_ _ _Haghia Sophia literally translated as CHURCH OF DIVINE WISDOM
_ _ www.helloTURKEY.NET ' s mission is to give you as much detailed assistance before you visit the Saint Sophia (Hagia Sophia)
SAINT SOPHIA ( Hagia Sophia ) Turks call 'AYASOFYA' (AH-yah so-FEE-ah)
Saint Sophia is finest and most famous example of BYZANTINE architecture in the world. It is located just in heart of old Istanbul, next to the Blue Mosque in the Sultan Ahmet Square(Sultanahmet Meydani) of Istanbul.
Picture above shows the actual view of ST.SOPHIA MUSEUM (Ayasofya Müzesi) in Istanbul today. Four minarets has been added to St.Sophia(Hagia Sophia), after Ottomans captured Constantinople at 1453. Today Saint Sophia is neither a Church nor a Mosque but it is a museum.
Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia) was built as a Constantinian Church by the emperor Justinian I, between A.D. 532 and 537 and in it's ancient time, it represented the largest covered space in the world. It's architects were Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles.
It was built only in of five years. On May 558, the dome of the church collapsed due to a December 557 earthquake, and though a new dome was(or has been) quickly rebuilt.
HAGIA SOPHIA is a Greek phrase that means 'Holy Wisdom'. This ancient basilica also called SAINT SOPHIA. Turks call 'Ayasofya Müzesi' or in short 'AYASOFYA'.
After it's construction ended, Hagia Sophia served as a Church for the first nine centuries and
when Constantinople was taken by the Ottomans' in 1453, Sultan Mehmet II (FATIH SULTAN MEHMET) added 4 minarets, a fountain (sadirvan) and mausoleum (turbe). He converted it into a Mosque
and it served as a Mosque for 5 centuries.
Ottoman additions to Hagia Sophia include the huge wooden shields emblazoned with gilded calligraphy of Koran verses. Also addition of niche(The Mihrab) indicated the direction of Mecca.
Then in 1935, during Turkish Republic years, the Mosque was secularized and made into a museum under MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK' s (founder of the Turkish Republic), it became a national museum -as it is today-.
Hagia Sophia's building dimensions are 76mt (250ft) by 72mt (235ft) and this marbles place's inside appearance is one of great space, height and richness.
Construction contains marble-lined walls have many colors and designs. Beautiful Byzantine mosaics decorate some of the walls and vaults.
Over the center area is the great dome which rises 56mt (185ft) above the ground and is 33mt (107ft) in diameter(slightly larger than diameter of the U.S. Capitol).
The Hagia Sophia(Saint Sophia) Museum open to the public everyday, except Monday. Telephone: 90-212-522-0989 & 522-1750
At the end of November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited the St.Sophia. Benedict XVI said,
"I AM LEAVING HALF OF MY HEART IN ISTANBUL", after releasing white doves into air in the garden of St.Esprit Church, on his last day of 3 days trip to Turkey.
Getting around in Istanbul... There are numerous private and state-owned city buses in Istanbul, however, traffic is slow, especially during rush hours.There are two tramway services on the European side. One runs from Eminönü through Sultanahmet and on to outlying suburbs. It divides at Aksaray, where visitors should change trains to get to Esenler Otagar, the bus station. The other is mainly for tourists and runs the length of Istiklal Caddesi from 'Beyoglu' to Taksim. It is connected to Karaköy by the historical subway.
Bus and tram tickets, about equivalent to 50 cents US each, are usually available near the main stops, either from a kiosk or a private seller gets place next to stop, who adds about 25% to the original price.
The DOLMUS service is another very practical way to move around the city. The dolmus (shared taxi) is either a large, modern mini-van or automobile, which runs a prescribed, short, circular route, such as Taksim-Besiktas. Or a smaller, rackety minibus, which does longer journeys within the city. The latter can be hailed almost anywhere and will cram as many standing passengers in as will possibly fit.Payment is in cash when boarding and costs about the same price as a bus ticket.
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Islamic practices and beliefs... are closely adhered to in the country's customs, laws, and regulations.
Common sense and discretion should be exercised in dress and behavior. Visitors should dress conservatively (i.e. women should cover their heads with a scarf and
also not show their arms and legs excessively).
N o t e : More information is available at WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW,BEFORE YOU GO section. Click here !
Do you know which vegetable is Turks' favorite?
PATLICAN or as it called 'Aubergine' in England and France, 'Malanzane' in Italy and 'Bademjan' in Iran.
Even Turks use this expression that, PATLICAN is used in a wide variety of combination 40 different dishes and salads from famous 'Karniyarik' and 'Hükarbegendi' to PATLICAN TURSUSU (eggplant pickle).
Turks eat PATLICAN all summer long and in the winter time PATLICAN TURSUSU (eggplant pickle). You can find at least 2 different kinds of eggplant dishes even if you are in a smallest restaurant everywhere in Turkey.
The vegetable is naturally low in calories and has no cholesterol or fat content before cooking. Eggplants contain a slightly bitter liquid. But there is a trick that this can be removed in several ways. The most common is to salt and drain the peeled, cut-up eggplant for at least 5 minutes, then rinse well under cool water and pat dry.
Soaking salted and drained eggplant pieces in milk keeps them from absorbing too much oil during frying.
The eggplant can be souffled, stuffed, sauteed, fried, boiled, baked, broiled -- and is excellent both hot and cold. Its flavor changes to accommodate the other ingredients with which it is cooked. Turks don't combinate eggplant together with cheese, either cook it as breaded, like Italians.
If eggplant is one of your favorite vegetable too, when you visit Turkey enjoy eating. It is available everywhere fresh and very reasonable.
secularized and made into a museum under MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK' s (founder of the Turkish Republic), it became a national museum -as it is today-. 
At the end of November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI visited the St.Sophia.
We hope YOU make TURKEY(Türkiye),
Islamic practices and beliefs...