The majestic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey

*WS 132: The majestic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey*

After covering the Suleymaniye Mosque, I feel compelled to introduce the Hagia Sophia whose glamour the Mosque was built to compete.

Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom”) is the Christian cathedral built in 532 -537 AD in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. 

It was the world's largest building and an engineering marvel of its time. It remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until the Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.

In 1453, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and soon the cathedral was turned into a mosque. In 1935 the 1st President of the modern Republic of Turkey, M K Ataturk, transformed it into a museum and it remained so until today. 

The Hagia Sophia is of masonry construction with a first floor gallery. The central dome is 55.6 m from floor level and rests on an arcade of 40 arched windows. The windows provide ample light to the interior and reduce the weight too. It is slightly elliptical, with the diameter near 31 m. There are other half domes of identical diameter to the central dome. Interior surfaces are sheathed with marbles, green and white with purple porphyry, and gold mosaics. The exterior, clad in stucco, was tinted yellow and red during restorations in the 19th century. 

The design of the great dome at the Hagia Sophia has been copied by many churches later and even the mosques of the Ottoman Empire. 

The first 2 photos show the exterior. The minarets were Ottoman additions. The next 4 the interior with the domes and half domes. 

The 7th photo shows one of the many chandeliers. The 8th photo shows a part on the floor below the main dome called the “Omphalion” made up of 32 pieces of marble in different sizes. It was where the Byzantine emperors were crowned. The 9th and 10th photos show the famous mosaic pieces, dating to the 9th and 10th centuries respectively. The one at the apse showcase the 4 m high Virgin Mary with Jesus, and the one at the south-western entrance with Virgin Mary, Emperor Constantine and Emperor Justinian I.