Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is one of those 'bucket list' sights. I joined up with a booked tour guide and after a long line, we had a short tour of what was the largest church in the world for many years.

The Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) began as a Byzantine church, then it became a mosque during the Ottoman Era and today is a museum and is an architectural wonder. The structure today dates back to 532-537 when its construction was over seen by Justinian I. Although the church suffered from earthquakes and an attack by the Crusaders in 1204 it has retained its historic structure and decoration. From 1453 for 500 years the church became the main mosque of Istanbul during the Ottoman Era.

The church features rich mosaics and a grand central dome with a diameter of 31 meters. The circular dome rests on a rectangular base all richly decorated with murals, Arabic calligraphy and mosaics. All the interior surfaces are polychrome marble in green, purple and white with gold mosaics. The marble mihrab has survived from the Ottoman Era.

There are many magnificent mosaics., and like lots of church art, the rulers of the time incorporated themselves into the religious scenes.Read more