Hagia Sophia, located in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the most iconic spiritual and architectural wonders of the world, with a history spanning over 1,500 years.
When I started making plans for my first visit to Turkiye (the correct name for Turkey), the place I most wanted to see was Hagia Sophia. For anyone interested in religious history, this is one of the most fascinating spiritual sanctuaries in the world. After being built as a Christian cathedral, it later became a mosque, followed by a museum, and since 2020 has once again become a mosque.
A Storied History
Imagine that you are an ordinary person in the sixth century, someone who lives in a modest dwelling and who has never been in a building taller than a couple of stories. Then one day you enter a new church constructed by the emperor, a place so resplendent, so opulent, and so huge that you can hardly believe it is real.
As you walk through its massive doors, you enter into an interior that glitters with mosaics, icons, holy relics, and colored marble, all lit by thousands of flickering candles and lamps. And then you look up and see a perfectly shaped dome far above you, a dome that seems to float as if suspended on strings from the heavens.
Even wealthy ambassadors from Kiev could hardly believe that such a place existed. In a report sent back to their prince, they wrote this: “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty…We cannot describe it, but this much we can say: there God dwells among mankind.”
So perhaps the Byzantine Emperor Justinian should be forgiven the hubris of his claim after the church was completed: “Solomon, I have surpassed you!”
Built on the remains of two previous churches by the most skilled artisans and laborers of the empire, this sanctuary, the Church of Holy Wisdom, was the foremost wonder of the Byzantine world. Completed in AD 537, it was here that emperors were crowned and the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils met to chart the theological course of Christianity.
For nearly a thousand years, Hagia Sophia served as the principal church of Eastern Christianity and the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople. It witnessed the splendor of the Byzantine Empire and endured periods of turmoil, including the Fourth Crusade, during which it was temporarily converted into a Roman Catholic cathedral.
Its massive central dome, seemingly suspended from the heavens, was a revolutionary engineering feat of its time, embodying the ingenuity of Byzantine architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus.
In 1453, following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. Its holy relics were removed, inscriptions from the Quran were painted on the interior of its great dome, and four minarets were built around its exterior. In the mid-nineteenth century, six large discs bearing the names of God, Muhammad, and the first caliphs and imams were added to its interior, completing the building’s unique blending of the iconography of two faiths.
In 1935, under the secular reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a museum, symbolizing Turkey’s commitment to cultural and religious inclusivity. For decades, it attracted millions of visitors, showcasing both its Christian and Islamic heritage.
In 2020, Hagia Sophia was reconverted into a mosque by Turkiye’s government. Today, while it serves as an active place of worship, it remains open to visitors of all faiths, standing as a testament to Istanbul’s rich and complex history at the crossroads of civilizations.
A Fusion of Faiths
Hagia Sophia actually includes traditions even older than Christianity and Islam, for its interior pillars are said to have been taken from pagan temples throughout the ancient world, including the great Temple to Artemis at Ephesus. (It is a building so old that it contains graffiti done by the Vikings.)
Today Hagia Sophia is celebrated as a masterpiece of architectural and artistic innovation, blending Byzantine and Ottoman styles into a cohesive and awe-inspiring whole. Despite functioning as a mosque, its interior is adorned with intricate mosaics depicting Christian figures, such as Christ Pantocrator and the Virgin Mary, crafted with shimmering gold and vibrant tesserae, reflecting divine light in a transcendent display. More on the Golden Treasures of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a building in need of constant repair, with perpetually peeling plaster and acres of cracked marble. But when I think back to my two visits to Hagia Sophia, the image that comes to my mind is the glow of burnished gold. Hagia Sophia reminds me of a once beautiful woman whose face is now ravaged by age, but whose loveliness is still mesmerizing.
Lori Erickson is one of America’s top travel writers specializing in spiritual journeys. She’s the author of books that include Holy Rover, Near the Exit, The Soul of the Family Tree, and Every Step Is Home. Her website Spiritual Travels features holy sites around the world.
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