It costs 20 Turkish Lira to enter. It used to be a church built during the
Bryzantine Empire to rival the churches in Rome. Later when Istanbul or Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, the Sultan ordered the building to be converted into a mosque.
Mihrab and minarets were added. It served as a model for of the mosques during the Ottoman period. A good example is just across the square where another great mosque was built called the Sultan Ahmed mosque or the Blue mosque. We also saw a similar one in Cairo.
The inside of the
Aya Sofia is really enormous.
It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by
Attaturk. Many books have been written on
Attaturk the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He was a great reformist but he was also responsible for almost completely destroying the Islamic heritage and faith in the country. Indeed Turkey became a secular state. Nonetheless, there have been a strong resurgence of Islam in the country over the last few decades.
It costs 20 Turkish Lira to enter. It used to be a church built during the Bryzantine Empire to rival the churches in Rome. Later when Istanbul or Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, the Sultan ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. Mihrab and minarets were added. It served as a model for of the mosques during the Ottoman period. A good example is just across the square where another great mosque was built called the Sultan Ahmed mosque or the Blue mosque. We also saw a similar one in Cairo.
The inside of the Aya Sofia is really enormous. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by Attaturk. Many books have been written on Attaturk the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He was a great reformist but he was also responsible for almost completely destroying the Islamic heritage and faith in the country. Indeed Turkey became a secular state. Nonetheless, there have been a strong resurgence of Islam in the country over the last few decades.
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