Hagia Sophia

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The Hagia Sophia, or Sancta Sophia, (officially known as the: "Church of Holy Wisdom") was a former Eastern-Orthodox Christian basilica located in the Imperial District of Constantinople. Following the fall of the city in 1453 to the Ottoman hands, it was converted into a islamic mosque by Mehmed II, where it was also used as a library.

History

Designed by the Byzantine Greek scientists Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, Hagia Sophia was completed by the order of the Roman Emperor Justinian at the year 537 and served as the imperial patriarchal cathedral until 1453 and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman hands. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II converted it into an Imperial Mosque shortly after. Half century later, at year 1510, the Janissary Murat Bin Husn concealed the armor of Ishak Pasha inside the Hagia Sophia. The following year, Ezio Auditore da Firenze had recovered Ishak Pasha's scattered memoirs and entered the mosque, where within minutes, he had climbed to the ceiling of the dome and activated an entrance to the armor's storage room, before taking the set back to the Galata headquarters.

While locating the second Masyaf key, Ezio climbed one of the Hagia Sophia's minarets, where he used his Eagle Sense to locate a book on one of the landmark's rooftops.

Also in 1511, Sofia Sartor requested some white tulips from Ezio, and, after he tracked a florist to the Hagia Sophia, he learned that he could find some of the flowers in the courtyard. Following this, he discovered that Sofia had prepared a picnic in the shadow of the great mosque, before he handed the bouquet he had picked with his Hidden Blade over to her.

Trivia

Spider Assassin achievement icon

• The achievement "Spider Assassin" could be earned by climbing the Hagia Sophia from its base to the pinnacle in under 25 seconds.
• One of Ishak Pasha's memoir pages was located on the pinnacle of the landmark.
• The Hagia Sophia was a purchasable landmark in Constantinople, for the price of 60,400 Akçe.
• In reality, Hagia Sophia only had two minarets in 1511. Darby McDevitt explained that the landmark's representation having four minarets "was the iconic image of the Hagia Sofia" and had to be in the game.

Gallery

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  Close up of Hagia Sophia.
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  Comparison of the real landmark and its representation in Revelations.
• Inside the Hagia Sophia.
  Inside the Hagia Sophia.
• Concept art of the Hagia Sophia.
  Concept art of the Hagia Sophia.
• Panoramic view of the Hagia Sophia interior.
  Panoramic view of the Hagia Sophia interior.