ISTANBUL, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourists will have to pay a fee to visit Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, an iconic mosque, starting Jan. 15, 2024, Türkiye's culture and tourism minister said on Tuesday.
"It will remain free for Turkish worshippers," Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a televised address in Istanbul broadcast live by Haberturk television channel.
The minister noted that the decision was made upon advice from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
No entrance fee has been in place since the mosque, located on the European side of Istanbul, was converted from a museum three years ago.
The 1,500-year-old building is one of the most popular tourist spots in the country. It was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
In September, Turkish authorities said its restoration and maintenance work, which could span over 50 years, would be carried out gradually, section by section, without a complete closure of the site.
The monument, which initially served as a cathedral and later as an Ottoman imperial mosque, reopened as a museum in 1935. It was turned into a mosque again in 2020. ■
