Istanbul: On a day when Ayodhya stole the headlines back home, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on September 18, visited the Hajia Sophia shrine symbolising the essence of Turkish secularism and the Topkapi Palace which houses a relic of Prophet Mohammad.

Originally a Byzantine church, it was converted into a mosque by Sultan Ahmed. After Kemal Ataturk proclaimed the Turkish Republic it was made non-denominational, neither Christian nor Islamic, and is today widely revered.

The Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman Turkish empire, also houses the original doors of the Kaba at Mecca and a throne of Persian ruler Nadir Shah who had plundered India.

Vajpayee spent half-an-hour visiting these two places.

PTI