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Istanbul: Mosques in Turkey reopened on Friday for mass prayers after more than two months as the government further eased strict restrictions to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Turkey has been shifting since May to a "new normal" by easing lockdown measures and opening shopping malls, barbershops and hair salons.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said many other sites -- restaurants and cafes as well as libraries, parks and beaches -- will reopen from Monday.

Hundreds of worshippers wearing protective masks performed mass prayers outside Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque for the first time since mosques were shut down in March.

In the Ottoman-era Fatih mosque, worshippers prayed both inside and outside, with the municipality handing out disinfectants and disposable carpets.

"I have waited a lot for this, I have prayed a lot. I can say it's like a new birth, thanks to God, he has brought us back here," he said.

Another worshipper, Asum Tekif, 50, said: "It has a been a long time... we missed the mosques."

Turkey, a country of 83 million, has so far recorded 4,489 coronavirus-related deaths and 162,120 confirmed cases.

Prayers in Hagia Sophia

Muslim clerics on Friday recited prayers in the Hagia Sophia, the world famous Istanbul landmark which is now a museum after serving as a church and a mosque.

The prayers were held to celebrate the anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople, today's Istanbul, by the Ottomans in 1453.

"It is very important to commemorate the 567th anniversary of the conquest ... through prayers in the Hagia Sophia," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attended the ceremony via videoconference.

The stunning edifice was first built as a church in the sixth century under the Byzantine Empire as the centrepiece of its capital Constantinople.

After the Ottoman conquest, it was converted into a mosque before being turned into a museum during the rule of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in the 1930s.

But there have been hints about reconverting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Last year, Erdogan himself mooted the possibility of turning Hagia Sofia museum into a mosque.

Such calls have sparked anger among Christians and raised tensions with neighbouring Greece.

In 2015, a Muslim cleric recited the Koran in the Hagia Sophia for the first time in 85 years to mark the opening of an exhibition.

After Friday prayers at the Blue Mosque, a small group of Muslim worshippers shouted: "Let the chains break and let the Hagia Sophia open".

The group was later dispersed by the police who stopped them from protesting near Hagia Sophia that sits immediately opposite the Blue Mosque.

Hassan, Feb 9: Accusing the Centre for treating Karnataka as its enemy Former Minister and Congress leader UT Khader on Saturday said that the state did not get support from the Centre on the Mahadayi issue and flood relief and even the Union Budget.

Speaking to the media here, he said that the state has elected 25 BJP Lok Sabha members. Three from the state were Ministers in the Union Cabinet and another MP has been appointed president of the party’s state unit.

'None of them have spoken about the injustice done to the state in the budget. The budget document announced Rs 18,600 crore for the suburban railway in Bengaluru. But, ultimately the amount earmarked for the project is only Rs 1 crore. How can any BJP leader justify this?', the Congress leader wondered.

Mangaluru, May 31: The bus services by private operators in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts will begin from tomorrow (June 1) with 15 per cent hike in the fares, Canara Bus Owners Association president Rajavarma Ballal said on Sunday.

In a statement issued here, he said that the members of the Association have appealed for a 3-month tax break. ''We have received tax breaks for 2 months and have demanded for an additional month again,'' he added.

He said that the government has agreed to a 15 per cent hike in bus fares. All the passes issued already will be converted into cash cards and no discounts will be available till the end of the COVID-19 crisis.

An added attraction in private buses will be the option of paying travel fares through smart cards.

According to Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators Association president Dilraj Alva, 50 per cent of 325 private city buses will resume their services on Monday. It also meant that 50 per cent of buses will operate on the allotted routes.

The smart cards (or travel cards called Chalo Card) will not be introduced on all routes at a time. They will be introduced in a phased manner covering all routes from Monday.