Hagia Sophia

tips you can trust

 

Why the
Hagia Sophia
in Istanbul 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.

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The Hagia Sophia
was first a church
then a mosque
then a museum

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Church

532 to 537 AD
The structure was built by the Christian Emperor Justinian I as a Byzantine church. It served as a Byzantine church for the next 900 years.

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Mosque

Beginning 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.

During this time, the Ottomans painted over the Christian mosaics - and erected the four defining minarets we see today.

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Museum

1934 to present
Turkey changed the Hagia Sophia's status from mosque to museum and uncovered the priceless Byzantine mosaics.

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