Hagia Sophia is a structure that was built three times on the same site. Today’s Hagia Sophia is known as the “Third Hagia Sophia.” The first construction of Hagia Sophia began during the reign of Constantine I, who accepted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Built as a basilica with a wooden roof on the first of the seven hills of Istanbul and known as the “Great Church” at the time, this structure was opened in 360 during the reign of Constantine II. There is no surviving remains of this structure, which was largely destroyed by a fire that broke out during the rebellion that began in 404.
The second Hagia Sophia was built by Emperor Theodosius II on top of the first one and opened for worship in 415. This structure, also built in the form of a basilica and with a wooden roof, was burned and destroyed by rebels during the Nika Revolt against Emperor Justinian in 532.
Immediately after the rebellion, Emperor Justinian decided to build a Hagia Sophia that was much larger and more magnificent than the first two. The third Hagia Sophia was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 532-537.
The Ottomans took great care of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which they considered a symbol of conquest and valued, starting from the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan, and made maintenance and repair activities continuous, and made the mosque much more solid than before. Especially the additions and arrangements made by Mimar Sinan to Hagia Sophia have played a major role in this human heritage still standing today.
One of the Ottoman sultans who showed the most interest in Hagia Sophia was Sultan Selim II. When the building showed signs of wear and tear, Selim II assigned Mimar Sinan to the task of maintaining and repairing Hagia Sophia.
Starting with Fatih Sultan Mehmet Khan, every sultan made an effort to make Hagia Sophia even more beautiful, and over time, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a complete social complex with structures such as the mihrab, pulpit, rostrum, minarets, imperial gallery, fountain, madrasah, library and kitchen. In addition, great importance was given to the interior decorations of the Hagia Sophia Mosque during the Ottoman period. Hagia Sophia was decorated with the most elegant examples of Turkish arts such as calligraphy and tile work, and new aesthetic values were added to the temple. Thus, Hagia Sophia was not only transformed into a mosque, but also this common heritage of humanity was preserved and revived.
It was a patriarchal cathedral with a basilica plan built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianus I between 532 and 537 in the old city center of Istanbul's historical peninsula. It was converted into a mosque by Mehmed II after the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453.
The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was converted into a museum in 1934 and served as a museum until 2020. It gained mosque status again in 2020. The most important feature of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque's architecture is that its dome is larger than usual and dominates the central space.
During the Byzantine Roman Empire, Justinian laid the foundations of Hagia Sophia.
According to belief, when the great dome of Hagia Sophia collapsed in an earthquake, 300 priests went to Mecca and took Zamzam water there, mixed it with Mecca soil and put it under this column as mortar. It is believed that this is why the column is "sweating".
Hagia Sophia, where the tombs of Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III, Mustafa I and Sultan Ibrahim are located.
The claim that the upper floor of Hagia Sophia is off-limits to Turks does not reflect the truth.The upper floor, where you can see the valuable mosaics, is open to everyone for a fee.
Turkish citizens can visit the gallery floor
According to information obtained from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism sources, it was stated that Turkish citizens will be able to enter the gallery section on the upper floor of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque for 25 Euros as of January 22.(2024)
During the 1982-1988 renovations, it was considered to cover the facade of Hagia Sophia with marble instead of plaster. However, the two marble plaques placed on the east side created an ugly appearance, so this was abandoned. In the end, it was decided that it would be more appropriate to protect the outer walls with plaster, and they were painted in a dusty rose color.
The Secret of the Slabs Symbolizing the Islamic World Many Islamic motifs were added to Hagia Sophia after it was converted into a mosque following the conquest of Istanbul, in order to create the atmosphere of an Islamic temple. The most important of these is of course the verse “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth” written on the dome of Hagia Sophia.
The Largest Structure of Its Time As we said, Hagia Sophia is both the oldest cathedral in the world and the fastest built cathedral in the world. It is also a mega structure that maintained its title as the largest cathedral in the world for 1000 years from the time it was built, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in Spain (1520).
Words such as Sufi, Sophist, Sophistic are also based on this word. Even the word philosophy is derived from the word Sophia, originally as "philosophie", and means "wisdom lover". When we look at the word Hagia Sophia as a whole, it means "holy wisdom, divine wisdom".
Hagia Sophia, which was converted from a church into a mosque by Fatih Sultan Mehmet after the conquest of Istanbul, was closed to worship and converted into a museum in 1934 by a decision taken by the Council of Ministers upon the directive of Atatürk.
It is said that the direction of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, where Fatih Sultan Mehmet performed his first Friday prayer after conquering Istanbul, was turned towards the qibla by Hızır. The perforated column into which he inserted his finger to turn the building towards the qibla still attracts attention from visitors.
Turkish citizens coming for the purpose of worship will continue to be admitted free of charge from the entrance of the worship area, while tourists coming to visit the Gallery floor will enter by purchasing a ticket from the visitor entrance for a fee. The entrance fee has been determined as 25 Euros per person.
