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The Church, The Mosque, The Museum
Istanbul’s cultural, architectural and tourist icon and its symbol that treasures the civilizations and historical stages of this city, Hagia Sophia, “the sacred wisdom in Greek” is the church, the mosque, the museum, and finally the mosque located in the Fatih area next to the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
In 360 AD, during the reign of Constantius II, he built what was known as the Great Church on the ruins of an ancient Greek temple.
This existing building that we see did not appear until after a fire that struck it, so Emperor Austinianus II ordered to build it what he wanted as a religious edifice unparalleled in the Christian world at that time and a symbol of the strength of the Eastern Roman state at the time, so it was opened in 537 AD after 5 years of work.
“It is a beautiful and important monument and an international, intercultural treasure…Unless and until it can be shared by both religions in harmony–which would be a grand idea–it should remain a secular building honoring both religions who have made it beautiful.”
Ljubo Vujovic
The Hagia Sophia Mosque combines with its external and internal details such as arches, icons, columns and spaces from the essence of Byzantine architecture.
For 916 years, Hagia Sophia remained the official church of the Christian state, with the exception of 6 decades during which it was converted by the crucifixes to the Catholic Church.
And when God’s conquest and his clear victory came, and God Almighty willed the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Muhammed the Conqueror entered it opening and with the good news of the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in May 29, 1453 AD
It was named after that Islam Paul to be the strong symbol of his state and raise the call to prayer at times for Muslims to establish their prayers in it after buying it from his own money to register it in his name and stop it for all Muslims according to the fixed historical ownership documents, thus preserving the historical architectural features that have remained to this day.
During the reign of Sultan Selim II, the famous architect, Sinan Pasha, was charged with the restoration that saved the building from the apparent wear and tear on it at that time and strengthened its structure preserving all its ancient details, as he blended Byzantine architecture with Ottoman, Eastern, Western, Islamic and Christian in a wonderful and unique harmony, as he added two minarets from the side. western
And since the great conquest of Istanbul until 481 years ago, the Hagia Sophia remained one of the most important mosques in Istanbul, until 1935, a decision was made to turn it into a museum that includes Islamic and Christian monuments.
Thus, until 10/07/2020, a decision was taken by the State Council in Turkey regarding the Hagia Sophia to permanently turn it into a mosque, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decision directed to the Presidency of Religious Affairs to quickly implement the court’s decision on the same date announced.