This beautiful Silver coin the final issue of Windows of Heaven series and features the Hagia Sophia, a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal church, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. This spectacular coin has a real colored glass insert visible on both sides. The coin comes packaged in an attractive case, along with the Certificate of Authenticity. Limited mintage to 2.000 pieces worldwide. The reverse of the coin depicts the famous Hagia Sophia Cathedral and its intricately designed stained glass window. The reverse of this coin shows the inside of this particular Cathedral, with a plan of the outlay of the church below. To the left is shown a section taken from within the cathedral showing a beautifully designed stained-glass window. On the top of the reverse, the inscription: Windows of Heaven – the name of the series. In the bottom of the reverse: Hagia Sophia Istanbul the name of the cathedral and 2016 the year of issue. On the obverse the stained-glass can be seen showing the image in reverse. On this side, together with the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, is the country of issue: Cook Islands and the face value: 10 Dollars. The Church Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia has been standing for more than 1400 years. It’s dimensions of 82 meters long and 73 meters wide, sporting a dome 33 meters in diameter with a crown that rises 55 meters from the ground level is formidable at its time of construction. Hagia Sophia was constructed in 537 BC as a Greek Orthodox Church by Emperor Justinian I to replace the original church by the same name that was torched. The massive dome is held up by spherical triangles that arise from four huge piers that carry the weight of the cupola. To create an air of sanctity, 40 windows beneath allow sunlight to suffuse the interior and irradiate the gold mosaics. While it took nearly a century for medieval builders to construct the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the church was completed in less than 6 years. A variety of ornate mosaics were added over the centuries by each emperor after Justinian I. They included imperial portraits, images of the imperial family, different emperors, images of Christ and Virgin Mary with Jesus as a child. Hagia Sophia served as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral until 1453 AD when Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II who conquered Istanbul converted it into a mosque. It served as inspiration for many other Ottoman mosques including the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Rustem Pasha Mosque, Sehzade Mosque and Kiliç Ali Pasa Mosque. The item “HAGIA SOPHIA Windows Of Heaven Cathedral Silver Coin 10$ Cook Islands 2016″ is in sale since Thursday, September 15, 2016. This item is in the category “Coins & Paper Money\Coins\ World\Australia & Oceania\South Pacific”. The seller is “powercoin_italy” and is located in Roma. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Circulated/Uncirculated: Uncirculated
• Year: 2016
• Composition: Silver
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Cook Islands