World Teach

Here's an excellent review of the Hagia Sophia from Religion for Breakfast.   Andrew Mark Henry, the host, reviews the history of the Hagia Sophia.  He explains how it was first built by Justinian and dedicated to holy wisdom and how in 1453, Turkish Muslims conquered Constantinople and eventually turned the Christian church into a mosque with minarets.

The New York Public Library has a terrific online exhibit about Africa in the Indian Ocean from the 7th century through the early modern period. The exhibit includes short essays, images, video clips,  and maps. Click on essays, t hen East Africa , and you can read about the Swahili and the trading networks in which they were involved. You can also read about the influence of the Arabian Peninsula,  especially Yemen and Oman, on the Swahili coast. The exhibit covers the other major players  in the Western Indian Ocean network including India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Some of the maps  show African migration across the Indian Ocean. Here's a hyperdoc I made based on the site .