Bigger and better. The current Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century when Constantinople — as Istanbul was then called — was the heart of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire that ...

Hagia Sophia’s eclectic design makes it a part of the mixed, elegant character of the city where it resides. What we now call Istanbul (formerly Byzantium and Constantinople) ...

Hagia Sophia remains serene, the wisdom of ages keeping itself to itself, unmoved by human passions and controversy. It has endured for 1,500 years and no doubt will do so for a good few more.

This month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reconsecrated the Hagia Sophia — a UNESCO world heritage site and museum — as a house of Muslim worship. To Erdogan’s many opponents, this ...

Mosaics. The upper gallery houses Hagia Sophia’s most impressive mosaics, among them that of Empress Zoe, an 11thcentury Byzantine. First married aged 50, Zoe had three husbands, famously ...

The Hagia Sophia remained a jewel in the crown of Eastern Christendom and the see of the Patriarch until 1453, when Mehmet the Conqueror, the Ottoman sultan, ... science to design.

On July 10th, Turkey’s top administrative court handed down a decision to revoke Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, paving the way for the 1,500-year-old former basilica to be opened as a mosque again ...

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — Whether you’re a believer or not, visiting Hagia Sophia is a spiritual experience.The architectural genius of this place of worship — which was built as a church in ...