The video documented how the individual set fire to a book inside, which caused part of the carpet adjacent to one of the walls to catch fire, before the man hastily left the mosque.
It is noteworthy that the Hagia Sophia Mosque is one of the most prominent historical and religious landmarks in Istanbul and one of the most famous sites in the world. It was initially built as a cathedral during the Byzantine era in 537 AD, then converted into a mosque by the Ottomans in 1453.
In 1935, it was turned into a museum by a decision of the Turkish Republic, before being reopened as a mosque in July 2020 by a presidential decree.
