Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi)
Originally commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and consecrated in 537 AD, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) redefined architectural history with its revolutionary suspended pendentive dome, soaring 55 meters above the marble nave. For almost a millennium, it was the largest cathedral in Christendom before being converted into an imperial mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmed II following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. Inside, visitors are awed by the sublime harmony of monumental Islamic calligraphy medallions painted by master calligrapher Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi juxtaposed against radiant Christian mosaics of gold and glass smalti. The building stands as an immortal witness to the meeting of East and West, crowned by massive monolithic marble columns imported from ancient temples in Baalbek and Ephesus, and illuminated by amber light piercing through forty arched perimeter dome windows.
“A world-renowned masterpiece of Byzantine engineering and Ottoman devotion, reigning over the Istanbul skyline for nearly fifteen centuries.”
— Tourism Compass Heritage Committee