Hagia Sophia

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Hagia Sophia was third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site. The earlier two were destroyed during riots.

Hagia Sophia has the ultimate contrast of two religions together. Both Islam and Christianity have their foothold in museum. While the Islamic calligraphic roundels are suspended from the main dome, the museum also has uncovered Christian mosaics as its prime feature.

Hagia Sophia has a trail that dates back to 532-537 AD. The monument is unique in its existence - having a base of both Christianity and Islam. Hagia Sophia, both architecturally and liturgically, was influenced by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslim worlds.

The existing structure dates back to 532-537 AD. It was built on the instruction of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

Hagia Sophia was and still is THE original cathedral

www.hagiasophiablog.com/facts.html

www.turizm.net/turkey/history/hagiasophia.html

Unfortunately nothing remains of the original Hagia Sophia, which was built on this site in the fourth century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called "the New Rome." The Hagia Sophia was one of several great churches he built in important cities throughout his empire.

Their work was a technical triumph, even though the structure was severely damaged several times by earthquakes. The original dome collapsed after an earthquake in 558 and its replacement fell in 563.

Hagia Sophia (from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia; Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey

The Church was dedicated to the Logos, the second person of the Holy Trinity,[2] its dedication feast taking place on 25 December, the anniversary of the incarnation of the Logos in Christ.[2]

Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture."[5] It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years

The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 49 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years

In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who subsequently ordered the building converted