Hagia Sophia ( Ayasofya )
The Church of St. Sophia is one of the ancient church of Istanbul built during the ruling of Constantine, the son of Constantine the Great. It is located in front of the famous Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet district of the modern day Istanbul. It had a wooden roof and was known by the name of Megala Ekkleisa. However, it was only in the V century that the church came to be known as Hagia Sophia, the church of Divine wisdom. It is believed that the original church was burnt twice and was rebuild by Emperor Justinian in 530 AD under his personal supervision.
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus were the architects of this church. Nearly ten thousand apprentices accompanied by thousand masons were involved in the construction of this building as the target was to complete the work at the earliest. The work began in 532 AD and was accomplished in nearly five years. Emperor Justinian consecrated the church on 27th December, 537.
St. Sophia has the layout of a typical Byzantine church. Saint Sophia was made a mosque in 1453 when the Turks conquered Constantinople. Hence, four minarets were added to the mosque. It suffered severe damages due to several earthquakes and had to be restored a number of times.
The church was famous for its massive dome. It has a central dome having a diameter of 31 meters. The dome was badly damaged and collapsed during an earthquake in 558. It again suffered partial damage in 989 and then in 1346. As you enter inside, you can feel the influence of the Islamic and Catholic cultures and religions in the frescos and decors of this building. The interiors are made of white and green porphyry with brick encrusting and there are important artifacts and mosaics belonging to different periods. The church once had decorations of marble, granite, terra cotta, glass, gold and silver.
The Church of St. Sophia had a wide collection of holy relics and was the seat of Constantinople’s Patriarch as well as the religious hub of the Orthodox Church for several thousand years. However, when Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, the church was made a mosque and a number of mosaics were plastered over. Also, the minbar and the mihrab were added to give it an identity of typical Islamic religious building.
It is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest historical monuments and the surviving example of architecture of Byzantine times. It served as a model for a number of Ottoman mosques including the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Sultan Ahemd Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque and the Kilic Ali Pasa Mosque. Presently, the famous St. Sophia Church functions as a museum. It is still one of the most exclusive and unique monuments of late antiquity.
