Hagia Sophia

Welcome to Hagia Sophia, the Church of the Holy Wisdom. We are standing before a monument that has defined the skyline and the soul of the Eastern Mediterranean for nearly 1,500 years. …

As you stand in the center of the nave and look upward, you are beholding one of the greatest achievements in human history: the Grand Dome. Rising 55 meters above the floor, it was the largest dome in the world until the…

High above the galleries and in the semi-domes of the apse, you can still see the remnants of the magnificent Byzantine mosaics. These images, crafted from millions of tiny cubes of glass, stone, and gold leaf (tesserae), were…

When Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest in 1453, its interior was adapted to serve the needs of Islamic worship. The most visible additions are the eight massive circular wooden discs, or…

Entering the main nave from the inner narthex, you pass through the Imperial Door. This is the largest door in the building and was historically reserved only for the Emperor and his entourage. …

Ascending to the upper galleries via a series of smooth stone ramps (designed so the Empress could be carried up in a sedan chair), you reach a different world. The galleries were traditionally the area for women and for the…

Our tour of Hagia Sophia has taken us through fifteen centuries of transformation. We have marveled at the revolutionary engineering of the dome, traced the golden lines of Byzantine mosaics, and admired the bold elegance of…