Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is one of the world’s most symbolic buildings — a bridge between Christianity and Islam. It was built in 537 CE as a Byzantine cathedral, the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for nearly a thousand years. Its golden mosaics and vast dome reflected the heavens and imperial power. When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II converted it into a mosque, adding minarets and Islamic calligraphy. In 1935 it became a museum, and in 2020 it