Hagia Sophia Mosque: A Symbol of Religious Heritage
Hagia Sophia Mosque Highlights
- It was in the mid-fifteenth century that the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, fell to the Ottomans, and the Hagia Sophia was overtaken by the Sultan.
- For the first time, Friday prayers were held in the structure, marking the former church as a mosque.
- The dilapidated Hagia Sophia underwent restoration and renovation under its new rulers. Christian symbols and relics were not removed but covered up, and Islamic symbols replaced them.
- Four minarets were added to the original architectural style in this period. Restorations in the mid- nineteenth century saw additions of huge medallions, Neo-Byzantine columns, and Ottoman marble.
- The Hagia Sophia Mosque was established as a museum by the modern secular Republic of Turkey in 1935. After 85 years as a museum, the Hagia Sophia was reconverted back into the Hagia Sophia Mosque in 2020.
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Hagia Sophia Mosque
- It was in 1453, after a millennium of Byzantine rule, that the Eastern Roman capital, Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman empire. Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, the Ottoman Sultan, ushered in a new era in the long history of Hagia Sophia when he performed the Friday prayers and read the khutbah inside the structure. This act marked the official conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
- The ancient structure was in ruins before the fall of Constantinople, and the ransack further damaged it. As the Hagia Sophia Mosque became the first imperial mosque of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmet ordered renovations and restorations to the structure, a phenomenon that lasted throughout the four centuries of Ottoman rule. Byzantine era mosaics and cultural-religious depictions were hidden with whitewash and plaster, and the structure was extensively strengthened to prevent collapse.
- The interiors of Hagia Sophia Mosque were renovated and re-adorned in a magnificent Ottoman style, where four large minarets and tombs of Ottoman Sultans were added to the architecture of the structure. Several additions to the ancient structure were made, like the Islamic mihrab, rostrum, and minbar, as well as a madrassa, imaret (public soup kitchen), and shadirvans (fountains for ritual ablutions), which transformed Hagia Sophia into a kulliye (social complex).
- The restorations of 1847-49 by Swiss-Italian architects under Sultan Abdulmejid I added eight gigantic medallions adorned with calligraphy, new chandeliers, Neo-Byzantine maqsuras, and Ottoman-Rococo style marble grills. A new entrance for the Sultan, a clock building, and the Kasr-i-Humayun were also constructed in this period.
Hagia Sophia was one of the greatest architectural marvels of its time and stands today as a unique amalgamation of Byzantine Christian and Islamic Ottoman traditions. In its long past as a church and a mosque, Hagia Sophia came to include aspects from both religious traditions and is a living testimony of the violently changing fate of its city, Istanbul. Architectural styles as old as the 6th century and as modern as the 19th century can be found in perfect harmony in the Hagia Sophia Mosque.The 20th century marked another turning point in Hagia Sophia Mosque history when the new Turkish republic declared it a museum as per its modernist secular approach. The museum was reconverted, after years of demands by the Turkish people, into the Hagia Sophia Mosque in 2020.
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Hagia Sophia Mosque
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FAQs for Hagia Sophia Mosque
Why was Hagia Sophia converted into a mosque?
Hagia Sophia was first converted into a mosque by the Ottomans after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Hagia Sophia had been a Byzantine Cathedral, which did not hold relevance in the new empire. Hence, it was turned into a mosque as per the religious beliefs of the city’s new inhabitants. After many centuries of being an Ottoman mosque, the structure was converted into a museum in 1934 by modern Turkey. In 2020, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque for the second time in its history as per the demands of the Turkish people, who had been asking for rights to pray at the ancient structure.
How did the Ottomans change the Hagia Sophia?
The Ottomans transformed the Hagia Sophia into Istanbul’s first imperial mosque and one of the world’s most stunning monuments. They strengthened and beautified the structure with their engineering, innovation and art. Several architectural elements were added, and the interiors were livened up with traditional Ottoman calligraphy, mosaics, tiles, and much more. From a dilapidated ancient church, the Ottomans changed the Hagia Sophia into a living heritage structure that showcases Byzantine and Ottoman art and architectural styles.
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What was the Hagia Sophia used for?
The Hagia Sophia was originally constructed as a church and was the world’s largest cathedral for a millennium. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into Istanbul’s first imperial mosque under the Ottomans. Then, in 1934, it was declared a memorial museum and became one of the world’s most visited destinations. It currently functions as a mosque again, after being reconverted in 2020.
Why is the Hagia Sophia so important?
Hagia Sophia was a hub of religious, artistic, and political life under two great empires, the Byzantines and the Ottomans. As the central feature of both empires, Hagia Sophia was greatly influenced by the developments and changes that occurred throughout their long histories. Hagia Sophia is covered by historians, art historians, architects and scholars alike for its significant position in the art and cultural history of the last 1,500 years. It also holds religious and spiritual importance to the followers of the two religions that had Hagia Sophia as their crucial symbol for centuries.
Who destroyed the Hagia Sophia?
The Hagia Sophia was destroyed not by humans, but by natural disasters. It has been damaged by several earthquakes and fires over the centuries.
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Who built the Hagia Sophia and why?
The Hagia Sophia was constructed by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. The site where it stands had an old church that burnt down in a massive fire, prompting the Emperor to rebuild a magnificent cathedral at the same site.
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