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HAGIA SOPHIA an illustrated guide

HAGIA SOPHIA

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Before the structure that we all came to know was constructed, two different churches sat on its site. The first one, known as the “Great Church” opened under the reign of Constantius II, and it was built by the orders of his father, Constantine the Great. The church featured a wooden-roofed basilica with a nave flanked by two or four aisles. It later burned in 404 during riots, leaving no remains.

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HAGIA SOPHIA

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After the first church burned down, Emperor Theodosius II ordered for it to be repaired and a new church was inaugurated in 405. The new structure included a wooden roof and typical Byzantine architectural elements like an atrium, a narthex, and a basilica with galleries. This church was also destroyed by a fire during the Nika Revolt in 532. Some marble blocks survived the fire and are currently exhibited next to the museum’s entrance.

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532-37 c.e. After the second structure was destroyed, Emperor Justinian I commissioned a third and final structure to be built in place. Construction took five years, a record time for the period, and took the labor of over 10,000 workers.

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1. atrium The basilica was originally preceded to the west by a porticoed atrium. Located in the center of it was a prominent fountain, now exposed in pieces at the museum.

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2. bell tower The bell tower was located in front of the courtyard. The bells were rung to announce weddings, funerals, or other service. It was also used within the liturgy of the church service.

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3. baptistry The baptistry was a room adjacent to the basilica where the ceremony of baptism, which symbolizes the entrance into the Church and religion was held.

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4. basilica layout The interior layout was based on typical Byzantine conventions. The main entrance was to the west, following a procession of an outer and inner narthex into the big open nave over which stood the central dome. At the end pointing east were located the apse and sanctuary.

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sanctuary apse nave

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aisle

3 inner outer narthex narthex

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1453 Under the rule of Sultan Mehmed II, Constantinople was conquered and turned into Istanbul. The Sultan ordered for the basilica to be promptly converted into a mosque. This religious change brought forth multiple changes within the structure itself.

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mosque elements

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In order to not only demonstrate dominance over the Byzantines, but to be able to properly transition from Christianity to Islam practice within the structure, several changes and additions had to be made.

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1. minarets

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The four minarets surrounding the mosque were added by different sultans, which is emphasized by their difference in shape and materiality. The minarets serve as points for the call to prayer, a very important part of Islam.

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2. dome

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After the Ottoman conquest, many of the Christian imagery inside Hagia Sophia was plastered overed and replaced with Islamic symbols. The image of cherubs within the pendentives of the dome however were left behind, with their faces covered by a golden halo. The dome is the third one to sit on the structure, as two before collapsed during fires in Constantinople.

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3. turbe

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A total of five turbe or tombs were added adjacent to the Hagia Sophia mosque. Within these are buried five Sultans and their extended families.

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4. baptistry

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The part of the structure associated with baptisms during the basilica days was used to bury two of the Sultans, Mustafa I and Ibrahim. This is yet another symbolic movement of Ottoman power.

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5. calligraphic roundels

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Added in the 19th century, six prominent calligraphic roundels made out of wood were hung within the walls of Hagia Sophia. These roundels represent Allah, Muhammad and the latter’s immediate family. Because of their color, black with gold writing, they present a strong contrast against some of the existing mosaics.

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6. mihrab

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The mihrab in Islamic architecture is a rounded niche in the wall that marks the direction of Mecca for prayer. Because Hagia Sophia was designed as a Byzantine Basilica, the mihrab has to be placed slightly off-center.

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7. minbar

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A tall, pulpit-like structure in the back, located to the right of the mihrab is the minbar. From this platform, the prayer leader delivers the sermons and lectures.

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1935 - museum

a new program The first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, officially transformed Hagia Sophia into a museum. Because of the deteriorated condition of the building, it went under serious renovations and conservations that allowed for some of the Byzantine elements to be re-discovered.

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1. omphalion After the carpets were removed the omphalion was discovered after centuries. It is a series of circular mosaics on the floor indicate where the coronation of Byzantine emperors occurred. It also indicated where the emperor would sit during church services.

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2. cracked roof The first stage of the restoration before opening into a museum involved reparations of the cracked copper roof that was causing leaks to destroy some of the fragile mosaics.

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3. mosaics/frescoes The second phase of the restoration involved training a team to restore and uncover the Byzantine mosaics hidden under plaster or ruined by the leakage moisture. The project was finalized in 2006 and is now the second most visited museum in Turkey.

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conclusion The importance of Hagia Sophia through time is something that cannot be underrated. The structure held great significance for two great civilizations alike, the Byzantines and the Ottomans. Both cultures were greatly impacted at their times by the lasting structure, serving in them as a prominent religious structure as well as a power indicative monument that has withheld physical changes for over 1,400 years. Because of this, neither one can be claimed as a true and sole identity of Hagia Sophia, as it has so much history embedded within its walls. By turning the landmark into a museum, the opportunity to celebrate and pay tribute to both civilizations by exposing information and pieces of each one to a greater audience has been made possible, as a piece of great historical value has become more accessible to everyone.

bibliography Base digital model obtained from the SketchUp Warehouse. Further revisions, modeling, linework, and rendering done by S. Zavala. Charles, Martin A.. “Hagia Sophia and the Great Imperial Mosques”. The Art Bulletin 12.4 (1930): 321–345. Web. Emerson, William, and Robert L. Van Nice. “HAGIA SOPHIA: THE COLLAPSE OF THE FIRST DOME”. Archaeology 4.2 (1951): 94–103. Web. Emerson, William, and Robert L. Van Nice. “HAGIA SOPHIA: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SECOND DOME AND ITS LATER REPAIRS”. Archaeology 4.3 (1951): 162–171. Web. Emerson, William, and Robert L. van Nice. “Hagia Sophia and the First Minaret Erected After the Conquest of Constantinople”. American Journal of Archaeology 54.1 (1950): 28–40. Web. "Hagia Sophia." Hagia Sophia. Web. 05 Mar. 2016. Larsen, Sven. “A Forerunner of Hagia Sophia”. American Journal of Archaeology 41.1 (1937): 1–5. Web. Smith, Christine. “Cyriacus of Ancona's Seven Drawings of Hagia Sophia”. The Art Bulletin 69.1 (1987): 16–32. Web. Taylor, Rabun. “A Literary and Structural Analysis of the First Dome on Justinian's Hagia Sophia, Constantinople”. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 55.1 (1996): 66–78. Web. Terry, Ann, Robert Mark, and Ahmet S. Cakmak. "Hagia Sophia: From the Age of Justinian to the Present." Technology and Culture 35.4 (1994): 894. Web. Wenzel, Fritz. "Investigations into the Construction and Repair History of the Hagia Sophia." Construction History 25 (2010): 1-20. JSTOR. Web. 05 Mar. 2016.