Hagia Sophia, originally uploaded by paprikaOptic.
The Hagia Sophia - Sightseeing in Istanbul Turkey – Historical City Straddling Two Continents
Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia): changed the course of Western architecture; and is widely hailed as the greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years. The Church of the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia in Greek) is one of the most impressive and important buildings ever constructed. Its wide, flat dome was a daring engineering feat in the 6th century, and architects still marvel at the building's many innovations. Called Hagia Sophia in Greek and Ayasofya in Turkish, it was built on the site of Byzantium's acropolis by Emperor Justinian in 537 AD. Ayasofya was the greatest church in Christendom until St Peter's Basilica was built in Rome a thousand years later.
