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Originally Posted by mount_amel what r you talking about dude .. This is history man , they have been defeated and the turks took it 500 years ago ...
Its a mosque now or a museum mosque .. you can go and watch it from inside and you will really like it ... |
mount amel did you visit Ayasofia ?? if you did i will be really disapointed with what you wrote " a museum mosque" and if you did nt visite it i will consider this just lack of information .
from the outside : The most magnificent of all of the Byzantine churches is the Hagia Sophia (not islamic design) Because Byzantium was strongly under the influence of Rome at the time of the construction of the Hagia Sophia, this structure is an amalgam of the magnificence of Roman architecture with the standard church architecture of the
Byzantines.
in the inside of the museum :
The original mosaics of the church were severely damaged by the Iconoclasts, but new mosaics replaced the former in the 9th century after the period of Iconoclasm had disappeared. Besides the religious subjects of the mosaics used to decorate the interior surfaces, the emperor was also used as a subject. Over the main portal to the inner narthex, a mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child, with the emperors Justinian and Constantine sitting at her sides. Another mosaic over the Emperor's Gate shows Jesus sitting on a throne holding a book with the Emperor Leon VII kneeling before him. Another mosaic of the Madonna enthroned, holding the Christ child; to the right Gabriel, and to the left, Michael, is in the dome of the apse. Portraits of the saints once decorated the semi-circular arched niches below the northern tympanum, only three of these have survived. All these mosaics bear traces of Hellenistic influences. There are also several mosaic "portraits" of other members of the imperial family. Portrait art was very advanced during the Byzantine period.
Access to the galleries of the church is obtained via a stone-paved ramp. The gallery decorated with green columns directly opposite the apses was used by the empress and her retinue during ceremonies. The Deisis mosaic, one of the most famous mosaics in the world is also here. It portrays Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist. This extremely expressive mosaic dates to the 12th century. In the gallery there are two more mosaics, which are also very impressive.
The church had several different restorations. After the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmet the Conqueror had the church restored once again, and converted into a mosque. The four minarets, one on each corner of the building were added at various times during the Ottoman period. After Fatih captured the city this structure was used for worship by Moslems.
It was converted into a museum during the recent Republican period, by order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and re-opened on 1st February 1935.
Over the past several years, Professor Ahmet Cakmak, of Princeton University's Department of Civil Engineering and Operations Research has undertaken the structural analysis, under earthquake loads, of the Hagia Sophia.
The Hagia Sophia is a major museum (formerly church and mosque) in Istanbul, Turkey, built by the Emperor Justinian during the 6th century AD. Professor Cakmak has sought to determine the susceptibility of the structure, specifically its large dome and arches, to collapse due to the earthquakes that often strike that part of the world.
so allow me to correct your informations its not a museum mosque but it is both as it still contain the christian relique as well as the muslims !
http://www.princeton.edu/~asce/const_95/ayasofya.html http://www.princeton.edu/~asce/const_95/history.html
Re: Will you support the restauration of Hagia Sophia as an Orthodox church? -
11th April 2006
Re: Will you support the restauration of Hagia Sophia as an Orthodox church? -
11th April 2006
