HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE

Hagia Sophia Mosque was used as a mosque during the Ottoman period and was later converted into a museum in 1935. It is one of the rare buildings built as a church and later converted into a mosque. Finally, it was reopened for worship on July 24, 2020 and became a mosque. In 1453, with the conquest of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque and Islamic elements were added to the structure. The first minaret was built in Hagia Sophia during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. This wooden minaret has not survived until today. Later, during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II, another minaret was added to the building.

 

Hagia Sophia and its dome were reinforced with buttresses and arches by Sinan the Architect during the reign of Selim II. A minaret, hünkar mahfili and Selim II's tomb were added to the building. In the 1600s, the mausoleums of Murat II and Mehmed III were added to the building. Murad III placed two Hellenistic "bektashi stone" jars from the ancient city of Pergamon in the main hall of the Hagia Sophia. Mahmud I added a library, a madrasah, an almshouse and a fountain to the building. Thus, Hagia Sophia turned into a complex.

 

Between 1847 and 1849, the Italian-born Fossati Brothers reinforced the dome, vaults and columns of the building and overhauled its interior and exterior decoration. They cleaned the mosaics on the upper floor and covered the badly damaged ones with plaster. They also painted the mosaic motifs underneath on this plaster. The giant round paintings with important names written in calligraphy, the work of Kazasker Mustafa İzzed Efendi, were renewed and hung on the columns.

 

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