The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom”, is an enormous architectural marvel in Istanbul, Turkey.
The original church on the site of the Hagia Sophia is said to have been ordered to be built by Constantine I in 325 . His son, Byzantine Emperor Constantius II, consecrated it in 360. At the time of the first church’s construction, Istanbul was known as Constantinople, taking its name from Constantius’ father, Constantine I, the first ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
The first Hagia Sophia featured a wooden roof. The structure was burned to the ground in 404 A.D, during the riots that occurred in Constantinople as a result of political conflicts within the family of then-Emperor Arkadios, who had a tumultuous reign from 395 to 408 A.D.
Arkadios’ successor, Emperor Theodosios II, rebuilt the Hagia Sophia, and the new structure was completed in 415. The structure was burned for a second time during the “Nika revolts” against Emperor Justinian I, who ruled from 527 to 565. Unable to repair the damage caused by the fire, Justinian ordered the demolition of the Hagia Sophia in 532 and ordered to bulit a new basilica. The third Hagia Sophia was completed in 537, and it remains standing today.
As Greek Orthodox was the official religion of the Byzantines, the Hagia Sophia was considered the central church of the faith, and it thus became the place where new emperors were crowned.
It remained in Byzantine hands for centuries apart from a brief moment in 1204 when Crusaders raided the city. The Hagia Sophia was severely damaged during this period, but was repaired when the Byzantines once again took control of the surrounding city
In 1453, in a devastating blow to the Byzantines, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinopl (now formerly known as Istanbul) and the victorious conqueror performed Friday prayers inside Hagia Sophia
The Ottomans soon converted the building into a mosque, adding four minarets to the exterior and covering ornate Christian icons and gold mosaics with panels of Arabic religious calligraphy
After centuries at the heart of the Muslim Ottoman empire, it was turned into a museum in 1934 in a drive to make Turkey more secular. Hagia Sophia is Turkey’s most popular tourist site, attracting more than 3.7 million visitors a year.
Now Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has formally reconverted Istanbul’s iconic sixth-century Hagia Sophia into a mosque and declared it open to Muslim worship.
The decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia sparked deep dismay among Orthodox Christians. There are also questions regarding the future of the monument’s World Heritage status. The Hagia Sophia is part of the “Historic Areas of Istanbul” property inscribed on the World Heritage List, and as part of that property the monument is specifically designated as a museum. Under the World Heritage charter, any modification of the building’s status requires prior notification by Turkey to UNESCO and then, if necessary, examination by the World Heritage Committee.
UNESCO said its World Heritage Committee would review Hagia Sophia’s status. The United Nations’ cultural body said the decision raised questions about the impact on its universal value as a site of importance transcending borders and generations, which is necessary to be included on its coveted list of World Heritage sites.
The United States, Russia and church leaders express concern about changing the status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Greece’s Culture Ministry described the court decision as an “open provocation” to the civilised world, saying it would have repercussions not only on relations between the two countries, but on Turkey’s ties with the European Union.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and based in Istanbul, said converting it into a mosque would disappoint Christians and would “fracture” East and West.