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INFORMATION > Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia, arguably the most important historical building in the history of Christianity, is actually the third church to bear the same name standing on its present day site in Istanbul. The original church was begun in the time of Constantine I, the founder of this city as the greatest metropolis of its time and it was remodelled during Theodosious II's reign. After the Hagia Sophia of Theodosious II had been destroyed during the Nika revolts of 532, Justinian employed the two greatest architects of the time Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus for the construction of a church whose dimensions and grandeur was unprecedented in the world. It was converted into a mosque by Mehmet the Conquerer right after the conquest of the city and it continued to serve as a pivotal religious building during the Ottoman centuries. After close to 500 years of its afterlife as a mosque, Hagia Sophia was closed in 1932 to be reopened as a museum two years after.
