Top 10 Religious Sites: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

One of the main reasons for my recent trip to Istanbul was to visit this place.  I really didn't know much about it before visiting and soon learned that it is one of the most important religious sites in the world.  

Below is information about what makes this building so special.  

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The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, is a world-famous architectural masterpiece. Completed in 537 AD as a Byzantine Christian cathedral, it became an Ottoman mosque in 1453, a museum in 1935, and was reconverted into an active grand mosque in 2020. 

History

Built by Emperor Justinian I between 532 and 537 AD.
Served as the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years.
Converted to a mosque by Sultan Mehmed II after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Changed to a secular museum by Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1935.
Reopened for Muslim prayers and designated a mosque again in 2020.  

Hagia Sophia in the News

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/turkeys-president-formally-makes-hagia-sophia-a-mosque

You could say the outside is a little underwhelming; however, when you go inside you are immediately in awe.  You will notice in many cases that some of the mosaics had to be recovered.  After becoming a mosque after the fall of Constantinople (Istanbul), many of the mosaics were plastered over.  

Note:  In Islam, viewing and creating images depends on the subject and purpose. Depictions of God (Allah) and all prophets—including Prophet Muhammad—are strictly prohibited to prevent idolatry.

Below you will also see where some were covered up in order to not be viewed from the worship area below.  Remember is was still a museum until just a few years ago.  Now, the second floor is still considered a museum.  You are not allowed on the bottom floor, except for worship.  

      

A famous inscription by a Viking Visitor.  

The hidden faces of Icons.  The Muslims worshipping below are not allowed to be in the presence of images other than Allah. 

The oldest mosaic in the church and the most detailed with the smallest mosaic squares.  

The back door. 

 (Kievan Rus' emissaries describing their visit to the cathedral in 987): 

"We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth... for on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men."