Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia influenced both Byzantine church architecture and Ottoman mosque design. Its successive functions make it shared and sometimes contested heritage across Christian, Islamic and secular histories.
Photo: Adli Wahid · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Istanbul, Türkiye
- Civilisation / patron
- Byzantine Empire under Justinian I
- Built
- 532 – 537
- Status
- Still standing
- Height
- 55.6 m
- UNESCO World Heritage since
- 1985
- Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages
- UNESCO World Heritage
History
Justinian I had Hagia Sophia built as the principal church of Constantinople, with a large dome supported by pendentives. Marble facing, windows and later mosaics created a richly decorated interior that preserves evidence of several restoration phases. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the church became a mosque and gained, among other additions, minarets. It served as a museum from 1935 and returned to use as a mosque in 2020; it forms part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul.
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Sources: Wikipedia — Hagia Sophia