Haghia Sophia was the cathedral of Byzantine Constantinople for over a thousand years. It is the third church that was built on the grounds and was build during the reign of Justinian (6th century CE). It is believed that upon seeing Haghia Sophia Justinian exclaimed "Solomon, I have outdone thee!"
As you can see the weather was nearly perfect while we visited and because of this, the city was also very crowded. We made a wise decision when we arrived in Istanbul by purchasing the Istanbulkart which allowed us to bypass all of the entrance lines.
Following the Ottoman Conquest the church was turned into a mosque and served in this capacity for over five centuries. When this took place most of the Byzantine mosaics were plastered over and remained that way until 1932 when workers from the Byzantine Institute uncovered them in preparation for the 1934 deconsecration when Haghia Sophia was turned into a museum.
As you can see the weather was nearly perfect while we visited and because of this, the city was also very crowded. We made a wise decision when we arrived in Istanbul by purchasing the Istanbulkart which allowed us to bypass all of the entrance lines.
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