Hagia Sophia, İznik

The first church built on the site of Hagia Sophia at İznik was constructed in the 4th century.[1] It was later rebuilt under the patronage of Emperor Justinian I in the mid-6th century.[3] In 787, the church hosted the Second Council of Nicaea, which officially ended the first period of Byzantine Iconoclasm.[4][5] The Justinianic church was destroyed by an earthquake in the 11th century and the present structure was erected around 1065 over the ruins of the earlier structure.[1]

The Church of Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque following the fall of Nicaea to the Ottoman Turks led by Orhan Ghazi in 1331 and the building operated as such until 1935, when it was designated as a museum under the regime of Kemal Atatürk.[6] In November 2011 it was again converted into a mosque.[2]

Hagia Sophia of Nicaea (İznik) in 1962 (photo by Paolo Monti)

The current basilican plan structure, much of which dates to the 1065 reconstruction of the Church of Hagia Sophia, consists of a central nave with two side aisles. Prior to its remodelling under the Ottomans, the church had two rows of triple arcades on columns that carried a clerestory wall with five windows.[7] Following the building's conversion to a mosque in the 14th century, it underwent renovations that included the construction of a mihrab. Later, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, the church was restored following a disastrous fire and a minaret was constructed.[8] The architect Mimar Sinan was also commissioned around this time to design decorations to adorn the walls of the mosque.[1]

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  Iznik Hagia Sophia front
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia Exterior
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia Floor at entrance
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia Interior
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia Choir area
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia View of interior of secondary dome
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  Iznik Hagia Sophia fresco

• Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
• Second Council of Nicaea