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Aya Sofya interior with tourists

Originally built as a Christian cathedral, then converted to a Muslim mosque in the 15th century, and now a museum (since 1935), the Hagia Sophia is one of the oldest and grandest buildings in Istanbul. For a thousand years, it was the largest cathedral in the world and is regarded as the crowning achievement of Byzantine architecture.

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Aya Sofya interior with tourists (3161112101900).tif
Copyright
© David Coleman
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4288x2848 / 69.9MB
Contained in galleries
Hagia Sophia / Istanbul, Turkey, Istanbul / Turkey | Photos, Mosques of Istanbul / Turkey | Photos
Originally built as a Christian cathedral, then converted to a Muslim mosque in the 15th century, and now a museum (since 1935), the Hagia Sophia is one of the oldest and grandest buildings in Istanbul. For a thousand years, it was the largest cathedral in the world and is regarded as the crowning achievement of Byzantine architecture.