Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Hagia Sophia: Secrets of the 1,600-year-old megastructure that has
survived the collapse of empires
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was a
continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, lasting from 330 CE to 1453 CE.
Its capital was Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, which was founded by
Emperor Constantine. The Byzantines developed their own distinct cultural and
religious practices, including Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Greek became the
official language, and the Byzantine Empire preserved and developed aspects of
Greco-Roman culture. Hagia Sophia, meaning holy wisdom in Greek, is a
significant historical and architectural site built in 537 CE in Constantinople.
It had been the hub of Orthodox Christianity and the last standing symbol of
the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Subsequently,
the holly church was converted into a Sunni Muslim mosque, and minarets were
added. In 1935, Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum by Atatürk, the
founder and the first President of modern Turkey, but in 2020, it was re-converted
into a mosque. Only the second floor is now serving as a museum where tourists
can enjoy seeing and feeling the magnificent architecture and artworks that
represent the long history of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire, and the
religious conversion from Christianity to Islam.
Read the article and see the photos to learn about one of the most significant
architectural sites in Istanbul, Turkey.
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