From Greg Cruey,Your Guide to Asia for Visitors:
Hagia Sophia: the Church of Holy Wisdom. It stands today as one of the great monuments to the history and art of Christianity and was the Cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for more than one thousand years.
Today the city which holds Hagia Sophia is called Istanbul. Until 1453 it was Constantinople. Before that, Byzantium. The city is over 2500 years old and has seem conquerors come and go - from the Persian King Darius, to Alexander the Great, to Crusaders in 1204 AD and the Ottomans in 1453 AD.
For 60 years (330 AD to 395 AD) the city was the capital of a Roman Empire which took in almost the entire Mediterranian basin. It stayed the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire after the West fell in 476 AD. The Ottomans made it their capital after 1453 AD; that empire stretched at one point from the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf in the East to at least Algiers in the West; from north to south, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Yemen to the edge of Poland.
Isanbul stradles two continents, with the old city (and the church) in Europe and newer portions of the city in Asia.
Hagia Sophia was originally referred to simply as "The Great Church" because of its size. The construction work on Hagia Sophia lasted five years [532-537] and on December 27, 537, Patriarch Menas consecrated the church. The church's most remarkable feature is its huge dome, supported by four massive pillars each measuring about 100 square meters at the base. The dome contains 40 windows which allow streams of light to illuminate the hall.
It is filled with art - with paintings and mosaic tiles. And the structure of the church itself is probably the single most significant piece of remaining Byzantine architecture .
History
Hagia Sophia is thought to have been founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Its first strudtures were erected over top of the ruins of an ancient temple to Apollo, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Marmara.
Constantine's son, Constanitius II (337-361) completed this first structure. Its roof was made of timbers. On June 20, 404 AD, the church was burned down in a riot that followed the banishment of John Chrysostom.
The church was rebuilt in 415 AD. It then burnt to the ground again in 532 AD as part of a the Nika Revolt against Justinian; Constantinople was almost completely destroyed by fire.
It is ironic that Justinian's repressive rule caused the revolt which led to the fire which destroyed the church -- presenting the repressive Justinian with the opportunity to build perhaps the greatest church structure in the history of Christianity.
Twenty years after the completion of Justinian's church, an earthquake severely damaged the dome and the structure partially collapsed. It was replaced with a steeper, lighter dome and the supporting base was reinforced. The church was re-dedicated on December 23, 563.
Earthquakes were to damage the church again, most notably in 1346 and 1999 (when an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale created chaos and damge across the city). But the biggest threat to the church can from the Crusades. Latin crusaders pillaged the churhc in 1204 and left it impoverished.
Istanbul is at its best from April to June and in September and Octobers. Temperatures are more moderate, the humidity lower and the crowds smaller than in summer.
Hagia Sophia is open to the public daily (except on Monday) from 9am-4pm. Admission is about US$5, with students getting in for half price.
Hagia Sophia ceased to be a church on May 29, 1453. On that day, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror entered the city, and late that afternoon rode to the church. He was so impressed by its beauty that he decided turn the structure into his imperial mosque.
Istanbul offers a great deal to visitors - history and culture, the scenic Bosphorus, and fabulous Tuskish culinary delicacies. But no trip to Istanbul is complete without a trip to the Church of Divine Wisdom.
Hagia Sophia is not only Constantinople's most famous landmarks, it is arguably one of the most famous buildings in the entire world. For over 900 years the current Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople. When the Ottomans captured the city they turned the building into a mosque. Minarets were added and the rich frescos were covered over (because of Islamic prohibitions against depicting human figures). Thus it remained for over 500 years until the Turkish government decided to turn it into a museum and tourist attraction in 1935.
Looking at the plan of Hagia Sophia above, one of the most immediate features is the fact that this is not a cruciform church, the standard design in much of the Christian West. This is, instead, a basilica based upon a centralized plan and which evolved from rectangular Roman architectural forms. The central floor measures 220 feet by 250 feet and the four arches around the nave are 70 feet high. Everything about the various elements is designed to draw the eye higher and higher, up to the dome and, presumably, heaven itself.
Aside from drawing upon Roman heritage, this particular plan is also dictated by the format of Greek Orthodox liturgy. For the sake of both dramatic and sacred effect, a wide open nave creates a stage where the patriarch and his priests can perform a public Mass for a congregation collected along the aisles. In Western churches, by contrast, the nave is where the congregation is gathered to watch the proceedings up front.
©2006 About, Inc
Why Visit Turkey: 43 Reasons...