Hagia Sophia Kebir Mosque Sheriff

Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque is among the most important monuments in the history of world architecture that have survived until today.

Structure; It has an important place in the art world with its architecture, magnificence, size and functionality.

This magnificent work is the largest church built by the Eastern Roman Empire in Istanbul and was built three times in the same place. It was called the Megale Ekklesia (Great Church) when it was first built, and it was called the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) from the 5th century until the conquest of Istanbul. Megale Ekklesia, which was built by Emperor Konstantios in 360 and Emperor II. The church, which Theodosis rebuilt in 415, was destroyed in the popular uprisings.

Today's Ayasofya-i Kebir Mosque was built by the Emperor Justinian, two important architects of the period, Anthemios from Tralles (Aydın) and Isidoros from Miletos (Balat).

It is understood from the records that one hundred architects working with two chief architects and one hundred workers under each architect completed the construction of the building in a short period of 5 years and 10 months.

The building, which was open to worship as a church for 916 years, was converted into a mosque when Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered Istanbul in 1453.

Right after the conquest, the building was strengthened and preserved in the best way and continued its existence as a mosque with the additions of the Ottoman Period.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, mihrabs, pulpit, muezzin chambers, sermon pulpit and maksures were added to the mosque.

The minarets, madrasah, primary school, timetable, fountain, fountains, sundials, board of trustees and the Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque, which were built outside the building in different periods, were transformed into a complex structure during the Ottoman Period.

Hagia Sophia-i Kebir Mosque was converted into a museum in 1934 and served as a museum until 2020. In 2020, it gained the status of a mosque again.