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Hagia Sofia
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Why the
Hagia Sophia
is special
Modern-day architects marvel at how their 6th century counterparts could design the immense Hagia Sophia and its "impossibly" high-&-wide domed ceiling.
Hagia Sophia
tips & insights
Optical
illusion
Forty windows ring the base of the 16-story-high dome, making it seem to upward-gazing viewers 16 floors below that the dome is levitating.
Huge
Photos could never give us a sense of that illusion or of the hugeness of the Hagia Sophia's internal space. We have to see this 1400-year-old wonder in Istanbul, Turkey firsthand.
First
a church
The Hagia Sophia structure was built between 532 and 537 by the Christian Emperor Justinian I as a Byzantine church. It served that purpose for the next 900 years.
Then
a mosque
In 1453, the Islamic-faithed Ottomans took over Constantinople (now Istanbul). They wasted little time in converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. It served the Muslims for almost 500 years.
The Ottomans painted over the Christian mosaics - and erected the four defining minarets we see today.
Now
a museum
In 1934, Turkey changed the Hagia Sophia's status from mosque to museum and uncovered the priceless Byzantine mosaics.
Physical
condition
Parts of the Hagia Sophia building are currently in regrettable condition due to centuries of neglect. A major effort is afoot to save and restore this masterpiece of the ages.
Pronunciation
Phonetically, Hagia Sophia is pronounced:
hye'-yah soh-fee'-ah
M E N U
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