Aya Sophia

Aya Sophia Istanbul (church, mosque and museum) located in The European side of Istanbul in Sultanahmet Square near Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the green garden and the fountain, in addition to its proximity to the Topkapi Palace

Aya Sophia overlooks with its majestic dome over the Bosphorus strait, lofty  with its minarets that get along with the minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, which corresponds to it with its pink color, holds between its walls and inside many stories and stories . 

 It was first established as a church in 532 by the Roman emperor Justinian, where it took 5 years  to build, Aya Sofia, still one of the oldest and most famous Christian churches, in Istanbul for about 915 years, until it turned into a mosque after the Ottomans opened the city of Constantinople. 

  After the conquest of Constantinople, the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih transformed Aya Sophia into a mosque in 1453 CE. The structure of Aya Sophia Mosque was strengthened and maintained as a mosque with additions during the rule of the Ottoman Empire

The building of Aya  Sophia Mosque, which suffered a lot from earthquakes, was built during the period of the Ottoman Empire. Who they added to Aya Sophia  the mosques and platforms, in addition to a room for the muezzin The bronze lamps were placed on both sides of the mihrab by Sultan Suleiman the Great  .

Sultan Mehmed al-Fatih  built in the North Aya Sophia  a School, and the calligrapher Kadaskarm Mustafa Mustafa Izzat Effendi wrote the largest font of Arabic calligraphy paintings in the Islamic world on the walls of the main space of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which contains the word Majesty , the name of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in addition to the names  Caliphs Alrashidin 

He also wrote a verse from Surah al-Nur in the center of the dome, and the Aya Sophia mosque remained one of the most important mosques of Istanbul for about 480 throughout the period of the Ottoman Empire's rule, then it turned into a museum in 1934 during the founding of the Turkish state

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Turkish state, the founder of the Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, by order of him and by a decision of the Council of Ministers, transformed the Hagia Sophia Mosque into a historical museum that contains Christian and Islamic decorations and artifacts, as it became one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Istanbul and in the world.   

 Aya Sophia Museum has combined Islamic and Christian civilization in one place

Aya Sophia Museum and Mosque, which means Aya Sophia (the Holy Wisdom).  You can enter the Hagia Sophia building is from nine doors. A tall dome with a height of about 55 meters has been built on four pillars with a height of about 24 meters.

The outer section of the mosque is covered with a white, green, pink and yellow marble stones extracted from all over the world. As for the surface of the mosque, it is covered with mosaics.

The Ottoman calligraphers wrote calluses and inscriptions on the walls of the building

The external section of Aya Sophia contains an elementary school and a school of Al-Fateh, a waterfall and faucets for ablution, minarets, building a treasury, a house for the poor in addition to the tombs and graves of the sultans

The interior section of Aya Sophia contains mosaic paintings and drawings, calligraphy paintings, the central dome, tiles in Aya Sophia, the Sultan's Chamber, the muezzin room, the mihrab, minbar, the Emperor's Gate, Mahmoud I's library, the marble jars and some other sections.

Aya Sophia Museum also has many Islamic motifs, such as the word “Majesty” (may God’s Majesty is great), the name of the Prophet Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and Christian icons above the roof, such as the icon of the Virgin Mary

When the visitor will  enter the Hagia Sophia Museum, he  feel awe and greatness from the sanctity of this place and the luxury of the building