Istanbul 2018

Istanbul – Hagia Sofia

Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) became the quintessential model for Eastern Orthodox church architecture. It was built in 532-537 CE, under the instructions of the emperor Justinian I, and was a major Christian cathedral until Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, at which point it became a Sunni Moslem mosque till 1934. In 2020, it became a mosque again, and its upper floor, where this photo of wall mosaics was taken, is a museum.

To see more of this trip on the Travelogue, click here: Istanbul 2018