MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. The preservation of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia will be brought into question if the historical monument, which is now a museum, is turned into a mosque ...

Most urgent is the preservation of its iconic dome, the underside of which is covered in mosaics, making structural intervention especially difficult. Completed in 537 CE, Hagia Sophia was the ...

Tourists flock en masse to the Hagia Sophia for its stunning architecture, glorious interior views and historical significance. Built between 532 and 537, the building was a church for nearly a ...