Hagia Sophia Church

Hagia Sophia Church

View looking northeast that the restored Hagia Sophia Church that was built by Justinian in the sixth century A.D.  It was turned into a mosque by Sultan Orhangazi in 1331—note the minaret on the left that was added to the church.  In modern times it was turned into a "museum" but more recently restored as a mosque.

It was here that the Seventh Ecumenical Council was held in A.D. 787—the one that restored the veneration of icons in churches.

The church is located right in the center of Nicea (Iznik)—where the two major roads of the Roman city intersected—the Cardo and the Decumanus.