The Blue Mosque
Hearing the Blue Mosque described as perhaps the most beautiful building in the world may have built up our expectations too much. But where superlatives can be argued, no one can deny that the Blue Mosque (dating from Ottoman times) is beautiful.
Hagia Sophia
Now, Hagia Sophia just might be the most beautiful building in the world. Or anyway, it certainly took both Dan's and my breath away.
Hagia Sophia was the main basilica of ancient Byzantium / Constantinople, constructed around 535 A.D. The picture below is of a mosaic mural that shows Constantine (the emperor who converted to Christianity) offering the city to the Virgin Mary and Justinian (the emperor who built the basilica) offering the building to her. In the 15th century, the building was converted to a mosque. Now it is a secular site where evidence of both Christian and Moslem worship may be seen.
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