Small Hagia Sophia Mosque

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Native name: Ayasofya Camii

Small Hagia Sophia mosque is located in the district of Eminönü and in the neighbourhood of Kumkapi , at a short distance from the Marmara Sea , near the ruins of the Great Palace and to the south of the Hippodrome . It is now separated from the sea by the Sirkeci-Halkalı railway line and the coastal road . Small Hagia Sophia mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople made between 531 and 536 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian l , and later on converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire .

This originally Byzantine building was first constructed in the 6th century and is considered one of the most important Byzantine buildings in Istanbul . It has a central dome plan and was a model after the Hagia Sophia , the main church of the Byzantine Empire . The strong external resemblance of the structure to the Hagia Sophia , made many believe that the building had been designed by the same architects who design Hagia Sophia , namely Isidorus of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles . They even went further to claim that its erection was a kind of small-scale trial version for that of the largest church of the Byzantine Empire . However , the building is quite different in terms of architectural details from the Hagia Sophia and thus the notion of resemblance has been largely discredited .

During the Ottoman era , in the reign of Bayezid II the building was converted into a mosque by Hüseyin Ağa , the chief of the Aghas , (Black Eunuchs) who were the custodians of the Bab-ı-Saadet (literally The Gate of Felicity in Ottoman Turkish) in the Sultan's residence , the famous Topkapı Palace . Also the portico and madrasah were added to the building after the conversion . In 1740 , a Şadırvan (fountain) has been added to the building by the Grand Vizier Hacı Ahmet Paşa . A minaret for the building was first built in 1762 which was then demolished in 1940 and built again in 1956 .

The ancient building was endangered by threats to its integrity because of the earthquakes , natural decay over the years and other factors , and finally the structure was added to the UNESCO watch list of the 100 Most Endangered Monumental Sites in 2002 , 2004 , and 2006 . An extensive restoration works were carried out which lasted several years and ended in September 2006 when the building has been opened to the public again .