SAINT SOPHIA ( Hagia Sophia )
Turks call AYASOFYA, (AH-yah so-FEE-ah)
Saint Sophia is the finest and most famous example of BYZANTINE architecture in the world. It is located in heart of old Istanbul, next to the Blue Mosque in the Sultan Ahmet Square(Sultanahmet Meydani) Istanbul.
  The picture above shows the actual view of ST.SOPHIA CHURCH MUSEUM (Ayasofya Muzesi) in Istanbul today. Four minarets were been added to St.Sophia(Hagia Sophia), after the Ottomans captured Constantinople at 1453. Today it is neither a Church nor a Mosque, but a museum.
Hagia Sophiawas built as a Constantinian Church by the emperor Justinian I, between A.D. 532 and 537. It’s architects were Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles.
It was built in five years only. On May 558, the dome of the church collapsed due to an earthquake in December 557. A new dome was quickly rebuilt.
HAGIA SOPHIA is a Greek phrase that means ‘Holy Wisdom’. This ancient basilica also called SAINT SOPHIA. It is now called ‘Ayasofya Muzesi’ or in short ‘AYASOFYA’ by Turks.
After it’s construction ended, Hagia Sophia served as a Church for the first nine centuries and
when Constantinople was taken by the Ottomans in May 29,1453, Sultan Mehmet II (‘FATIH’ SULTAN MEHMET) added the 4 minarets, a fountain (sadirvan0) and mausoleum (turbe). He converted it into a Mosque and it served as a Mosque for 5 centuries.
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Ottoman additions to Hagia Sophia include the huge wooden shields emblazoned with gilded calligraphy of Koran verses. Also addition of niche(the Mihrab) indicated the direction of Mecca.
 
Then in 1935, during the Turkish Republic years, the Mosque was secularized and made into a museum under MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK (founder of the Turkish Republic), it became a national museum -as it is today-.
 
Hagia Sophia’s building dimensions are 250ft(76mt) by 235ft(72mt).
The construction contains marble-lined walls in many colors and designs. Beautiful Byzantine mosaics decorate some of the walls and vaults.
Over the center area is the great dome which rises 56mt (185ft) above the ground and is 33mt (107ft) in diameter (slightly larger than diameter of the U.S. Capitol).
The Hagia Sophia(Saint Sophia) Museum is open to the public everyday except Monday, between 9:30 am to 5 pm. The admission fee is 20.00 YTL. Telephone: 90-212-522-0989 & 522-1750
 At the end of November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited St.Sophia.
He said:
_ _ _ _ _ “I AM LEAVING HALF OF MY HEART _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ IN ISTANBUL”,
after releasing white doves into the air in the garden of St.Esprit Cathedral, during his last day in Turkey.
 GETTING AROUND IN ISTANBUL…
There are numerous private and state-owned city buses in Istanbul, however, traffic is slow, especially during rush hours. There are two tramway services on the European side. One runs from through Sultanahmet Square and on to outlying suburbs. It divides at Aksaray, where visitors should change trains to get to Esenler Otogar, the bus station. The other is a street car(tramway) which is mainly for tourists and runs the length of Istiklal Caddesi to/from Tunnel, Taksim Square. It is connected to Karakoy by the historical tunnel.
Bus and tram tickets, are approximately equivalent up to $1 US each. They are usually available near the main stops, either from a kiosk or a private seller, who adds about ~25% to the original price.
The DOLMUS service is another very practical way to move around the city. The dolmus (shared taxi) is either a large, modern mini-van or automobile, which runs a prescribed, short, circular route, such as between to/from Taksim, Besiktas. Or a smaller, rackety minibus, which does longer journeys within the city. The latter can be hailed almost anywhere and will cram as many standing passengers in as will possibly fit. Payment is in cash when boarding and costs about the same price as a bus ticket or tiny bit more.
  For information on boat excursions on the Bosphorus, Princess Islands (‘ADALAR‘) and how to get on-line tickets, etc., go to our Istanbul pages 1 and 2.
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