Being in Hagia Sophia, this magnificent building, is a unique experience in many ways. You are in a building which has been standing still for 1500 years, a turning point in the history of architecture because of its combination of the basilica plan and the central plan. You are under one of the biggest domes in the world, a dome who caused Iustinianus to say “I won, Solomon!” You are in the biggest church of the Byzantine Empire and one of the biggest mosques of the Ottoman Empire.
Today’s Hagia Sophia building is actually the third Hagia Sophia. Thought to be started by The Roman Emperor and the first Byzantine Emperor Great Constantinus (324-337), the first Hagia Sophia was completed by the son of Constantinus, Constantius (337-361) and was opened in 360. The wooden-domed church was built on the Artemis Temple, and was near Hagia Irene Church, which served as a cathedral until that date. This building, which is thought to have hosted the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 with Hagia Irene, was burnt in a riot in 404 and has no trace left today.
The second Hagia Sophia was built by Theodosius II, in 415. Again built with a basilica plan, this building was burnt in Nika Riot in 532. In 1936, some architectural pieces like a stairs, a column and a headpiece was found of this building.
A few days after the second Hagia Sophia was burnt, Iustinianus I decided to build a church larger and and more durable than those of former emperors, and assigned Isidoros of Miletos (now Milet in West Anatolia) and Athemios of Tralles (now Aydın in West Anatolia). The materials to be used in building the church were brought from the places under control of the empire, such as Artemis Temple in Ephesus, Heliopolis in Egypt and Baalbek Temple in Lebanon. This is one of the major factors that allowed Hagia Sophia to be finished in a very short time frame of 5 years.
In 1453, Mehmet II the Conqueror took Istanbul, transformed the church in to a mosque, and performed his first worship here. However, he neither changed the name of the building, nor destroyed the mosaics which were safe from the Iconoclasm Era and the Crusades of the 13th century; he merely covered the ones with figures with a thin whitewash, and left the others as they were.
The mosaics of Hagia Sophia, just as famous as its architectural features, were placed in such an angle that every unit reflects the light. Combined with the magnificent illumination of the building, this feature of the mosaics gives out light waves which constantly change upon movement of the spectator. In one of the mosaics crafted in 9th -12th centuries, Constantinus is seen giving the miniature of Istanbul to Virgin Mary, and Iustinianus is pictured handing the miniature of Hagia Sophia to her.
Starting from Mehmed II the Conqueror, all the sultans restored Hagia Sophia and made it richer with additions The structure, showing signs shows of weakness in the era of Selim II (1566-1577), was fastened with supports Sinan the Architect added. Between 1847 and 1949, Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati brothers who had other works in Istanbul, fastened the dome, vaults and columns and went over the interior and the exterior decorations of the building.
By order of Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, a series of restorations were made in Hagia Sophia between 1930 and 1935. The most important restoration of all was the revealing of the mosaics under the survey of Thomas Whittemore, the founder of the Byzantine Institute of America. Hagia Sophia was transformed into a museum in 1934, by Atatürk’s request and was opened to visit in 1st of February, in 1935.
Make sure to have a glance at the Nur Surah (a chapter in Qu’ran) written by the Military Judge Mustafa İzzet Efendi, on the dome which you can only grasp the grandeur looking up all the time, the circular panels with a diameter of 7.5 meters, and the significant interior and exterior Ottoman artworks such as chinas and dynasty mausoleums. When you leave the building, you can drink a Turkish coffee in one of the teagardens in front of Hagia Sophia or you can enjoy eating at a real Ottoman Manor, the Europa Nostra award winner Yeşil Ev.
Open to visit every day from 09.00 to 16.30 except Mondays.
Address: Sultanahmet-Eminönü/İSTANBUL
