Law No. 429 abolished the Ottoman-era Ministry of Sharia and Foundations and created new state bodies (including the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the General Directorate of Foundations), reshaping how Ottoman waqf (endowment) properties—including many historic monuments—would be administered under the Republic.
A government decision transformed Topkapı Palace from an imperial complex into a public museum, an early landmark of the Republic’s policy of reclassifying major Ottoman sites as state-run heritage institutions.
The Council of Ministers issued Decision No. 2/1589 converting Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) from a mosque into a museum, a foundational legal act in the Republican-era reclassification of prominent Ottoman-era monuments.
Hagia Sophia opened for public visitation as a museum, operationalizing the 1934 cabinet decision and establishing a long-running museum regime that shaped preservation, access, and interpretation of the monument.
A Council of Ministers decision reclassified the Chora Church (Kariye) from a mosque to a museum, initiating a heritage-use model that emphasized public access and conservation of its Byzantine mosaics and frescoes.
Turkey enacted Law No. 2863 on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets, creating a comprehensive legal framework for registering, conserving, and regulating interventions on protected cultural properties, including Ottoman-era monuments.
Law No. 5366 created procedures for “renovation areas” and enabled large-scale renewal/restoration projects in protected historic districts, affecting how Ottoman-era building stock could be restored, reused, or redeveloped under municipal-led programs.
In a 2018 press release on a constitutionality-review case, Turkey’s Constitutional Court referenced Law No. 633 (dated 1965-06-22) governing the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a key institution later assigned management of reconverted monuments.
The Council of State (Danıştay) annulled the administrative arrangement that had enabled the Kariye site’s use as a museum/museum depot, an essential judicial step preceding its formal transfer for mosque use.
Turkey’s Council of State (Danıştay) 10th Chamber annulled the 1934 Council of Ministers decision (No. 2/1589) that had converted Hagia Sophia into a museum, clearing the legal path for re-designation as a mosque.
Following the court ruling, a presidential decision (published the same day) transferred Hagia Sophia’s management to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and ordered its reopening for Muslim worship, changing its functional status from museum to mosque.
A presidential decision (No. 2840) published in the Official Gazette transferred the Kariye Mosque’s management to the Presidency of Religious Affairs and ordered it opened for worship, reversing its museum-era administrative status.
Conversion, restoration, and legal status of Ottoman-era monuments in Turkey (1923–2020)
