One of the Grandest Church in The World
Situated in the heart of former Constantinople, the last stronghold of the roman empire and the capital of christianity, Aya Sofia was erected between 532 and 537 AD, by the Emperor Justinian. 
Overview of the minarets, built after the convertion by Mehmet, The Conqueror.
The word Allah caligraphed on huge placards, symbols of Islam.
When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453, the Aya Sofia was converted into a mosque.
Deesis-mosaics from the beginning of the 14th century, representing Christ enthroned with on one side the Virgin Mary, on the other John The Baptist.
More examples of the phenomenon called "The Palaeologian Renaissance" led to a renewal of the Byzantine mosaic art.
This paintings showed a predilection for perspective and three-dimensionalism.
View of the Blue Mosque, another symbol of Istanbul, from the Aya Sofia.
Detail of the ceilings.
Aya Sofia, called Hagia Sofia in greek, by night. Photography by Nuno Goncalves. Istanbul, Turkey 2006.