About Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey:
Hagia Sophia has served as a church, a mosque, a museum and now (again) a mosque, reflecting the city’s changing religious and political landscape.
Originally built by Emperor Constantine I in 325, the first Hagia Sophia was destroyed by a riot in the city. Emperor Theodosius II rebuilt it in 415, only for the church to be destroyed again by a fire in 532. In 537, Emperor Justinian built the third edition, which had to be partially reconstructed after the initial dome collapsed in 558. This time it would serve as the cathedral of Constantinople, being a pre-eminent place for celebrating the Mass for almost another 900 years.
it became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 . In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, declared Hagia Sophia a museum for people of all faiths.
In 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
Faint outlines of crosses and parts of icons in side-apses can be seen despite being masked over with typical Islamic floral symbols or curtains, since traditional Muslim practices preclude using human imagery during prayer and worship, as they view such a practice as idolatry.
Despite in now being a mosque, you can get a feel of what this large domed building must have been like as a church.
Traveling to Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey:
If you plan to visit, plan to remove your shoes, as is custom when entering mosques.
Address: Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Click here for the official website of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey