Istanbul, Turkey
Hagia Sophia
For nine hundred years the largest cathedral in the world — Justinian's dome, then a mosque, then a museum, then a mosque again.
Biblical significance
Completed in 537 in five years, the church of Holy Wisdom set the pattern for Byzantine architecture with a dome that appears to float on a ring of windows. It was the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch until 1453, hosted the mutual excommunications of 1054, and converted to a mosque after the Ottoman conquest. Byzantine mosaics of Christ Pantocrator and the Deesis survive alongside vast Ottoman calligraphic roundels.
Scripture
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Best time to go
Weekday mornings outside prayer times.
Visitor notes
Now a working mosque; entry is free but closed to visitors during prayers. Head covering required for women.
Coordinates
41.0086, 28.9802
On the map
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Getting to Hagia Sophia
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