Explore Aya Sofya with Istanbul Family Holiday Packages

Your visit to the Turkish city of Istanbul won't be considered complete without a visit to Aya Sofya or Hagia Sophia, which is a brilliant example of the Byzantine architecture. Now a museum, it was a former cathedral and has also been an Ottoman imperial mosque. When it was first built, it was the largest building in the world and was believed to be an engineering marvel of those times that changed the history of architecture. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, said on the 24th of March, 2019 that the structure might be converted to a mosque once again.

Upon booking one of the Istanbul family holiday packages, you'll get to visit this magnificent structure. It was first built as a church known as 'Magna Ecclesia' or the 'Great Church' owing to its larger dimensions compared to the existing churches in the city. The Arian bishop called 'Eudoxius of Antioch' inaugurated it in the year 360. Until the completion of the Great Church's construction, the Hagia Eirene church located nearby served as a cathedral. After the Great Church was completed, both these churches became the Byzantine Empire's principal churches. However, the first church was burned down during the riots that took place after Empress Aelia Eudoxia was exiled in the year 404.

The history of the structure you'll get to know during your Istanbul holidays further states that a second church was built on the site by the Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius II and inaugurated in 415. Architect Rufinus had built the basilica using a wooden roof. During the Nika Revolt, the second Hagia Sophia was also burned to the ground in the year 532. Many of the marble blocks that were used in the construction of the second church have survived to the present day. They have been kept in an excavation pit near the entrance of the museum after their discovery in 1935.

After the second destruction of the cathedral, a third and entirely different one was built by the Eastern Roman Emperor, Justinian I. Columns and marbles for its construction were brought from various parts of the Roman Empire spread throughout the Mediterranean region. Over ten thousand workers were employed for constructing the third cathedral. Although Justinian I had inaugurated the new basilica in 537, the mosaics inside the building could be completed only under the reign of the next Emperor, Justin II. During your Istanbul holidays, you’ll also get to know that the church survived many earthquakes and conquests before its conversion into a mosque by the Ottomans who captured Constantinople, the former name of Istanbul.

In the year 1935, the building was transformed into a museum on the orders of the first president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. As the condition of the structure had deteriorated to a great extent, major restoration works were done with the help of grants from the World Monuments Fund. The restoration project was completed in 2006. Today, it is the second most visited museums in the country with more than 3 million individuals visiting every year.

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