark the event.

Completed by the Byzantines in 537, Hagia Sophia was for centuries the world's largest building and an engineering marvel. After conquering Istanbul in 1453, Mehmet II made it a place of worship for Muslims.
In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular regime turned it into a museum, a decree reversed two weeks ago, allowing Mr Erdogan to rename it Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
Before last year, the president remained outwardly ambivalent about Hagia Sophia but in the run-up to local elections he outlined his support for its role as a mosque.
The status of the iconic building, which received 3.7 million visitors last year, has served as a rallying cry for Mr Erdogan's conservative and nationalist base and some observers say the president has used the issue to distract voters.
Ismail Kandemir, head of the association that brought the case to revoke the 1934 decision, said he was excited after years of legal wrangling. "I want to see it and live it," he said. "It's an unspeakable feeling."

The case led to foreign officials and church leaders calling on Turkey to back away from reclaiming the building for Islam.
Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir, a research associate at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of Turkey's Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, said the "televised spectacle of conquest will cause further offence to stakeholders around the world who feel hurt by Erdogan's sectarian practice and rhetoric".
She added: "It reinforces their suspicions that Hagia Sophia's conversion is a political manoeuvre showcasing the Turkish president's supremacist foreign policy."
Meanwhile, Omer Saglam, a writer and a former official in Diyanet, Turkey's authority for religious affairs, said conservative justification for returning Hagia Sophia to use as a mosque – that it was decreed so by right of conquest in the 15th century – was disingenuous.
"Hagia Sophia is entirely governed by Turkey's domestic law and its use is at the discretion of political power," he said. "Therefore, there is no need to justify the change with such nonsense as the 'right of the sword' or 'Fatih Sultan Mehmet's will'."

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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

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UPI facts

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World Cup warm-up fixtures

Friday, May 24:

  • Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
  • Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)

Saturday, May 25

  • England v Australia (Southampton)
  • India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)

Sunday, May 26

  • South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
  • Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)

Monday, May 27

  • Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
  • England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)

Tuesday, May 28

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  • Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
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Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain

What’s left

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Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers

March 29, final

UAE Premiership

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March 29, final

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GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)

Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)

Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)

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Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)

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Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.

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Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

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Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15

Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered

UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered

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Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment. 

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

The biog

Place of birth: Kalba

Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren

Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken

Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah

Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Breast cancer in men: the facts

1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash. 

3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible. 

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key. 

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor