Hagia Sophia Turkey Research Paper 2022

Running head: HAGIA SOPHIA
HAGIA SOPHIA
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1HAGIA SOPHIA
The Hagia Sophia is a former “Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral which
was later transformed into an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum” located in
present day beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey. In around 1,500 years ago, as mentioned earlier
Hagia Sophia was originally constructed as a Christian Church (Eastmond 283- 297). The
artistic feature, beautiful architecture and the various international policies can be connected
with Hagia Sophia. The main focus in the following paper will be on the analysis of the
historic and cultural background of the Hagia Sophia. In addition, the different artistic and
decorative features of Hagia Sophia were also analyzed.
Talking about the historic background significance of the building of Hagia Sophia,
it can be said that Hagia Sophia represents an “indisputable symbol of Christianity” which
was present within the ancient Roman Empire. The fact that Hagia Sophia was constructed
within a short period of six years is also worth mentioning.
Hagia Sophia also holds a rich cultural history and background. As mentioned
earlier, Hagia Sophia which was initially build as an “orthodox church” but was later
converted into a mosque by the Ottoman Empire. Many Christian Mosaic who were initially
there in the Hagia Sophia buildings are still present even after the fact that the after the
possession of the building, the Ottoman remove all the symbols related to Christianity. Thus
Hagia Sophia also stands for cultural fusion between the East and West. Hagia Sophia even
till the present day, represent an amalgamation between the eastern and the western cultures.
Hagia Sophia also stands for rich religious background. In the year 537, in the
month of December dated 27th, the first religious service was conducted at the newly
constructed Hagia Sophia under the rule of Emperor Justinian. During that time, Emperor
Justinian is recorded to have said, “My Lord, thank you for giving me the chance to create
such a worshipping place”. Since then Hagia Sophia was being considered as the culmination