What Is the Hagia Sophia?
The Hagia Sophia is Turkey’s most famous and influential religious building, part church, part mosque!
What Makes It Historical?
The Hagia Sophia, or church of Holy Wisdom, has had many faces over the years! It was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great in 360 CE but burnt to the ground during a riot in 404! Emperor Theodosius II built the church in 405, but that, too, was destroyed during the Nika Revolt in January of 532! Those two phases led to the magnificent structure that folks can still visit today!
The third Hagia Sophia was commissioned by Justinian after crushing the Nika Revolt. He hired two non-architects to design it: Anthemius of Tralles, a physicist and mathematician, and Isidore of Miletus (the elder), who was a professor of geometry and mechanics! Like the Taj Mahal, construction of this magnificent basilica brought in materials from across the empire, even scavenging columns from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the original wonders of the world! It only took five years to construct what was then the largest cathedral in the world, featuring a magnificent 102-foot by 182-foot dome and extraordinary mosaics. The third Hagia Sophia opened on December 27, 537!
Generations of natural disasters, Crusades, and conquests took their toll on the Hagia Sophia, but the biggest change came on May 29, 1453 when Mehmet II conquered Constantinople and converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque! That meant installing four minarets and removing, covering, or whitewashing any mosaics that depicted human faces! But the Ottomans handled upkeep and restoration of the building for almost 500 years until the Empire fell, and Mustafa Ataturk designated the Hagia Sophia a museum for all! (It became a mosque again a recently as July 10, 2020!)
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer with the World Heritage Volunteers!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1
34122 Fatih/İstanbul
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!
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