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conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul, Süleyman the Magnificent turned the basil-
ica into a mosque, added minarets, and renamed it the Aya Sofya Cami'i.
Even though it wasn't one of their own creations, we can thank the Ottoman sultans for
keeping the structure in good repair. It is said they considered it one of the most beautiful
mosques in their empire, and felt it was a source of great pride. That's not to say that there
weren't some modifications.
Part of the conversion from Christianity to Islam involved plastering over or painting away
many of the Byzantine Christian icons, symbols, and other decorations. These were rediscov-
ered during a renovation in the
1840-s. The architects restored the symbols to their original splendor, then covered them up for
safekeeping.
They were discovered once again in the 20th century, and in
1964 made their first public appearance in more than five centuries. For almost five hundred
years people worshiped under its domes, vaults, and arches. Then in 1932 it was closed and by
1934 had become a museum. Today visitors are most taken by its dome.
At one hundred feet across it is an incredible sight. But this spectacle is made even more
grand by the presence of 40 huge windows around it. The effect isn't so much of a dome, but a
cupola of incredible proportions. So incredible are the proportions of this church that it was the
largest in the world for nearly one thousand years until Saint Peter's Basilica was built.
• 360 – Original building completed.
• 404 – Destroyed by fire during riots.
• 415 – Second building, known as the Theodosian Church, completed.
• 532 – Destroyed during the Nika Revolt.
• 537 – Third building erected. Also known as the Justinian Church.
• The mosque has the largest dome of the ancient world. It is 100 feet in diameter and 180
feet high.
• More than four acres of gold leaf line the inside of the building.
• The building's main chamber is 250 feet long and 230 feet wide.
• The buttresses surrounding the building were added after the 537-th earthquake.
• The remains of the Theodosian Church are visible near the museum entrance. They were
discovered by a German archeologist in 1935. According to legend, Saint Gregory the Miracle
Worker's powers to heal live on in one of the building's pillars. It had to be encased in brass to
protect it from the faithful, who have made a hole in the metal and worn a hole into the stone.
ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK
Rarely is a timepiece worthy of such attention. But as in the case of Big Ben, the As-
tronomical Clock is an amazing piece of machinery that has become part of the collective
soul of the community. Sound like an overstatement? Consider the fact that when it was
rebuilt in 1490 by a man named Hanuš, the city council ordered him blinded so he could
never create a better timepiece.
It sounds like an urban legend, but life was rough in the 15-th century, especially for people
skilled with their hands and their minds. The mentality of the age is reflected in the fact that the
sun on the clock's face rotates around the Earth, and not the other way around.
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