About Hagia Sophia
Justinian had the current Hagia Sophia built, inaugurated in 537, and it was a church for more than nine centuries. In 1453 it became a mosque, in 1935 it reopened as a museum and, in 2020, it became a mosque again. The dome sits about 55 meters (180 feet) above the floor, and your neck will notice.
The ground floor is reserved for prayer. Foreign visitors buy a ticket for the upper gallery, where the Byzantine mosaics are, such as the Deësis and the imperial portraits. The tourist entrance is on the south side, near the Fountain of Ahmed III, and the way up is an old, uneven ramp. Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; hair covered for women.
