Hagia Sofia by junge1
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Description
The Church of the Divine Wisdom (Sancta Sophia in Latin, Hagia Sofia in Greek, Aya Sofya in Turkish) was not named after a Saint, but after Holy Wisdom.
The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 (completed in under 6 years, using 20,000 laborers) on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and was the third church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy this site. It was designed by the Greek scientists Isidore Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered this main church of the Orthodox Christianity converted into a mosque.
The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels and other relics were removed and the mosaics depicting Jesus, his Mother Mary, Christian saints and angels were also removed or plastered over. Islamic features - such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets-were added.
From its initial conversion until the construction of the nearby larger Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul) in 1616, it was the principal mosque of Istanbul.
It remained a mosque until 1931 when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey (Sources: Official handout, Lonely Planet, Turkey, 7th edition, 2001, Wikipedia).
Length: 82 m (269-ft)
Width: 73 m (240-ft)
Height: 55 m (180-ft)
Building material: Ashlar, brick
This picture was taken from the Sultanahmet Park on 29 June 2013,
Sig...
Comments (29)
MagikUnicorn
Greta shot and nice history
Mad-Mike
cool
Faemike55
Very interesting history and great image, Sig! thanks for sharing
tigertim
Cool photo, and an interesting history. Amazing condition give the age.
Kalypso
Nice shot. Unfortunately these past few days some other Muslims have seen fit to burn all the Christian Orthodox churches in Egypt. I guess the Turks recognized this for the money-maker it is during tourism season :/
auntietk
I've seen pictures of this before of course, but just now noticed that all the minarets are different. !! I like your picture very much.
junge1
@Auntietk! Tara, I was going to give the height of the minarets, but that was when I noticed that there were different architects, different designs, and different heights. So I took the easy way out, left them alone. Good observation on your part!
starship64
I've always liked this building. Great shot!
renecyberdoc
fantastic.
jayfar
A splendid capture of this beautiful church and its surroundings.
farmerC
Shining shot.
angora
fantastic!!
dakotabluemoon
Such a beautiful place great capture.
ontar1
Beautiful, outstanding capture!!!!!!!!!!
Juliette.Gribnau
beautiful !!!
drifterlee
Very beautiful shot!!!!!!
Minda
another amazing shot and excellent history sig...have a Great day...:)
aksirp
oh yes, would always like to see this by my self... very interesting historical building and picture!
PREECHER
excellent photography and great history there...wow...to bad they changed it so much...amazing history... chills and thrills
flavia49
marvelous
sandra46
BEAUTIFUL
danapommet
An amazing feat of architecture Sig and a spectacular capture. As always, I have learned new thing because of your information!
Yuroven
If minarets are wanted, from current vantage point, rotate 180, and Blue Mosque is there. Been and seen, great pic!
UVDan
Beautiful shot of the massive church.
KarmaSong
Sainte Sophie is one of the few monuments I 'd like to see in my own eyes ! ...A superb capture and interesting narrative, Sig!
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
ia-du-lin
great building, great shot!
debbielove
What can you say! Its just so....impressive! A massive building.. Well done on this photo you've captured it well Sig. Sorry I'm so far behind with my commenting.. Rob
virginiese
You've seen very beautiful monuments during your trip !