Agia Sophia

Hagia Sophia
Ayasofya (Turkish)
Αγία Σοφία (Greek)
Sancta Sophia (Latin)

A view of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Location in Istanbul
Coordinates	41°00′31″N 28°58′48″E / 41.0085°N 28.9799°E / 41.0085; 28.9799Coordinates: 41°00′31″N 28°58′48″E / 41.0085°N 28.9799°E / 41.0085; 28.9799
Location	Istanbul (historically Constantinople), Turkey
Designer	Isidore of Miletus Anthemius of Tralles
Type	Christian Church Cathedral (537–1054) Greek Orthodox Cathedral (1054–1204) Roman Catholic Cathedral (1204–1261) Greek Orthodox Cathedral (1261–1453) Imperial Mosque (1453–1931) Museum(1935–present)
Material	Ashlar, brick
Length	82 m (269 ft)
Width	73 m (240 ft)
Height	55 m (180 ft)
Beginning date	532
Completion date	537; 1480 years ago (537)

External image

360° panoramic view (virtual tour)

Hagia Sophia (/ˈhɑːɡiə soʊˈfiːə/; from the Greek: Αγία Σοφία, pronounced [aˈʝia soˈfia], "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia; Turkish: Ayasofya) was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica (church), later an imperial mosque, and now a museum (Ayasofya Müzesi) in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 AD, and until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was later converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". It remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.