Architecture

Saturday, 7 November 2026
18 facts about Hagia Sophia
18 facts about Hagia Sophia
The most significant work of Byzantine architecture
The Hagia Sophia's Temple, now an Istanbul mosque, was initially built as the Church of Divine Wisdom. It was the highest-ranking temple in the Byzant ...

Did you know?

Brooklyn Bridge
The first person to cross the bridge was a woman - Emily Warren Roebling.
Emily was a bridge builder who took over after her husband fell ill during construction work.
Mont Saint-Michel
During the Hundred Years’ War, the English repeatedly attempted to conquer the island, without success.
The sanctuary and the town were surrounded by a ring of defensive walls. A souvenir of the assaults are two siege machines left under the walls.
Notre-Dame
The southern rosette also suffered much damage - only some of the stained glass originates back to the Middle Ages. French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc restored the rest in 1861.
The first damage to the rosette occurred in 1543 when it suffered from the subsidence of the buildin ...
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge’s construction began in 1933.
It was considered a risky operation since it was the time of the Great Depression.
Windsor Castle
King George V continued the process of gradual modernization of the castle.
He was helped in this by his wife, Queen Mary, who was mainly interested in furniture and decoration ...
Hagia Sophia
The largest door in Hagia Sophia is the Imperial Gate, an entrance used exclusively by the emperor, his personal bodyguard and entourage.
They date back to the 6th century and are about 7 meters long. Byzantine sources claim they are made of wood from Noah's Ark. In April 2022, the doors were vandalized by unknown assailants.
Petra
In 106 AD, Petra became a part of the Roman province of Arabia Petrea.
Even though the Nabatean dynasty fell, the local population coexisted peacefully with the Romans for over a century.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space.
A term has been attached to the China Wall that it is "the only man-made structure visible from spac ...
Great Pyramid of Giza
Another historian describing the history of the pyramid of Cheops was Diodorus Siculus.
He visited Egypt around 60 - 56 BC.  He distanced himself from the descriptions of Herodotus, whom h ...
Big Ben
Inside the tower there is the so-called Prison Room.
It is an oak-paneled prison chamber, accessible only from the House of Commons. The room was last us ...