On March 20, 2021 at 6 p.m., the 1st year students of the Higher School of Economics and Business, specialty “Economics”, held an online meeting on the topic “Hagia Sophia” together with the 2nd year students of specialty “Translation”, M.H. Dulati Taraz Regional University. The meeting was held under the guidance of their lecturers of English of the Department of Foreign Languages: Tleugabylova Z.A., Makhazhanova L.M., Bekalaeva A.O. and the senior lecturer of the Department of Foreign Philology and Translation of M.H. Dulati Taraz Regional University, Yeseeva A.B.

Presenters Ulzhan Bekmuratova and Yesirkep Aldiyar began the meeting with welcoming words and a brief excursion to the top 10 famous mosques in the world, one of which is Hagia Sophia.

Students Abibulla Erden, Aziz Ibadulla, Kadyrbergenova Zhansaya, Bisengalieva Aruzhan, Nurdaulet Aibol, Dosmakhan Gulzhaina, Orazova Dana, Yerbosyn Zinat, Bauyrzhan Orken, Bolatova Zhuldyz, Sarsenbay Sayat prepared a presentation about the history of the Haya Sofia Museum. They stressed that it is one of the main symbols of Istanbul and the first mention dates back to the 300s AD. At the very beginning of its existence, it survived a fire and was rebuilt. In its current form, the building was opened in 537. The order for its construction was given by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.

According to historical records, three annual revenues of the Byzantine Empire were spent on the construction of the cathedral. During the construction, the best materials were used which were brought from different parts of the world. Inside, the temple was decorated with gold, silver, ivory, and precious stones. For a long time, the cathedral was a symbol of the power of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1453, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Sultan Mehmed II turned the Cathedral into the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Many Christian frescoes and mosaics have been preserved. The cathedral managed to keep elements of the Christian and Muslim era to the present day.

During the Ottoman rule, minarets were erected around the edges of the building. For almost 500 years, Hagia Sophia was one of the main Muslim shrines – the second after the Kaaba in Mecca.

In 1935, the founder of modern secular Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, converted the mosque into a museum by a special decree.

Currently, the images of Jesus Christ are side by side in the cathedral with huge shields with sayings from the Koran.

In 1985, the museum building was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

At the end of the program, the presenters Aldiyar and Ulzhan summed up the results by preparing a quiz, questions in English and showed a film from YouTube “Aya Sofia”. All participants of the online meeting expressed their gratitude to the organizers.