The magnificent Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian between the years AD 532 and 537, and achieved its final form in 563 AD. Despite being subjected to numerous earthquakes, the majority of the structure is still intact, nearly 1500 years later. The Hagia Sophia's ability to survive devastating earthquakes has made it a source of great interest to earthquake researchers in recent years. Its beauty is what draws the rest of us.
Sources
Ozkula Tulay Aksu, and Eiichi Kuribayashi. 2007. Structural characteristics of Hagia Sophia I: A finite element formulation for static analysis. Building and Environment 42(3):1212-1218.
Ozkula Tulay Aksu, and Eiichi Kuribayashi. 2007. Structural characteristics of Hagia Sophia II: A finite element formulation for dynamic analysis. Building and Environment 42(5):2100-2106.
