Religion has always played an important role in the development of art and architecture.

They serve as a bridge between the real world and the divine world, and mirror religious views

of people and the major beliefs of the society. Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock are two

of the greatest and the most important architectural monuments in the world. Even though two of

the most historical mosques, Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock, are built for different

religions, but due to a sharing purpose, which being praying to God, the difference can barely be

noticed. By sharing a purpose, both structures act as a shrine for different religions to reach God.

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. It was

originally built in 360 AD and for more than a thousand years was a Christian church. The

church was rebuilt in 532–537 during Emperor Justinian’s rule by architects Anthemius of

Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. Its interior was decorated with mosaics, marble columns and

fresco paintings on the wall. The dome of Hagia Sophia is what fascinates architects, engineers

and art historians the most. This particular design, pendentive—the triangular form providing the

architectural transition between the circular and square shapes 1 . Just below the dome, 40

windows were placed letting light in and shine on the mosaics. The pendentives and the windows

created an illusion of the dome floating above the wall. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered

by the Ottoman Turks. Shortly after, Sultan Mehmet II ordered the church to be converted into a

mosque. In the years to follow, the interior and the exterior of the mosque began to change. Due

to the Islamic customs, all the mosaic figures and paintings on the wall were obscured with

plaster along with all Christian symbols. Minarets were