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Students are dwarfed by the scale of Hagia Sofia (Aya Sofia), Turkey's greatest architechtural marvel. The edifice was built in the 5th Century AD by Emperor Justinian in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

It was the largest church in Christendom for 1000 years. Built with pillars from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, it served as a church, and then was converted to a mosque during Ottoman rule. It is now museum.

© 2009 Denise McGill
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