March 26: More Istanbul
Hagia Sophia

The structure has been severely damaged several times by earthquakes. The dome collapsed after an earthquake in 558; its replacement fell in 563. There were additional partial collapses in 989 after which an Armenian architect named Trdat was commissioned to repair the damage and again 1346. In the era of Süleyman the Magnificent, Mimar Sinan (Sinan the Architect) built extra attachments to prevent it from collapsing.

All interior surfaces are sheathed with polychrome marbles, green and white with purple porphyry and gold mosaics, encrusted upon the brick. On the exterior, simple stuccoed walls reveal the clarity of massed vaults and domes.