Hagia Sophia Size report
Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya) is a religious building in Istanbul, Turkey, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. It is the religious and spiritual center of the Eastern Orthodox Church and has a long history of nearly 1,500 years. It is famous for its huge dome and became the representation of Byzantine architecture, a monument to the heyday of the Byzantine Empire.
Hagia Sophia was the cathedral of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453. After 1453, it was occupied by the Turks and converted into a mosque, which was secularized until 1934 and became a museum. In 1985, it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage. However, Hagia Sophia was converted from a museum to a mosque on July 11, 2020, prompting UNESCO to reassess its World Heritage status.
The newly completed Hagia Sophia was a Basilica-shaped cathedral of the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. It was the largest church in the world until it was replaced by the Seville Cathedral in 1519. The interior space of the Hagia Sophia is vast, complex in structure, and luxurious in the interior.
Hagia Sophia Size And Structure
It is the third church built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in AD 532. With the strong national support of Byzantium, the Byzantine architectural complex was designed by the physicist Isidore of Miletus and the mathematician Antimus of Tralles. Hagia Sophia is centralized, and the layout belongs to the Basilica style covered by domes. The dome of Hagia Sophia has intrigued art historians, architects, and engineers.
The central vault is prominent, and the four sides are similar in size but focused. There is a large courtyard in front, and two gates are at the south entrance. The central dome is 32.6 meters in diameter, and the dome is 55 meters above the ground. It is supported on four large pillars through sail arches. There are 40 window holes densely arranged at the bottom of the dome to introduce light.
Hagia Sophia Dimensions
Hagia Sophia is centralized, 77 meters long from east to west, 71.0 meters long from north to south, and 55 meters high. It covers an area of about 5,400 square meters. A central dome covers the nave with a maximum diameter of 31.24 meters and a height of 55.6 meters. Due to numerous repairs, the dome's base is no longer absolutely circular but slightly elliptical, with a diameter ranging from 31.24 meters to 30.86 meters.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Architectural Style | Byzantine |
| Land Area | 5,400 sq m |
| Length | 77 m |
| Width | 71 m |
| Height | 55 m |
| Dome Diamters | max. 31.24 m |
| Dome Height | 55.6 m |
Final Words
Hagia Sophia is a representative building of the Byzantine style, famous for its huge dome. The mosaics, marble columns, and decorations in the church are of high artistic value. The decorative floors, walls, and pillars are colorful marble, and the capitals, arches, cornices, etc., are decorated with carvings. There are 40 chandeliers on the dome's edge, the altar is inlaid with ivory, silver, and jade, the archbishop's throne is made of pure silver, and the altar is hung with curtains mixed with silk and gold and silver. The circular dome of Hagia Sophia still amazes visitors today.
