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The Eurasian city of Istanbul, Turkey has a rich history.
Its pivotal location on the Bosporus strait makes it a transcontinental city that links the east and west.
For this reason, it was an important capital to two great empiresthe Byzantine and the Ottoman.
Stock Photosfrom Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock
Remarkably, this legacy of different cultures and movements can still be seen throughout Istanbul today.
One of the best examples of this historical fusion is the architectural structure calledHagia Sophia.
Here, we explore the twists and turns of Hagia Sophia’s history.
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Explore the architectural history of the Hagia Sophia.
He requested high-quality marble from throughout his empire, and employed over ten thousand people for the project.
Almost six years later, on December 27, 537 CE, Justinian I inaugurated the new basilica.
The mathematical construction of the Hagia Sophia (Photo: P. Cikovac viaWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0)
Surprisingly, the golden mosaics were not destroyed during this process and were instead plastered overindirectly preserving them.
TheIslamic decorationswere kept in place, and several renovations were made to the interior.
Mosaic portrait of Justinian I (Photo: Petar Milošević viaWikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0)
Lithography of the Hagia Sophia, 1857 (Photo: Dmitry Makeev viaWikimedia Commons[Public Domain])
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