TOURISM: Hagia Sophia
August 26, 2008 – 10:18 am
Travel to Turkey
Hagia Sophia is located in the centre of Istanbul, in Turkey. It was built by Byzantium Emperor Justinian in 6 AD. It was built as a cathedral, later used as a mosque and now it serves as a mosque. In Turkish, it is called “Ayasofya”.
Built as a cathedral, it was converted into a mosque during Ottoman Empire period. It is now a museum and it is also called Hagia Sophia Museum. The construction of it began in 532 and ended in 537. Construction period was very fast for such a cathedral. It is one of the biggest cathedrals of the world.
Hagia Sophia chronologically experiences three different periods. First of all, it was a church. Nothing remained from the first construction. Then a new one was built. However, the same destiny was waiting for it. It was burned and ruined. Not all the parts of the church were damaged. Some major parts of it came to our age. With the order of Emperor Justinian, a totally new church was built. After the conquest of Istanbul by Turks, the church was changed into a mosque. It was used as a mosque for a long time. In 20th century, Hagia Sophia became a museum combining different religious, cultural and historical elements.
Architectural Features of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is located in Turkey. However, it is a masterpiece of Byzantium architecture. It is such a wonderful building that Hagia Sophia gave inspire for other architectural works.
The construction is 56 meters high and 31 meters high from the inside. There are more than 100 columns carrying the building. The dome is the center of Hagia Sophia. It is separately a masterpiece. Forty windows surround the dome. From these windows, the sunlight enters the inside of the building creating different sceneries.
The museum displays some unique archeological works. Marble works, statues, mosaics, icons are just some of the works you can see here. There are four minarets of Hagia Sophia added after it was converted into a mosque. Four of them are different from each other. As they were added to the construction after a long time, architects built them in different styles and weights in order to balance the building.
Hagia Sophia is famous for its mosaics. Built as a church, it depicts figures of Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Saints, birth and death. With time, some of these mosaics were taken to different parts of the world by vandal people. After Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, mosaics were removed or covered. Islam is a religion which does not use imagery elements. Becoming a museum, the situation of Hagia Sophia was protected. Now visiting and seeing different mosaics, paintings are possible.
Visiting Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia was a candidate for New Seven Wonders of the World. It was not chosen in 2007. However, it is still a tourism attraction center of Istanbul. Everyday, the museum is visited by hundreds of people. If you want further information about Istanbul city, read also Center of Turkey: Istanbul.
Watch videos of Hagia Sophia.