Hagia Sophia is a charitable property that belongs to the Ebu'l Fetih Sultan Mehmet Foundation (today the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han Foundation), which has the status of a registered foundation (without a manager or trustee), and is supposed to be used as a mosque according to its foundation charter.
Starting with Fatih Sultan Mehmet Khan, every sultan made an effort to further beautify Hagia Sophia, and over time, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a complete social complex with structures such as the mihrab, pulpit, rostrum, minarets, sultan's gallery, fountain, madrasah, library and kitchen.
The second floor of Hagia Sophia, whose conversion from a museum to a mosque sparked controversy, was converted into a paid museum entered through a shuttered door.19
This material is flexible and can maintain its strength for hundreds of years. Despite its proximity to fault lines and devastating historical earthquakes every century, Hagia Sophia has remained standing for nearly 1,500 years. Today, this monumental structure continues to inspire earthquake-resistant structures.
Because the restoration of important Byzantine mosaics was continuing on this floor, and with the completion of the restoration, this historical floor was opened on January 15, 2024 with an entrance fee of 25 euros for foreign tourists and 850 TL for Turkish citizens.
Commemorative Coin - A maximum of 5,000 silver and 10,000 bronze commemorative coins have been minted for collectors and will be released to the market specifically for the opening date.
There are 9 Hagia Sophia churches in Turkey, two of which are in Istanbul, the others are in Edirne, Kırklareli, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Zonguldak, Bitlis and İznik.
The first minaret was destroyed in the great Istanbul earthquake of 1509 and a brick minaret was built in its place. The other two minarets were built by Mimar Sinan during the renovation work during the reign of Sultan Selim II. For this reason, the four minarets of Hagia Sophia built at different times are different from each other.
Hagia Sophia, which was converted into a mosque after the conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the 7th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, on May 29, 1453, and served as a mosque for centuries, stands out as one of the most important symbols of the conquest that has survived to the present day.
The most important innovation in the architecture of Hagia Sophia was the size and height of the dome that dominated the central space, which was unusually large for a church. The height of the dome covering the main space is 55.60 meters from the ground, and its diameter is 31.87 meters in the north-south direction and 30.86 meters in the east-west direction.
Hagia Sophia, which will leave its mark on history with the construction of the largest temple of the Roman Empire 1500 years ago, contains the harmony of the Islamic and Christian worlds. The eighth wonder of the world, Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest architectural projects in history.
The first Hagia Sophia, which was built as a wooden basilica in 360, was burned down as a result of a rebellion and was later rebuilt by Theodosius II in 415.
The faces of these angels are seen uncovered both in Evliya Çelebi's narrative and in the descriptions of later European travelers who depicted the interior of Hagia Sophia.
Akşemseddin explains the incident as follows: “When Hz. Hızır came to stand in line, he put his finger in the Terler Direk (Weeping Column of the Virgin Mary) and turned the direction of Hagia Sophia towards the qibla. Then he stood to pray.
The giant plaques inside Hagia Sophia, known as the “mosque inscription set”, consisting of the names of the four caliphs, Hz. Hasan and Hz. Hüseyin, along with the names of the Celal and Nabi, are the “largest” documents of the building’s use as a mosque in terms of size.
The cross on which Jesus was crucified and the nails used are found in a secret compartment. According to the story; these relics brought from Jerusalem are kept in a secret compartment in Hagia Sophia. The secret of Hagia Sophia hosting these relics is that it is believed that Hagia Sophia is the place where Jesus will descend to earth 40 thousand years later!
On the Vestibule Gate on the south side of the inner narthex is the offering mosaic, one of the most important figurative mosaics of Hagia Sophia. This mosaic was unearthed in 1849 by Fossati when the restoration of Hagia Sophia was nearing completion.
Cathedral (537-1054) Orthodox cathedral (1054-1204) Catholic cathedral (1204-1261) Orthodox cathedral (1261-1453) Mosque (1453-1934) Museum (1935-2020) Mosque (2020-2024) Mosque and Museum (2024-present)
Diker stated that the Seraphim, the six-winged angels who guard the throne of God according to the Old Testament, are occasionally used in frescoes and miniatures because they are mentioned in Christian theology, and added, "The Seraphim angels are located on the four pendentives under the main dome of Hagia Sophia.
It has been revealed that the architectural structure called the sweating column, located in the northwest of Hagia Sophia, contains some legends. The basis of the legend is based on the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
We visited the outer area and the prayer area, and there is also a section called the upper floor that you enter with a ticket, you can visit there, we quickly visited the prayer area and the back, then the garden and courtyard. In order to comment on such works, you need to have a high level of history, architecture and engineering knowledge, so I cannot write anything. It is a work that everyone should see.
We visited the Hagia Sophia Mosque for the first time after it was opened for worship. It said only Turkish citizens could enter, so we went in. But there were people from all nations inside. I guess Muslims were allowed in. It impresses everyone with its magnificence. The Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum in Sultanahmet Square caught our attention. It opened its doors with a rich and diversified collection, but the entrance fee is 250 TL, the museum card is not valid. So we did not go in.
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