Little Hagia Sophia
Good to know
- Best time to go
- April–June, September–October
- Accessibility
- limited
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
This early Byzantine church, dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus, was built under Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century and is seen as a design precursor to the great Hagia Sophia. Its octagonal domed interior sits within an irregular plan, ringed by green and red marble columns carrying a carved dedication to the emperor. Converted to a mosque in the early sixteenth century, it keeps its original curved form while serving worshippers today. Visitors come for the intimate scale and fine Justinianic capitals.
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