Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Hagia Sofia

Thursday, among other things, we did the Hagia Sofia. In a city of knock-out sights, the Hagia Sofia was for me the ultimate knock-out: it's age, sixth century, and its size (only St. Peter's, in Rome, a thousand years later, is larger). The Muslims took it over in 1453, but, happily for posterity, left much of it intact. They converted it to a mosque, added minarets, but what one sees today is still identifiably an early Byzantine Christian church, the capital of Christendom in these parts.
Hagia Sofia, from the Blue Mosque














The Hagia Sofia was the third Christian church to stand on
this site; Theodosius' 5th century church was destroyed in
the Nika ("just do it") revolts (religious revolts, in the 6th
century); pictured is a remnant of art from the 5th century
church

















Minaret and humongous flying buttresses














Inside the narthex, the first of many huge, famous mosaics















The emperor's door


















Inside; no camera can convey the enormity
of the place, the height and width of the great
dome




















One of the famous ceiling features (religious
insight: this is an angel, not a feather dancer)



















Another of the great mosaics



















Interior arches














St. Gregory's column; you are supposed to place your thumb
in the hole and rotate your hand; cures infertility and eye
issues, they say; apparently they don't have one for joint
problems

















The gallery is 30-40 feet above the main floor,
and you can walk all around it for more
spectacular views




















An arch in the gallery














Another of the famous mosaics














Graffiti of Halvdan the Viking, who toured in the 9th century














Cut-away: arch-building 101


















Restoration never really ends in places like
this



















The Zoe mosaic; look in the upper left corner and you'll see
where the names of her first two husbands have been
replaced by that of her third
















And another


















Last view of one of the world's greatest buildings

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