Constructed in the 6th century, the Hagia Sophia symbolized the power of the west and the influence it hopes to exert towards the east. In fact, it was quoted in the 10th century that upon entering The Holy Wisdom, (Hagia Sophia) one knows “not whether they were in Heaven or on earth.” At the time of its construction, the Hagia Sophia was the largest indoor space ever constructed and has stood as the centerpiece of Istanbul for more than 1,500 years. For two-thirds of that time it served as a church, and the most important in the Byzantine empire. For 500 years that followed, the structure was converted into a mosque. The modern Turkey Republic declared it a museum in the 1935 only for it to be reverted back to a mosque in 2020. Regardless it’s identity, the Hagia Sophia is one of the worlds greatest architectural masterpieces.