Importance and history of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia was built between 532-537 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I as the patriarchal cathedral in the center of the old city on the historic Istanbul Peninsula. After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 by the Ottomans, it was turned into a mosque by the conqueror Sultan Mehmet. It functioned as a museum from 1935 to 2020. By presidential decree in 2020, it became a mosque again.
Hagia Sophia, located in Sultanahmet Square in the Fatih district, is the largest Byzantine church built in Istanbul and rebuilt three times on the same site. Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque with the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 by the conqueror Sultan Mehmet, and the building, which was destroyed in various historical documents, was not damaged after the conquest of Istanbul and has been preserved in the best way by strengthening and repairing. Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum on November 24, 1934, at the suggestion of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and by the decision of the Council of Ministers, and opened to visitors on February 1, 1935.