The works began in 532, Santa Sofia was inaugurated after less than six years of construction on December 26th 537 by the Emperor Justinian.
Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque, at the behest of Mehmet II, during the Ottoman capture of the city in 1453.
The conquerors covered the mosaics with lime, and they built minarets and fountains.
In 1935 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk transformed the building into a museum.
The carpets were removed and the marble floor decorations reappeared for the first time in centuries as the white plaster that covered many of the mosaics was removed.
