Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district unites Byzantine and Ottoman history. Built in 532–537 for Justinian I by Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, it served as the patriarchal Orthodox cathedral until the Ottoman conquest of 1453, when it became a mosque and four minarets were added. It was a museum from 1935 until 2020, when it again became an active mosque while remaining open to visitors outside prayer times. Its 31-metre dome rises almost 56 metres above the floor and is lit by forty windows. Mosaics depict Christ, the Virgin and saints; more than thirty types of marble cover the floors, while the minbar, mihrab and calligraphy belong to the Ottoman period.

Hagia Sophia is said to contain 361 doors, one hundred decorated with symbols. Bronze candlesticks beside the mihrab were brought from Buda by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1526.