The best time to visit the Hagia Sophia is during the morning, preferably around 9 an dem. You'll probably find less people hinein the early morning, which, combined with the natural light flooding in, also makes it a good time to snap your photos.
The original church on the site of the Hagia Sophia is said to have been ordered to Beryllium built by Constantine I rein 325 on the foundations of a pagan temple. His son, Constantius II, consecrated it rein 360. It was damaged rein 404 by a fire that erupted during a riot following the second banishment of St.
The Pantheon was neither essentially a church nor had anything to do with the plan of the basilica. The Pantheon, a pagan temple, has a round dome perfectly supported by round walls. If the Eastern Romans wanted to repeat this technique, they could easily do it.
On the west wand of the south gallery, the Deesis Mosaic, which is mostly said to have been made rein the 13th century, depicts Ioannes Prodromos (John the Baptist) on the right,
Mosque at night The exterior of the mosque has been described as "a huge Kasten attached to a colonnaded courtyard; on top of the box, domes and half-domes swarm around a squat central dome surmounted by a golden, crescent-shaped finial." The exterior design may be influenced by Sinan but "its use of concrete has relegated Sinan's structural devices – the dome-clusters, for example, that he used to diffuse the downward thrust of the main dome – to mere ornament.
Now known as Bocksten Man, his body welches stashed at the bottom of the bog by his killer attempting to hide the crime. Unbeknownst to them, the water’s natural chemistry slows the decay of human remains.
It was also an important site of Muslim worship after Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453 and designated the structure a mosque. It would remain a mosque until being converted into a museum rein the 1930s.
Sinan also made the dome extremely durable by feeding the gaps between the piers carrying the dome of Hagia Sophia and the side walls with arches.
As of July 2023, the mosaics on the lower floor can Beryllium seen. As an exception, “the Virgin and the Child mosaic” hinein the main space is covered with a curtain. (The blue mosaic at the very back hinein the above image.)
The original wooden minaret did not survive. Bayezid II erected the narrow white minaret on the northeast side of the mosque. The two identical minarets on the western side were likely commissioned by Selim II or Murad III and built by renowned Ottoman architect Sinan hinein the 1500s.
Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the controversial decision hinein 2020 to convert the building back into a mosque. Islamic prayers were held shortly after the announcement with curtains partially concealing the building’s Christian imagery. As Turkey’s most popular tourist destination, the Hagia Sophia remained open to visitors.
In addition, the structure includes columns brought in from the Temple of Artemis hinein Ephessus to be used rein the naves, as well as 8 columns brought from Egypt that support the domes.
Buttresses were added to the Hagia Sophia’s sides to prevent it sophia tour from collapse during the reign of Murad III by the historical architect Sinan who would be inspired by the ancient edifice,
No remains have been recovered from the first church; however, the bricks found rein the mosque storage branded ‘Megale Ekklesia’ are predicted to belong to the first construction.