Hagia Sophia: World's eighth wonder's state-of-the-art restoration

The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul's most visited tourist attraction, is being restored using the most advanced techniques that will set an example for the world, said Istanbul's provincial director of culture and tourism on Sunday. The Hagia Sophia, which is considered the eighth wonder of the world, was designed as a Christian basilica in the 6th century by Anthemios of Tralles and Isidoros of Miletus. served as a church for 916 years and 86 years as a museum, but most of its existence – 1453 to 1934, nearly 500 years – it spent as a mosque, a status it resumed last year.