Hagia Sofia - a Byzantine Jewel

Hagia Sofia or the Church of the Holy Wisdom is a former Byzantine Orthodox church and former Ottoman mosque located in Istanbul being universally considered one of the greatest edifices of the world. The church was built in the fourth century by the Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor and founder of the Constantinople city. He built several great churches as a tribute to the Christian religion and Hagia Sofia is one of the most magnificent.

Hagia Sofia (Sancta Sophia in Latin or Aya Sofya in Turkish) was designed by two famous Greek scientists, Isidore of Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician. Unfortunately, nothing remained from the original church, as it had been destroyed by the rioters. A second one was built by the son of Constantine, Constantius and the Emperor Theodosius the Great, but shared the same fate as the first, being burned down in 532 by rioters. A third one was rebuilt between 532 and 537 under the personal guidance of the Emperor Justinian I in its present form.

Particularly renowned for its impressive dome, it is considered one of the magnificent surviving examples and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, having been the biggest church in the world for almost a thousand years until Seville Cathedral was raised in 1520. It astonishes its visitors with its marble pillars, rich mosaics and coverings and played a huge architectural influence on the Eastern Orthodox and Muslim worlds as well. The church contained a huge collection of holy relics and was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople for nearly a thousand years and a major setting for imperial ceremonies and church councils.

In 1453, the city was subjugated by the Ottomans under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, who decided to convert it into a mosque and many Islamic features were placed over, especially the defining feature of a mosque, the four minarets. It remained so until 1931, when was closed down for several years and reopened as a museum by the Republic of Turkey.