Hagia Sophia Facts and ayasofya museum, aya sophia museum 2012

Hagia Sophia facts and ayasofya museum,ayasophia museum,byzantine hagia sophiachurch, Best Tour place in 2012

This is the World’s Top Best Beautiful Places to Visit Hagia Sophia, Turkey The latest Plane to visit
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All info about Sophia Hagia , Facts, History, Photos and great architectural
 Turkey audaciously straddles across Europe and Asia to develop a distinct culture that mirrors both West and East. It is a terrific land where European ambitions mesh harmoniously with Asian background and the capricious atmosphere of the Middle East blends itself effortlessly into the chilled-out façade of the Mediterranean world.
Night View Hagia Sophia City is top 10 city in the world



Hagia Sophia Latest image 2012

Where is Istanbul
One of the EU’s 2010 choices for European Capitals of Culture, Istanbul is a study in contradictions. Straddling the divide between Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a net of the Far East and Europe. You should visit for the wonderful incongruity of the ancient and the new — the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque and the Beyoglu nightclubs, and much, much more.
The Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia was choosen a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1985.

Rebuilt by the orders of Emperor Justinian in 537, for 900 years Hagia Sophia had been the center of Orthodox Christianity until 1453 when the city was concurred by Ottomans. 500 years following the conquest of Muslims, it became a jewel for the Muslim world and as the grand mosque of the sultans.

In 1935, Hagia Sophia had been converted into a museum of Turkish Republic by the orders of Ataturk, and became one of the most significant monuments not only in Turkey but on earth with its architecture and its historical richness.
                 160 years old secret Unearthed!
                                             
After 160 years of darkness, Seraphim's face is in daylight.
There are 4 seraphim mosaics ( God's protector angels with 6 wings) on the 4 pendentives that carry the dome. The 4 seraphims' faces were covered with 6-7 layers of plaster for almost 160 years during the sovereignty of Ottomans. The last person who saw the faces of the Seraphims was the Swiss architect Gaspare Fossati while he was holding the restoration at Hagia Sophia in 1840s. With a 10 day hard work, experts managed to take off the 7 layers of plasters and reveal the face of one of the seraphims.
             
The 16 years old scaffold that was standing on the southeast quarter of the dome for reconstruction purposes has been unstitched to be set up to northeast quarter.
The certain age of the mosaics is unclear however they are known to be older than 700 years.
Constantine's Church

Known as the “Great Church” or “Magna Ecclesia” in Latin, the first church was built at the same location where there had been a pagan temple before. It was Constantius II who inaugurated Hagia Sophia on 15 February 360. From the chronicles of Socrates of Constantinople, we know that the church was built by the orders of Constantine the Great.

This first church was a wooden-roofed basilica with a nave flanked by two or four aisles, each carrying a gallery storey. It was preceded by an atrium. This church was largely burned down in 404 during riots since patriarch John Chrysostom was sent into exile by the Emperor Arcadius.
Mosque

On 29 May 1453, The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet II, conquered Constantinople after a 54 day siege. He directly went to the ancient Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia. When he saw a man hacking the stones of the church and saying that this was a temple for infidels, Mehmet II ordered the looting to be stopped and the church to be converted into a mosque.

With the following years, Sultans added something to the building. Sultan Bayezid ordered a new minaret changing the previous one of his fathers’. In the 16th century, Suleiman the Magnificent brought two colossal candles from Hungary to be placed on both sides of the mihrab. To the end of the 16th century during the reign of Selim II, famous architect Sinan strengthened the building by adding structural supports to its exterior. He also built two minarets on the western end of the building and the mausoleum of Selim II to the southeast of the building. In 1600s, two mausoleums were added next to Selim II’s: Murad III and Mehmed III.

Two restorations were done in Hagia Sophia at the following years. In 1739, during the reign of Mahmud I, a medrese, a kitchen to distribute poor, and a library, and in 1740 a fountain for ritual ablutions were built.

Map:

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Names:	Hagia Sophia; Aya Sofya; Ayasofya; St. Sophia; Church of Holy Wisdom
Location:	Istanbul, Turkey
Faiths:	Original/Primary: Christianity Current/Secondary: Islam
Denomination:	Greek Orthodox
Dedication:	Holy Wisdom
Categories:	Cathedrals; Mosques; World Heritage Sites
Architecture:	Byzantine
Date:	532-37
Patron(s):	Justinian
Architect:	Isidore of Miletus; Anthemius of Tralles
Size:	Width: 230 ft (70 m) Height: 246 ft (75 m) Dome diameter: 102 ft (31 m)
Features:	Byzantine Mosaics
Status:	museum

Useful Links

Names:	Hagia Sophia; Aya Sofya; Ayasofya; St. Sophia; Church of Holy Wisdom
Location:	Istanbul, Turkey
Faiths:	Original/Primary: Christianity Current/Secondary: Islam
Denomination:	Greek Orthodox
Dedication:	Holy Wisdom
Categories:	Cathedrals; Mosques; World Heritage Sites
Architecture:	Byzantine
Date:	532-37
Patron(s):	Justinian
Architect:	Isidore of Miletus; Anthemius of Tralles
Size:	Width: 230 ft (70 m) Height: 246 ft (75 m) Dome diameter: 102 ft (31 m)
Features:	Byzantine Mosaics
Status:	museum

Useful Links:
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