Built in 537, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is described by many as one of the most beautiful structures in the world. The building’s purpose has changed four times since construction. 

V1.0 – church for 916 years

V2.0 – mosque for 482 years

V3.0 – museum for 86 years

V4.0 – now a mosque again, as of July 2020

• 

• 

When we first visited the Hagia Sophia museum in July, our guide explained changes that occurred when it transitioned from a church to a mosque in the 15th century. Beautiful mosaics of angels, Christ, and Mary were hidden with plaster; angel faces were covered with plaster painted with geometric shapes; paint was added to change cross images into flowers; round Arabic placards were hung near the domed ceiling; and exterior minarets were constructed. Several years after the building became a museum in 1935, artisans began the slow process of removing the added plaster from the mosaics. We saw the tall scaffolding used for restoration work during the last 7 years. Because of the pandemic, we were two of just a handful of visitors that day in July. Typically tourists waited in line for over an hour just to purchase admission tickets. We walked right in.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Two days after we went to the museum the Turkish Supreme Court said yes the president could change the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque. On the weekend of the official re-opening we walked past the complex and saw long lines of visitors waiting to enter the mosque, workers placing prayer mats and large audio speakers the concrete courtyard for the expected huge crowds of worshippers, TV news crews filming, and large screens in the courtyard displaying the scene inside the mosque. 

• 

• 

We visited the Hagia Sophia again three months later and quickly noticed three of the modifications since our first visit. Drapes were added to hide the mosaics, plastic sheeting camouflaged the scaffolding, and turquoise carpet now covers the original stone floor. The mosque is open to Muslim and non-Muslim visitors, other than during prayer times. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

About 6 weeks after our October visit the tall scaffolding was removed and mosque visitors could see the most significant aspect of the restoration work: the removal of seven layers of plaster from the well-preserved face of one of the four ceiling dome angels. As of this writing the face is still visible and not hidden by a curtain, even though Muslim custom prohibits the representation of humans in mosques. The picture at the top of the post is of one of the three angels with covered, unrestored faces.