Though Coppola does not provide the historical details, we are to understand that the cathedral is Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia's) in present-day Istanbul. (Bak, 2007, 123 -- 124) The opening sequence of the film, which sets the tone, atmosphere, context within which we are to consider the events that happen in the future, immediately are linked to the battle between the occult, represented by Dracula et al