Hagia Sophia,( Eng. 'Holy Wisdom'), or Ayasophia (in Turkish), Sainte-Sophie (in French) was built in only 5 years as Byzantine Emperor Justinian was ruling over the Eastern Roman Empire. Emperor Justinian had made it plain to the architect of the church that he wanted everyone walking into the building to feel humble and small, in comparison with the massive, impressive and colossal proportions of the nave. It was inaugurated on 27 December 537 A.D., as a Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica , then was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire, and later was turned into an imperial mosque from 1453 until 1931.It is now a museum -Ayasofya Müzesi- in Istanbul, Turkey.

On my first visit to Istanbul, Ayasophia left a definitely lasting impression on me, as it encompasses the presence of two religions in the same building, still visible today in the Orthodox paintings and Islamic verses of the Quran inside that fantastic spiritual witness to the past.... Thank you very much for your comments on my last post and have a nice week. Please, click on the photo to get a full-size view of it.

This photo was also selected and features in Last Week in the Gallery #34.

Hope you'll like this dedi and post, Virginie, by way of answering your recent question on my latest holiday destination!