Hagia Sophia, İznik
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Hagia Sophia mosque ( 'the Holy Wisdom'; ; ) in İznik ( Nicaea) in Bursa Province,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, was built as a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
-era basilican church. Converted into the Orhan Mosque ( Turkish: ''Orhan Camii'') after the Ottoman conquest, it was turned into a museum in 1935. The church is now once again in service as a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
. It is in the town centre of İznik, within the old walled area.


History

The first church built on the site was constructed in the 4th century. The church was later rebuilt under the patronage of Emperor Justinian I in the mid-6th century. In 787, it hosted the Second Council of Nicaea, which officially ended the first period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. The Justinian-era church was destroyed by an earthquake in the 11th century and the present structure was erected around 1065 over the ruins of the older one. The Church of Hagia Sophia was converted into the Orhan Mosque following the fall of Nicaea to the Ottoman Turks led by Orhan Ghazi in 1331. It continued to operate as a mosque until 1935, when it was designated as a museum under the regime of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In November 2011 it was again converted into a mosque.


Architecture

The current basilican structure, much of which dates to the 1065 reconstruction of the church, 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. Following the building's conversion to a mosque in the 14th century, it underwent renovations that included the addition of a mihrab. During the 16th-century reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, the church was restored after a disastrous fire and a minaret was constructed. The architect Mimar Sinan was also commissioned around this time to design decorations to adorn the walls of the mosque. The restoration (or rebuilding) of such a historic church so that it could be reused as a mosque was - and remains - very controversial. The work was carried out between 2007 and 2011.


Gallery

File:Iznik Hagia Sophia Mosque 8350.jpg, Front of Hagia Sophia in İznik File:Iznik Hagia Sophia Mosque 8061.jpg, Exterior of Hagia Sophia in İznik File:Ayasofya Orhan Camii 8066.jpg, Opus sectile floor in entrance of Hagia Sophia in İznik File:Iznik Hagia Sophia Mosque 8067.jpg, Interior of Hagia Sophia in Iznik File:Iznik Hagia Sophia Mosque 8083.jpg, Synthronon in choir area of Hagia Sophia in İznik File:Iznik Hagia Sophia Mosque 8100.jpg, View of secondary dome in Hagia Sophia in İznik File:Iznik Hagia Sophia fresco 045.jpg, Fresco in Hagia Sophia in İznik


See also

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


References

{{Authority control Mosques in Turkey Byzantine church buildings in Turkey İznik 6th-century churches Buildings and structures in Bursa Province Mosques converted from churches in Turkey