Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople of the Western Crusader established Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935. The Church was dedicated to the Logos, the second person of the Holy Trinity, its dedication feast taking place on December 25, the anniversary of the incarnation of the Logos in Christ. Although it is sometimes referred to as Santa Sophia (as though it were named after Saint Sophia), sophia is the phonetic spelling in Latin of the Greek word for wisdom - the full name in Greek being Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, "Church of the Holy Wisdom of God". 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." It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and was the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site, the previous two having both been destroyed by rioters. 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 into a bells, altar, and sacrificial vessels were removed and many of the mosaics were plastered over. Islamic features were added while in the possession of the Ottomans
Size: 7000px × 4649px
Location: Istanbul , Turkey, Europe
Photo credit: © Vaios Vitos / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, ayasofya, basilica, byzantine, cathedral, christianity, church, constantinople, dome, domes, east, empire, garden, gardens, hagia, holy, islamic, islamics, istanbul, justinian, marble, minaret, minarets, mosque, museum, orthodox, ottoman, ottomans, patriarch, patriarchal, religion, religious, saint, sophia, stone, tourism, tourist, tourists, turkey, wisdom
