For almost a millennium, Hagia Sophia was the world’s largest cathedral. Originally constructed as a basilica between 532 and 537, it served as the centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church. After Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, it was converted into a mosque; covering its mosaics and removing its relics, the Turks replaced the altar with a mihrab and added minarets. In 1935, it was converted again, this time into a secular museum. It remained this way until 2020, when it was reconverted into a mosque once more, though it remains open to visitors of all faiths and nationalities, symbolising its continued significance as a cultural and historical landmark.
The 20th-century renovations removed the building’s carpeting, revealing the original marble floors; its Byzantine Christian mosaics, hidden behind plaster, were rediscovered and restored. The present state of the interior speaks of its fascinating layered history: Byzantine crucifixes are visible beneath later Islamic decoration; calligraphy sits alongside Christ.
Recent restorers have made efforts to strike a careful balance when choosing to reveal ancient Christian art, as this can necessitate the removal of important Islamic work that covers it. Controversy remains over the inside of the dome, which is believed to have a magnificent mosaic of Christ hidden beneath its present Islamic calligraphy. The building’s six-winged angels were discovered in the 19th century only to have their faces covered before being made visible again in the 1930s.In any case, visitors today can admire the magnificence of Byzantine architecture in a building of beautiful and surprising variety. The innovative cupola dome, in particular, is a marvel: its weight caused many problems over the years, suffering several collapses before Isidore the Younger improved its construction. The forty windows around its base flood the nave with light, giving the dome the appearance of floating above the building when viewed from below.
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