a powerful Byzantine court official builds himself a dazzling burial chapel
Location City: Istanbul
After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the sultan repurposed this church, adding slender “pencil” minarets.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
This mosque was the crowning achievement of architect Sinan’s career and a trophy of Ottoman imperial grandeur.
Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Alexander the Great conquered the known world, but who was this monument for and what does it symbolize?
The Alexander Sarcophagus
When the most important church in the East became a mosque, this mosaic was covered but three faces survived.
Deësis (Christ with the Virgin Mary and ...
The size and solidity of this Virgin and Christ reaffirmed the power of images in the wake of Byzantine iconoclasm.
Theotokos mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the sultan repurposed this church, adding slender “pencil” minarets.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Unlike other of Sinan’s mosques, this one is covered with tiles, sits above shops, and is accessed from a stairway.
Mimar Sinan, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul
With its stacked domes and six minarets, the Blue Mosque dominates Istanbul’s skyline—and the nearby Hagia Sophia.
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
The golden dome of this vast building appears suspended from heaven. It has withstood quakes, conquest, and crusades.