A large rally was held in Istanbul on Sunday, with hundreds of Turks demanding that the Hagia Sophia cathedral be turned into a mosque. The rally was held by “NGOs” in the Sultanahmet district, where the one-time pre-eminent Orthodox cathedral has been turned into a museum since 1935.

According to Hurriyet, hundreds of so-called “pious Turks” held placards with demands such as: “Hagia Sophia must reopen as a mosque”, or, “Let us sacrifice ourselves for Islam”.

The cathedral, which was built during the 6th century during the reign of Justinian, is now a UNESCO-protected site.

Hagia Sophia remained the center of Orthodox Christianity until 1453 when Constantinople was conquered by Ottoman sultan Mehmet.