Today, the Mysticals are exploring Turkiye.
“Look! There it is. The magnificent Hagia Sophia,” said a very excited Orak, pointing at a large domed structure.
“What’s Hagia Sophia?” asked Felix. “It is a UNESCO World Heritage site built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 532. It was the largest church in the world for hundreds of years after its construction. Did you know that that dome is almost 105 feet wide?” said Orak.
“Wait a minute. I thought the Hagia Sophia was a mosque,” said Scorch.
“It was a mosque,” said Verum. Originally, it was built as a church. When the Ottoman Turks captured Istanbul – which was then called Constantinople – Sultan Mehmed II converted the church into a mosque in 1453. He added minarets outside and huge disks with Islamic calligraphy inside. In 1935, the Turkish president Ataturk transformed the building into a museum.”
The Gifted Four then went inside to explore the magnificent church-turned-mosque-turned-