I see Aya Sophia as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Its location in Istanbul compliments its surroundings and adds to the rich culture and diversity in Istanbul today. It is easy understand that this current treasure was once the greatest church in Christendom, as the Cathedral of Byzantium Constantinople. I was amazed to find out that when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul in 1453, their leader Mehmet almost immediately ordered the Aya Sophia to be cleansed and converted into a mosque for Islam. I also found it interesting, but not unexpected. that over the years, minarets were added to the converted religious building and the Christian mosaics were covered in accordance with the Koran, which forbids images of humans in a place of worship. Today, I appreciate that the Aya Sophia is a museum. A museum, I think everyone should see. Good Journeys!

(Hagia Sophia) It was a Christian church from the 6 th century then converted into a Mosque under the Ottomans in 1453. Now that some of the plaster the Ottomans put up is falling away you can see both Christian art as well as Muslim art. Entry 10LTR, Open 9am to 5.30pm closed Monday.

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Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture."[1] It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 15m (49 foot) silver iconostasis. It was the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years. It was the church in which Cardinal Humbert marched up to the altar and excommunicated Cerularius, marking the official start of the Great Schism.

Once a Christian Byzantine church built by Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora, the Aya Sophia, or Church of Holy Wisdom stood for centuries until the Turks took over Constantinople and changed the name to Istanbul and converted the church and made it into a mosque adding minarets. Now it is deconsecrated and is a museum. Archaeologists have uncovered some original murals beneath the whitewash of the Byzantine imagery. The Islamic decorations still remain but the whole building with all its history is a visual treat. Gaze into the enormous dome with its clerestory windows illuminating the interior on a sunny day. Take your time here, it is a virtual oasis in a crowded, polluted city that is nonetheless charming and full of visua treats.