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Imperial Door at Hagia Sophia

The Imperial Door to the main hall of the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya). In Byzantine times, only the emperor was allowed to pass through this doorway. 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.

Filename
Imperial Door at Hagia Sophia (3161112102717).tif
Copyright
© David Coleman
Image Size
2848x4288 / 69.9MB
havecamerawilltravel.com
Contained in galleries
Hagia Sophia / Istanbul, Turkey
The Imperial Door to the main hall of the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya). In Byzantine times, only the emperor was allowed to pass through this doorway. 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.