Turkey's Erdogan rejects criticism over status of Hagia Sophia

FILE PHOTO: People visit Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was a Byzantine cathedral before being converted into a mosque which is currently a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 30, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

ANKARA (Reuters) - Criticism of Turkey over the possible conversion of Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia monument from a museum to a mosque "is an attack on Turkey's sovereignty", President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a building at the heart of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and today one of Turkey's most visited monuments.