Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

Hagia Sophia had been built three times on the same site.
The first building of Hagia Sophia, known as the Great Church, was opened in 360 AD during the reign of Constantine II. However, it was nearly destroyed by a fire that broke out during a rebellion in 404 AD, and no remains of the original structure survived to this day.
The second building of Hagia Sophia was built by Theodosius II on the ruins of the original structure and opened for worship in 415 AD. This structure was also planned to be a basilica and was built with a wooden roof. However, during the Nika Revolt against Justinian I in 532 AD, Hagia Sophia was once again burned and destroyed.
Completed in 537 as the Patriarchal Cathedral planned as a basilica, the building was converted into a mosque by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror after the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453.
During the Ottoman period, minarets, a mihrab, a minbar and a maqsurah were added to the structure as it was converted into a mosque from a church form.
Its status as a mosque was removed in 1935 and became a museum.
In 2020, Hagia Sophia became a mosque again.

It is one of the most important buildings where Byzantine and Ottoman architectures were synthesized.
The building has one of the largests domes ever built.
The interior is decorated with mosaics depicting Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and Christian saints.
It also contains prominent examples of the Islamic art which were added during the Ottoman era.