Hagia Sophia Turkey

Legendary

Built in 537, it remained the world's largest cathedral for almost 1000 years.

Photo by Pedro Szekely

When the building was finished, Emperor Justinian is said to have walked inside, looked up, and declared that he had outdone Solomon. He was comparing his new church to the legendary temple in Jerusalem.

The building went up between 532 and 537, which is astonishingly fast for something this size. Around 10,000 workers were involved, and it was consecrated on 27 December 537.

Two mathematicians designed it rather than traditional architects. Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus were geometry experts, which shows in the building's daring shape.

The dome is the reason people still stare. It's about 30 metres across and sits on curved supports in the corners, so from below it looks like it's floating rather than resting on anything.

That dome was too ambitious at first. Earthquakes brought part of it down, and it was rebuilt higher and stronger by 562.

For nearly a thousand years, Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world. It only lost the title when Seville Cathedral in Spain was completed in 1520.

Everything changed in 1453, when Ottoman forces led by Sultan Mehmed II captured the city. He ordered the building converted into a mosque.

Four minarets were added, the tall slim towers used to call people to prayer. Different sultans added them over the following century, and one had to be rebuilt after an earthquake knocked it down.

Inside, a prayer niche pointing toward Mecca was installed, and the Christian mosaics were covered over with plaster. That plaster accidentally protected them for centuries.

The building's role kept changing. It became a museum in 1935, and then a working mosque again in 2020.

Stand directly under the centre of the dome and look straight up, which is the view Justinian was so proud of. Look for the surviving Byzantine mosaics uncovered from beneath the plaster. Notice the huge round panels with Arabic calligraphy hanging beside them, two religions' artwork sharing one room.