The structure was originally built by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius in 360 AD, and at this time was known as Megale Ekklesia. However over the centuries, the building has become what we now see today, with the work having been done by Anthemios of Tralles and lsidoros of Miletos. During the period Hagia Sophia was built, construction was completed in a very short time, and it took only five years and 10 months to build, making it the fastest-completed cathedral in the world at that time.
When it was originally built as a cathedral in the 5th century, it was named Hagia Sophia. However, after the conquest of Constantinople, it was turned into a mosque, which required the addition of minarets. These minarets were designed and built by the famous architect ‘Mimar Sinan’, who was also responsible for much of the beautiful architecture seen throughout lstanbul and Turkey today.
ln 2020 the Hagia Sophia was again re-opened for worship, and is no longer a museum. lt is open to the public every day of the week except Mondays, and welcomes visitors between the hours of 9.00 – 19.00 in the summer season, and 9.00 – 17.00 during the winter months
Note:
The places we have mentioned as ‘favorites’ above are the most famous places of the historical peninsula of Istanbul. We strongly suggest they are places that visitors coming to Istanbul should definitely see and spend time at, and since our favorite places are within short walking-distance of each other, they are places that you should be able to visit comfortably in one day. If you are interested in shopping, traditional culture and fashion, you can spend more time in the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar, but while ‘strolling around Istanbul’ and visiting these places, don’t let your belongings weigh you down.
May we suggest therefore that you safely store your suitcases, belongings and shopping bags at ‘ Istanbul Luggage Storage ‘.
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