Simon Sebag Montefiore explores the turbulent history of Istanbul. "Sebag Montefiore considers Hagia Sophia, the vast church that Theodora and Justinian commissioned as an unfathomable expression of their magnificent virtue, to be the greatest building in Europe and his response to its glories felt unmanufactured. The wonderment was gilded with learning but the reverence was fierce and fine." New Statesman. Director Episode Two. Executive Producer: Mike Smith.