Hagia Sophia was an old Orthodox basilica that was later converted into a mosque, although today, since 1935, it is a museum in the city of Istanbul. Its history also tells us the history of the city, and its architecture borders on the impossible.

Brief history

Hagia Sophia (meaning ?Holy Wisdom?), was initially a mosque of the ottoman empire. Later, with Emperor Constantine the Great, the first christian emperor.

It became a Byzantine church, and was one of the largest buildings in the world in its time. But, unfortunately, nothing of this original church of the fourth century has been preserved.

Constantius, son of Constantine, and Emperor Theodosius the Great, built a second church, which was burned in 532.

The current Hagia Sophia was erected between 532 and 537 by Emperor Justinian I and is a perfect example of Byzantine architecture.
The dome of this church collapsed during an earthquake, in 558, and was rebuilt in 563, although it was damaged again in the following centuries.

For 900 years, Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. In 1204 the Crusaders expelled the patriarch of Constantinople, replacing him with a Roman apostolic bishop, and sacked the church.

Many of the stolen treasures are displayed today in San Marcos, Venice.

In 1453 Sultan Mehmet conquered the city and turned Hagia Sophia into the main mosque in Istanbul, a site he kept for 500 years.

In 1934 President Kemal Atatürk secularized...