Built in 1740 by Sultan Mahmut I over the site of a Byzantine Patriarchate, the fountain with its...
Author - hagiasophiatr
Minbar
Minbar is a kind of ambo on which Muslim preachers gave sermons in Ottoman times. It was built in...
Altar (Mihrab)
Situated in the apse of Hagia Sophia, the altar which indicates the qibla was used by imams who...
Bema
The place was separated for ecclesiastics. In the arch of bema, there were the mosaics of the...
Omphalion
Omphalion, which literally means ‘’little omphalos’’ (navel of earth), is an opus sectile panel in...
Columns
In Hagia Sophia, there are 140 monolithic columns which were brought from different places of the...
Mosaic of Leo VI
ocated on the Emperor Door, the mosaic of Leo VI dates to the 9th century. This interesting mosaic...
Buttresses
Four buttresses on the west side of Hagia Sophia were built after the Latin occupation in the 13th...
Baptistery
Next to the Beautiful Door, there is a baptistery with a small narthex and a holy well which has...
The Seraphim Mosaic
Around the Pantocrator mosaic from the 9th century which was on the central dome ‘’the Seraphim’’...