Film director and screenwriter Guy Ritchie has been seen in Istanbul visiting Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and Topkapi Palace.The British film maker was touring the city with his wife Jacqui Ainsley.
Ritchie has been shooting his latest movie “Five Eyes” in the Antalya region of Turkey and took a day off to exlpore some of Istanbul’s famous landmarks with his wife and crew members before heading back to Antalya to continue shooting his movie.
Ritchie is well known for his movies such as Snatch, Sherlock Holmes and The Gentlemen.
During Byzantine times the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was built as a church, but then in 1453 the church was then made into a mosque. Then in 1934 the mosque was transformed into a museum. In 2020 it was stated by Turkey’s top administrative court that Hagia Sophia is officially registered as a mosque and that it was not leagally possible to use it as anything else. But then on July 24th, with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the mosque was re-opened for worship for the first time in 86 years.
The Topkapi Palace is listed as one of Istanbul’s most historical places to visit. The palace originally was the main residence and administrative headquaters of the Ottoman sultans during the 15th and 16th centuries, but today it serves as a museum in the Faith district of the city.
Source: Daily Sabah
