Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko visited the Istanbul landmark, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, on Thursday.
Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy accompanied the royal couple during their visit. Minister Ersoy and the Japanese royals greeted people as they left the mosque amid tight security.
Japan has its own Hagia Sophia mosque, which was built in Nagoya by a Turkish association based in Germany.
The couple arrived in Türkiye earlier this week for a days-long visit to mark the centenary of Turkish-Japanese relations. The crown prince on Wednesday met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital of Ankara.
They are expected to attend several social and cultural activities during their visit. The couple is also scheduled to visit Kalehöyük, an archaeological excavation site in central Türkiye sponsored by the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan established by Prince Mikasa, the great-uncle of the visiting crown prince.