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Why the Hagia Sophia is special
Modern-day architects marvel how their 6th century counterparts
could design the immense Hagia Sophia and its "impossibly"
high-&-wide domed ceiling.
Forty windows ring the base of the 16-story-high dome, making it
seem to upward-gazing viewers 16 floors below that the dome is
levitating. Photos could never give us a sense of that illusion
or of the enormity of the Hagia Sophia's internal space. We have
to see this 1400-year-old wonder in Istanbul, Turkey firsthand.
How the building evolved
The Hagia Sophia was built between 532 and 537 by the Christian
Emperor JustinianI as a Byzantine church, which it functioned as
for the next 900 years.
In 1453, the Islamic-faithed Ottomans took over Constantinople
(now Istanbul). They wasted little time in converting the Hagia
Sophia into a mosque. It served the Muslims for almost 500
years.
The Ottomans painted over the Christian mosaics - and erected
the four defining minarets we see today.
In 1934, Turkey changed the Hagia Sophia's status from mosque to
museum and uncovered the priceless Byzantine mosaics.
Needs a major restoration
Parts of the Hagia Sophia building are currently in regrettable
condition due to centuries of neglect. A major effort is afoot
to save and restore this masterpiece of the ages.
What leading travel books say about the Hagia Sophia
In the 6th century, nothing like the Hagia Sophia had ever been
built, or even imagined.
Western Turkey
Cadogan Guides
The Hagia Sophia is the supreme achievement of Byzantine
architecture.
Turkey
Baedeker's Guides
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