Kucuk Ayasofya - Little Hagia Sophia
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How to get to Kucuk Ayasofya - Little Hagia Sophia:
From Sultanahmet: Pass the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome. Then follow the Nakibent Sokak(street) until you arrive Kucuk Ayasofya street. Turn right and follow Kucuk Ayasofya street. You will see the church/mosque on your left. See the map.Latitude / Longitude: 41.00290, 28.97230
Building began on the former Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in 527AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was converted into a mosque in the early 16th century and renamed 'Little Hagia Sophia' because of its resemblance to the much larger Hagia Sophia mosque-museum nearby in Sultanahmet.
Little Hagia Sophia is made of bricks sunk in mortar. It has a single minaret and an irregularly shaped octagonal dome and large marble pillars which bear the original Greek inscriptions above the capitals. In front is an old portico, court, garden, shops and an ablutions fountain.
Although the interior was once graced with beautiful gold mosaics, these were plastered over during its transformation into a mosque.
The Mosque was renovated in 2007 and it is now painted white with blue Arabic designs on the walls.
The best interior view of the Little Hagia Sophia can be seen from its gallery.
Little Hagia Sophia Istanbul
"Not all those who wander are lost" - J. R. R. Tolkien
