Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya; Ancient Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, romanized: Hagía Sophía; Latin: Sancta Sapientia; lit.'Holy Wisdom'), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi; See more

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Its interior is decorated with mosaics See more

Originally, under Justinian's reign, the interior decorations consisted of abstract designs on marble slabs on the walls and floors as well as mosaics on the curving vaults. Of these mosaics, the two archangels Gabriel and Michael are still visible in the See more

Many buildings have been modeled on the Hagia Sophia's core structure of a large central dome resting on pendentives and buttressed by two … See more

Church of Constantius II
The first church on the site was known as the Magna Ecclesia (Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, Megálē Ekklēsíā, 'Great Church') because of its size compared … See more

The first mosaics which adorned the church were completed during the reign of Justin II. Many of the non-figurative mosaics in the church come from this period. Most of the … See more

• Selim II (1524–15 December 1574)
• Murad III 1546–1595
• Mustafa I (c. 1600–20 January 1639), in the courtyard.
• See more