32 Facts About Hagia Sophia

The Byzantine architecture of the Hagia Sophia served as inspiration for many other religious buildings including the Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki, Panagia Ekatontapiliani, the Sehzade Mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque and the Kilic Ali Pasha Complex.

The 1934 decree was ruled to be unlawful under both Ottoman and Turkish law as Hagia Sophia's waqf, endowed by Sultan Mehmed, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan.

Fragments of a frieze of reliefs with 12 lambs representing the 12 apostles remain; unlike Justinian's 6th-century church, the Theodosian Hagia Sophia had both colourful floor mosaics and external decorative sculpture.

Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and a principal setting for Byzantine imperial ceremonies, such as coronations.

Hagia Sophia entrusted it to Isidorus the Younger, nephew of Isidore of Miletus, who used lighter materials.

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Hagia Sophia erected again and reinforced the fallen dome arch, and rebuilt the west side of the dome with 15 dome ribs.

Choniates reports that in 1182, a white hawk wearing jesses was seen to fly from the east to Hagia Sophia, flying three times from the "building of the Thomaites" to the Palace of the Kathisma in the Great Palace, where new emperors were acclaimed.

Hagia Sophia adds that mules and donkeys were brought into the cathedral's sanctuary to carry away the gilded silver plating of the bema, the ambo, and the doors and other furnishings, and that one of them slipped on the marble floor and was accidentally disembowelled, further contaminating the place.

Hagia Sophia is mentioned in a hagiography of uncertain date detailing the life of the fictional saint Andrew the Fool.

In 2014, Hagia Sophia was the second most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.

In October 2016, Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs appointed, for the first time in 81 years, a designated imam, Onder Soy, to the Hagia Sophia mosque, located at the Hunkar Kasri, a pavilion for the sultans' private ablutions.

On 13 May 2017, a large group of people, organized by the Anatolia Youth Association, gathered in front of Hagia Sophia and prayed the morning prayer with a call for the re-conversion of the museum into a mosque.

Ali Babacan attacked the policy of his former ally Erdogan, saying the Hagia Sophia issue "has come to the agenda now only to cover up other problems".

Hagia Sophia said that Turkey had sovereign power over Hagia Sophia and was thus not subject to international restrictions.

The proposed conversion was decried by other Orthodox Christian leaders, the Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill of Moscow stating that "a threat to Hagia Sophia [wa]s a threat to all of Christian civilization".

Hagia Sophia further criticized the government of Cyprus, claiming that "the Greek Cypriot administration, who burned down our mosques, should not have a say in this".

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture.

Dome of Hagia Sophia has spurred particular interest for many art historians, architects, and engineers because of the innovative way the original architects envisioned it.

The main dome of the Hagia Sophia was the largest pendentive dome in the world until the completion of St Peter's Basilica, and it has a much lower height than any other dome of such a large diameter.

Hagia Sophia is famous for the light that reflects everywhere in the interior of the nave, giving the dome the appearance of hovering above.

Marble Door inside the Hagia Sophia is located in the southern upper enclosure or gallery.

The Fossatis' drawings of the Hagia Sophia mosaics are today kept in the Archive of the Canton of Ticino.

Hagia Sophia has been a victim of natural disasters that have caused deterioration to the buildings structure and walls.

Unlike most of the other mosaics in Hagia Sophia, which had been covered over by ordinary plaster, the Alexander mosaic was simply painted over and reflected the surrounding mosaic patterns and thus was well hidden.

Hagia Sophia is flanked by Constantine IX Monomachus and Empress Zoe, both in ceremonial costumes.

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Hagia Sophia is offering a purse, as a symbol of donation, he made to the church, while she is holding a scroll, symbol of the donations she made.

Hagia Sophia gives his blessing with his right hand while holding a scroll in his left hand.

Hagia Sophia holds a purse, symbol of an imperial donation to the church.

Hagia Sophia is shown as a beardless youth, probably representing his appearance at his coronation aged seventeen.

Several mosques commissioned by the Ottoman dynasty have similar measurements to the Hagia Sophia, including the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Bayezid II Mosque.

Neo-Byzantine churches modeled on the Hagia Sophia include the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sibiu and Poti Cathedral which closely replicate the internal geometry of the Hagia Sophia.

Synagogues based on the Hagia Sophia include the Congregation Emanu-El, Great Synagogue of Florence, and Hurva Synagogue.