THE GREATLEAGCY OF HAGIA SOPHIA

FROM GREAT CHURCH TO GREAT MASJID
Hagio Sophia is one of the greatest   surviving   examples of Byzantine
architecture. Its   interior   is   decorated   with   mosaics and marble   pillars and
coverings of great   artistic value. Hagia Sophia was   built by two   architects ,
Isidorus of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles , after   it  burned down for the
second time in 532 C.E. Employed by the Byzantine emperor   Justinian I,
the two   architects , highly   skilled in mechanics and mathematics , oversaw
the construction of the church in just six years . Hagia   Sophia’s   vast 105-
foot dome   is  pierced   with   windows , giving the impression that   it  floats on
air. After the Turkish   conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the
church   was   repurposed as a mosque , minarets and a mihrab was   added ,
and giant   disks   bearing   Islamic   calligraphy   were   installed on the
building’s   walls.