This was probably the most interesting building i saw on the whole trip!  Built in 537 AD as a Greek Orthodox basilica it served as the Roman Empire's first Christian Cathedral.  It was briefly converted by the Fourth Crusaders into a Roman Catholic Cathedral under the Latin Empire between 1204 and 1261.  Later it was converted into an Ottoman Mosque from 1453 until 1931.  It was then secularised by Ataturk and become a museum in 1935.  The Hagia Sophia was especially famous for its huge dome and it remained the world's largest cathedral for almost 1,000 years.  It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture.

After Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror in 1453 he was so impressed with the Christian cathedral he ordered it to be converted into a mosque.  Many of the Christian artifacts were destroyed and the mosaics depicting Jesus, Mary, Christian saints and angels were destroyed or plastered over, consistent with the Islamic code of not allowing human images to be depicted in a mosque.

Following its secularisation and conversion into a museum by Ataturk much of the white plaster covering the mosaics was removed and they and many other ancient artifacts were seen for the first time in many centuries.

This is what makes the Hagia Sophia so fascinating: the mixture of Christian and Islamic images and decorations in the one hugely impressive religious structure.  I hope the pics will be able to convey some of this for you!

Sadly, there are now increasing calls in Turkey for the building to be converted back into a mosque, so this hugely symbolic peaceful co-existence of Christian and Islamic theology may not be around much longer....

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