KHARTOUM

Somalia congratulated Turkey on Saturday on the reopening Hagia Sophia as a mosque after 86 years. 

"Somalia Ministry of Endowments & Religious Affairs congratulates the whole Muslim world, and specifically the Turkish public, our brothers; for taking the decision to revert Hagia Sophia to its origins as a mosque,” it said on Twitter.

The reopening of Hagia Sophia was celebrated with various events in the capital of Mogadishu.

Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years until the conquest of Istanbul, and a mosque from 1453 to 1934 -- nearly 500 years -- and most recently as a museum for 86 years.

One of the most visited historic buildings in Turkey by domestic and international tourists, Hagia Sophia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, during its time as a museum.

A Turkish court annulled a 1934 Cabinet decree July 10 that had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum, paving the way for its use again as a mosque after an 86-year hiatus.