Discover Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul Turkey
Earlier two cathedrals stood on a place of the Hagias Sophia, both of them devastated by fire. The building that stands here nowadays was built by the Emperor Justinian. It was he who gave it the name “divine wisdom” or Hagias Sophia in Turkish. The foundation stone was laid down one month after the second fire. Ten thousand people worked on this huge construction for five years. For 916 years it was the biggest temple of the Byzantine capital.
Following the conquest of Constantinople, for 482 years it served as a Muslim journey then after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, the former and ever popular president pronounce at the museum. These days the Hagias Sophia glitters in all its splendor. Some mosaics inconsistent with the teaching of Islam are covered with canvases.
Carpets are laid down in the direction of Mecca. There are Koran reading desks and the prayer cabin is sank into the wall of the sanctuary. The names of the Islamic Saints are written on 7-1/2 meter wooden plates with golden letters in a green background.
With the floral space of 7570 square meters is the fourth largest ecclesiastical building in the world after the Saint Peter’s Basilica, The Cathedral of Seville and the Milan Dome but it’s older than any of them. Above the passage leading to the hall of the museum there are famous golden mosaics from the 10th century. One of them depicts Mary holding the child Jesus, on her right the Emperor Constantine, on her left the emperor Justinian who’s holding the miniature of Hagias Sophia in his hand.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services