Muslims walk and sit after their prayers during the Eid al-Adha celebrations at the newly built Ali Jim'ale Mosque in Mogadishu, Somalia July 9, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

An aerial view of the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during a four-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 24, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Umit Bektas 

A general view of the deserted Sultanahmet Square, with the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia in the background, on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan during a four-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas 

An aerial view shows deserted streets around Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya and the city during a two-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS//Umit Bektas 

An aerial view of a deserted streets around Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya and the city during a two-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS//Umit Bektas 

An aerial view shows deserted streets around Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, the Ottoman-era Sultanahmet mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque and the city during a two-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS//Umit Bektas 

Bells made by the Galanopoulos family hang at the bell tower of a 14th century byzantine church in Paramythia, Greece, July 8, 2018. The top bell was cast by the Galanopoulos brothers and the bottom bell by their grandfather. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 

The sun sets over the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia and the old city in Istanbul, Turkey July 14, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer 

Tulips, with the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia in the background, are pictured at Sultanahmet square during the 12th Tulip Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer 

A worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) stands on the mosaic floor of a monastery unearthed during excavations in Hura, east of Beersheba April 1, 2014. The IAA said on Tuesday that the Byzantine-era monastery and the mosaic floor were discovered during a salvage dig ahead of construction of an interchange. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) 

A worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) pours water on the mosaic floor of a monastery unearthed during excavations in Hura, east of Beersheba April 1, 2014. The IAA said on Tuesday that the Byzantine-era monastery and the mosaic floor were discovered during a salvage dig ahead of construction of an interchange. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) 

Local and foreign visitors, with the Byzantine-era monument of Hagia Sophia in the background, stroll at Sultanahmet square in Istanbul August 23, 2013. The number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey grew at its slowest pace for eight months in July, as the impact of anti-government protests and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan took their toll, data showed on Friday. Foreign arrivals rose 0.48 percent year-on-year last month to 4.59 million people, according to the Tourism Ministry figures, the lowest rise since November. The number of visitors rose 4.93 percent the previous month. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TRAVEL) 

Palestinians walk amongst parasols placed outside the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as "al-Haram al-Sharif" and to Jews as "Temple Mount" in Jerusalem's Old City June 27, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY TRAVEL) 

The Christ the Saviour Cathedral is seen behind the Kremlin wall in central Moscow, May 27, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: CITYSCAPE RELIGION) 

Guests enjoy the view from the terrace of the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg May 1, 2013. It has been variously described as a sleek piece of modernism or an ugly shopping centre, but whatever Russians think of the exterior of St Petersburg's new Mariinsky Theatre, they will finally get to see inside the much-debated building at its grand opening on Thursday. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk (RUSSIA - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT CITYSCAPE SOCIETY) 

Tourists visit the Aya Sofya, the greatest of Istanbul's Byzantine monuments, in Istanbul March 2, 2010. Turkey's largest city is a 2010 European Capital of Culture filled with the treasures of a glorious past from the Roman and Ottoman empires, while straddling the Bosphorous Strait where Europe meets Asia. Picture taken March 2, 2010. To match Reuters Life! TRAVEL-ISTANBUL/. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) 

A worker walks past an ornate church door from Italy during the press view of the Byzantium exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London October 21, 2008. The exhibition opens to the public on October 25. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN) 

A painting in the main church in the so-called "Kala" in Berat, some 140 km (87 miles) from the capital Tirana April 24, 2008. The city of Berat, an historic Ottoman town, was added to the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO on July 8, 2008. The town of 64,000 inhabitants features a castle locally known as the Kala most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back some 2,400 years. The area includes many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, several of which contain valuable wall paintings and icons. Picture taken April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Arben Celi (ALBANIA) 

A view of Byzantine mosaics at St. Anthony's Monastery, 155 km (96 miles) southeast of Cairo, May 3, 2008. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT) 

A visitor walks through an alley at the sixth century Byzantinian monument of St Sophia in the old city of Istanbul November 16, 2006. The place was once a church in the Byzantinian era that turned into a mosque during the Ottoman empire and now is now a museum. Pope Benedict is expected to visit St Sophia during his visit to Turkey in the end of November. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) 

A huge underground water well flanked by five pillars and a series of arches is seen in Tiberias, Israel November 30, 2005. The site, at an ancient Jewish court from the Byzantine-era, was unearthed in the town of Tiberias on the banks of the biblical Sea of Galilee. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen 

A huge underground water well flanked by five pillars and a series of arches is seen in Tiberias, Israel November 30, 2005. The site, at an ancient Jewish court from the Byzantine-era, was unearthed in the town of Tiberias on the banks of the biblical Sea of Galilee. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen 

Jordanian and U.S. officials tour the Tal Hesban archaeological site, where the remains of an old Byzantine Church is being restored, near the capital Amman September 29, 2005. [U.S. Charge d'Affaires David Hale today signed two grant agreements that provide a total of $85,498 to support the preservation of two archaeological sites in Jordan, namely Tal Hesban archaeological site in Hesban and the Neolithic village of Ghwair I in Wadi Feinan.] 

The sixth century Byzantinian monument of St. Sofia (Ayasofya) and the 16th century Ottoman era Blue Mosque are seen behind the Topkapi Palace where the Ottoman sultans once dominated the empire for nearly 400 years in the old city of Istanbul May 15, 2005. Aerial picture taken May 15, 2005. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas 

Detail from the exterior wall painting "The Final Judgment" of the famous Romanian Orthodox Voronet monastery in northern Romania April 10, 2003. Voronet, a medieval monastery built in 1488 by King Stephen the Great, is world famous for its exterior paintings combining Byzantine and Gothic style and is on the UN world list of protected monuments. 

A nun points to a detail of the exterior wall painting "The Final Judgement" of the famous Romanian Orthodox Voronet monastery in northern Romania April 10, 2003 . Voronet, a medieval monastery built in 1488 by King Stephen the Great, is world famous for its exterior paintings combining Byzantine and Gothic style and is on the UN world list of protected monuments. 

A commuter ferry sails through a misty Bosphorus December 19 as it is dwarfed by the backdrop of the 15th century Topkapi Palace, which was the political centre of the Ottoman Sultans for a period of 400 years. The palace is located on a hill in the old city overlooking the Turkish straits dividing the Istanbul's European and Asian parts. Behind the Topkapi Palace are the minarets and dome of the sixth century Byzantine church St. Sophia (Ayasofya) and the 17th century Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet) with its six minarets.
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