Hagia Sophia

Imperial Gate Mosaic from the 9th or 10th century.   The emperor is either Leo VI or Constantine VII bowing down before Christ.

There are two large marble ritual purification urns, they are carved from single blocks of marble.  They were brought from Pergamon during the reign of Sultan Murad III.

Omphalion, the place of the coronation of the Eastern Roman Emperors

Virgin and Child Mosaic from the 9th century

The mihrab, pointing to Mecca stands where the the altar used to stand.

The wishing column, it is said that since St. Gregory the Miracle Worker appeared a the column in 1200 it has been moist, it is said that touching the moisture cures many illnesses.  

The Virgin and the Child flanked by Justinian I and Constantine I.

Bronze door from a Hellenistic Temple of Tarsus 2nd century BC placed by Emperor Theophilos  (829 - 842)  "The Beautiful Door".

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Baptism Font

Fountain for ritual ablutions

Sundial

Some remains from the second church ordered by Theodosius II.

Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum.  From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453 it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261 when it was converted to a Roman Catholic Cathedral.  The building was a mosque from 1453 - 1931. It was opened as a museum in February 1935.  The first and second churches burned to the ground, in February 532 Emperor Justinian I began building the third, larger and more majestic basilica.