Hagia Sophia Museum and Square
Hagia Sophia, which was built as a cathedral in 537 at the request of Byzantine Emperor Justinian, continued to perform its house of worship duty as a mosque with the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 by Fatih Sultan Mehmed, but was transformed into museum in 1934, maintains its silent wait with its magnificent history exceeding 1500 years.
The columns and marbles used in the construction of Hagia Sophia were brought from the ancient cities in Anatolia and Syria such as Aspendos, Ephesos, Baalbek and Tarsus. Buttresses were made both in the East-Rome and Ottoman Period for supporting the building that was damaged from various earthquakes as from the building date. In addition, minarets built by Sinan the Architect function as supporting buttress. 8 calligraphic panes written by the calligraphist qadi'asker Mustafa İzzet Effendi were put on the walls of the place containing the writings of "Allah, Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Hasan and Husayn. Hagia Sophia, which is the home of these splendid artworks known as the largest calligraphic panes of the Islamic World, is registered in the name of Hagia Sophia Mosque consisting of Burial Place, Rented Out Property, Timing Room and Madrasa on behalf of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Foundation on the sheet number 57, plot number 57, parcel no. 7.
