Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
An enduring symbol of the Byzantine empire, one of the most wealthy kingdoms of the Middle Ages, lives on near the Golden Horn on the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul.
The magnificent-looking Hagia Sophia, called Ayasofya by locals, is a legacy of the days when Istanbul was Constantinople and the capital of the Byzantine empire.
Commissioned by Emperor Justinian I and built in just five years on the site of an ancient Christian basilica, the Hagia Sophia was built to awe anyone who viewed it.
Some 10,000 workmen -- using black stone, green marble, yellow stone procured from Egypt, Syria, Greece and many parts of modern-day Turkey -- toiled to construct this majestic church.
When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans on May 29, 1453 it was a black Tuesday for Christian aspirations in the east. Shortly after that military debacle, the Hagia Sophia, which had grown quite dilapidated after repeated ransackings by the Romans, was converted to a mosque and spruced up considerably.
Some facts you probably did not know:
The Hagia Sophia starred in From Russia with Love along with Sean Connnery.
Its dome has 40 windows.
Hagia Sophia was the largest church in the world for 1,000 years.
The Romans, who converted the Greek Orthodox church into a Roman Catholic one for a time, ransacked several items from the church, which are now located in several museums in western Europe.
Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
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