The Hagia Sophia remains a highly popular tourist destination, attracting millions of travelers. Here is a detailed look at ...

"Hagia Sophia summed up everything that was the Orthodox religion," says Roger Crowley, author of 1453: The Holy War for ... to destroy the empire, but to become the new Roman emperor." ...

It was turned into an Ottoman imperial mosque in 1453, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire ... all over the world. Hagia Sophia is a pan-Christian holy site," Metropolitan Hilarion said.

Built by the Romans 1,500 years ago, the Hagia Sophia was the biggest church in the world. No expense was spared: it contained coloured marble from around the Roman Empire and nearly 10,000 square ...