The Great Transition

Sultan Mehmed II entered the city on Tuesday, May 29, 1453. After the walls were breached at the Gate of Saint Romanus (Topkapı), the Ottoman forces secured the city. Mehmed entered later that afternoon in a grand procession, marking the official end of the Eastern Roman Empire.

When he reached the great church of Hagia Sophia, he dismounted from his horse, knelt, and poured a handful of soil over his turban as a gesture of humility before God. He then walked inside, ordering that the building be preserved and converted into the central mosque of Constantinople.

4.2 The First Muslim Prayer

Historically, the first official Friday Prayer (Jumaa) took place on the 1st June 1453 CE. Sultan Mehmed II (Fatih) installed a wooden minbar immediately for the first Friday prayer. However, the ornate marble minbar you see today is a masterpiece from the 16th century, added during the reign of Sultan Murad III. It is considered one of the finest examples of Ottoman marble carving.