Minarets are structures designed higher than the main building and constructed for notifying invitation for prayer and for announcements.
Fatih Sultan Mehmed had made a wooden minaret over one of the half domes right after converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This minaret did not manage to reach the present day. The brick minaret at the southeast can be dated to Fatih Sultan Mehmed period or Beyazıd II period in terms of its order. The minaret at the Bab-ı Humayun side is estimated to be built by Architect Sinan in Selim II period based on the similarity with the minarets of Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. As for the identical minarets at the southwest and northwest direction, they are built by Architect Sinan in Sultan Murat III period. With their 60 meters of height as well as their thick and massif patterns, they are completing main structure of Hagia Sophia. Various ornaments are added on these minarets at repairs carried out in 15th, 16th, and 19th centuries reflecting the characteristics of their periods.
Hagia Sophia
İstanbul, Türkiye
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