Little Hagia Sophia

The Little Hagia Sophia is the former Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Istanbul's Kumkapi quarter, in continuous use as a mosque since 1504. It was built between 527 and 536 under Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora as thanks to the two soldier saints who, by tradition, are said to have saved Justinian from execution. With its octagonal core and ribbed dome on pendentives, the building is widely seen as a direct precursor and test piece for the much larger Hagia Sophia begun only a few years later. Inside, the original 6th-century capitals still carry the carved monograms of the imperial couple. Today the space is a quiet whitewashed neighbourhood mosque where Byzantine columns rise directly above the prayer carpet.