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Title
Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) / Istanbul #9839468
Description
Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.
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