Category: Religious
Type: Church / Mosque
Location: Küçük Ayasofya, Küçük Ayasofya Camii St. Fatih
Date: 527-536 / 1506-1513
Period: Eastern Roman Empire / Ottoman Empire
Designer: Unknown
Photos: Soner Dursun (theothertour.com)
The Little Hagia Sophia Mosque, originally the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, was commissioned by Emperor Justinian I and Empress Theodora between 527 and 536 AD, serving as a vital precursor to the structural grandiosity of the Great Hagia Sophia. Characterized by its unique octagon-within-a-quadrilateral floor plan, the structure features a central dome supported by eight polygonal piers, creating a sophisticated transition of spaces that highlights the experimental nature of early Byzantine engineering. The interior is adorned with an exquisite two-story colonnade of verd antique and red marble, topped by a deeply undercut marble entablature that remarkably retains its original Greek inscription dedicated to the imperial couple. In the early 16th century, during the reign of Bayezid II, the building was converted into a mosque by Hüseyin Ağa, resulting in the addition of Ottoman elements like the madrasah and minaret, which today stand alongside the original Byzantine masonry as a testament to the layered architectural heritage of Istanbul’s Marmara shore.
