US' Obama visits Istanbul historic sites and meets with religious leaders

After finishing his talks in Ankara, including his address to Parliament, US President Barack Obama proceeded to Istanbul on Monday as part of his landmark two-day visit to Turkey and attended a reception hosted in his honor at the Dolmabahce Palace by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Abdullah Gul was also in attendance. During the reception, Obama showed great interest in a performance of Turkish classical music played with traditional instruments. In Istanbul yesterday, Obama paid visits to the Hagia Sophia museum and Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. Erdogan and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay accompanied Obama during these visits. Touring Istanbul's major historic assets, Obama was very impressed by their grandeur. A former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Hagia Sophia is famous in particular for its massive dome and considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. Hagia Sophia was constructed in five years, from 532 to 537, at the orders of Emperor Justinian I and designed by Isidore of Miletus. The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50-foot silver iconostasis. It was converted into a mosque after Sultan Mehmet II conquered Istanbul in 1453. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when the Republic of Turkey changed it into a museum. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1,000 years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520. Sultanahmet Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I. Like many other mosques, it also serves as a tomb of its initiator, a madrasah (university), and a hospice. The mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior, is one of Istanbul's most popular tourist attractions. Obama also met with religious leaders in the city: Istanbul Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Cetin, and Archbishop Aram Atesyan, who represented the Armenian Patriarchate in lieu of Patriarch Mesrob II (Mutafyan), who was absent due to health reasons. Obama also held a separate meeting with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos. He also met with staff of the US Consulate General in Istanbul and their families.