Turkish authorities have arrested a man who attempted to set fire to the Hagia Sophia in early July, the Türkiye Today website reported, quoted by BTA.
Recordings from the 15th-century building's security cameras show how, on July 11, after evening prayers, a man with a covered face and a red hat stands next to one of the marble columns in the prayer hall and sets fire to torn papers on one of the carpets that cover the floor of the temple. Not long after, the smoke from the burning papers and the carpet beneath them attracts the attention of one of the temple's visitors, who turns to the security guards and several employees arrive on the scene and extinguish the fire before it spreads.
After the incident Additional security measures have been introduced at "Hagia Sophia", and the Turkish police have launched an investigation, during which the perpetrator, who according to the Turkish police had entered psychiatric clinics several times before the incident, was identified and arrested.
"Hagia Sophia", which has been designated by UNESCO as a monument of universal human value, served as a church for 916 years. After the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by the troops of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (the Conqueror), it was converted into a mosque. By decree of Ataturk and a decision of the Council of Ministers in 1934, it was converted into a national museum. It remained as such until 5 years ago.
On July 10, 2020, by a decision of the State Council, its museum status was revoked, and on the same day, by a decree of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "Hagia Sophia" reopened as a mosque.