Constructed: 537 CE

Emperor: Justinian I

Use: Religious Building

It is considered the focal point of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 AD on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured a 50 foot silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years. The Dome of the Hagia Sophia is very famous since at the time of its completion, it was the largest dome in the world. Today the Hagia Sophia is no longer a mosque and is a secular museum that can be admired by anyone who visits Istanbul.