Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The jewel that is Hagia Sophia

Islamic and Christian symbols side by side
I have been trying to think how I could write a post about Hagia Sophia (pronounced HIGH-ya so_FEE-ya, by the way) that could possibly tell you how amazing it is. In preparation I decided to research it myself. And along the way, I found out so many interesting facts about this place that I almost gave up. Instead, I'll do my best and also provide you some links to discover more if you're interested.
This dome rises 182 feet (55.6 meters) from the floor
What stands today is the third structure built, with the first two gone from earthquakes and fire during the fourth and fifth centuries. But in December 537, Byzantine Emperor Justinian walked into his new church, less than six years after construction was begun, to one of the still-extant Wonders of the Ancient World. Although the original dome collapsed some twenty years after it was first built, it was rebuilt to be almost exactly the same as what exists today.
The triangles under the dome are called pendentives and make it stronger
Just by chance, I learned that Nova on PBS just a few days after I returned from Istanbul aired the first of a three-part special about engineering marvels, one of which is called Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery. When I watched it, I learned some amazing facts, such as that the ancient architects from 1500 years ago figured out that they could use arches, bolsters, and pendentives all to make the structure work. Not to mention withstand earthquake after earthquake. (Istanbul lies on a major fault and is prone to them.)
The great arches and some of the amazing stonework
Today it's a museum, but it was a Christian church from the mid-sixth century until Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans. When Sultan Mehmet laid eyes on the inside of the structure in May 1453, he decided to take out the Christian altar and relics and convert it to a mosque. It remained a mosque until 1935, when Atatürk founded the country of Turkey and made it into a museum. There is quite a bit of controversy still going on around Hagia Sophia, with Muslims wanting to convert it a mosque again, and Christians wanting it to revert to its original structure, a church.
What is left of the Deësis mosaic
All of the beautiful Christian mosaics had been plastered over when it was converted to a mosque, but many of them have been uncovered, now that it's become a museum. They are major tourist attractions, and this beautiful mosaic is really stunning to see. If you want to look at all of them, you can do so by scrolling down a ways on that first Wikipedia link and checking them all out, along with some history about when they were each completed.
Komnenos mosaic
This one depicts the Virgin Mary in the middle, the Christ Child in her arms, with Emperor John II Komnenos on the left holding a bag of money and with his wife the Empress Eirene on the right, donating it to Hagia Sophia. This mosaic was created in the 12th century. (There was a sign explaining it all right next to it.)
Looking down from the balcony
There are two levels inside, and I climbed up to take this picture and to show you that there is constant reconstruction going on inside (the green platforms on the left of the picture). I also found some really interesting facts about it on this Livescience website: Hagia Sophia: Facts, History & Architecture. Really, I finally figured out that I cannot do justice to this wonderful jewel, so I leave you to enjoy it as much or as little as you want through these links.
:-)

21 comments:

  1. you described it well as a jewel as looking up into that dome ceiling, i couldn't help but think of jewelry i've seen. i'm glad they have worked to preserve it, especially with its mix of religions and cultures. to think that the architects were so advanced already then to build a structure to withstand mother nature...

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  2. pretty fascinating the architectural advances and ideas that made it possibles....it is cool too that they were able to recover some of the mosaics....beautiful place...

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  3. Absolutely amazing place! We actually saw it featured on a TV program the other night. A unique opportunity you had to visit it!

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  4. It is somewhere I would love to visit. Such incredible work, such an incredible history. Thank you for the links.

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  5. It's amazing how much history can be revealed in one prominent building. It's also sad that we can be so very petty and fight over things to the point that we destroy things instead of appreciating them.

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  6. Scrolling through your first link, I got a better idea of how immense this place is. I continue to be amazed at what artisans could build so long ago before mechanization.

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  7. So amazing! Those murals are incredible. Thanks for the background information and sharing the photos and story from your trip.

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  8. This truly is one of the wonders of the Ancient world but also of the present world. To keep it as a museum instead of a disputed place of worship (muslim/christian?) is all credit to the Turkish authorities.

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  9. Thanks for telling us how to pronounce Hagia. I had no clue.

    I probably will never get to Turkey, so this post was very interesting.

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  10. Truly Beautiful DJan - Thank you for all your research, photos and links. I did see a documentary some time ago and your words brought this beauty back to me once again. Have a wonderful day.

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  11. How wonderful that it was chosen to become a museum rather than a contested place of worship. The construction is amazing and when reading The Pillars of the Earth, I learned how advanced the builders were in those days.

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  12. D'Jan, so truly beautiful. Thanks first of all for the correct pronunciation. I'm so happy that all of this has been preserved. The art work is really wonderful.

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  13. How stunning! Thank you for sharing!

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  14. Your post has made me want to go there. I am a sucker for huge churches, temples and other places of worship - they have an atmosphere that no amount of tourism can take away. Thanks for this great post.

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  15. I've been enjoying the pictures of your trip DJan, simple stunning architecture, timeless works of art.......
    I love stained glass windows, displayed in these magical buildings, they simply take your breath away.
    Thank you for sharing your incredible pictures, I feel as if I've travelled alongside !
    ~Hugs,
    Jo

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  16. Hagia Sophia is truly a jewel as you say. The first time I visited it was with my mum in the mid 1940s when we went to get my grandmother to bring her back to Paris. I don’t remember much but that there were so many lights. When we went back to Istanbul two years ago it was closed that day unfortunately, so it was nice to look at your pictures. I’d like to write a post on my father’s childhood in Istanbul but I know so little. I do know that we have cousins living there, but my father never gave me their names. I am so pleased you enjoyed your visit to Istanbul.

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  17. It's so cool to see your photos and realize that you were standing exactly where I was in November. Your photos came out really spectacularly. Wow! There's so much to learn about that incredible place and I loved reading your post. I wish we'd seen the Nova piece. Darn!

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  18. I just discovered that I can see it online. Thanks so much, DJan!

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  19. Gorgeous photos and a fascinating place- so much to see and learn. Thanks.

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  20. What a beautiful and amazing place! Isn't it wonderful that we can look up nearly everything on the internet, so even if we are rushed during a trip we can soak up the sights and sounds and feels and smells and learn more about them later!

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