"Istanbul under Christianity, Islam and secularism
Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:21 PM IST24
By Thomas Grove
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - When Ottoman Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople in 1453, his first destination was Haghia Sophia, the towering seat of Orthodox Christianity.
In front of what was then the largest church in the world, he knelt, sprinkled soil on his turban as a sign of humility and recited the Muslim prayer of faith, turning the church into a mosque: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is His prophet.""
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