Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), Istanbul, Turkey
The Hagia Sophia is probably one of the most universally known churches in the world. Built, in its current version, in 537 AD as an Orthodox Church in Constantinople at the heart of the Roman Empire and the eastern Christian church. It started as a church... converted to a Mosque in 1453 when Constantinople was conquered by Mehmet the Conqueror..., converted in modern times to a museum (1934)..., and now is back to being a mosque. There are still beautiful byzantine, and older, evidences of its Christian origin inside.
The first church on this site was built around 346 AD. Excavations have found remnants of this first structure in and around the current Hagia Sophia, including a part of a brick wall, a hypogeum (tomb), and a baptistry. This church was commissioned by Constantius II. The second church, necessary after a fire, was ordered by Theodosius II. The third version that we see today was commissioned by emperor Justinian, again after a fire burned the church to the ground in 532 AD.
Today there are limits to what the tourist can see inside the mosque. The second floor balcony was known to contain beautiful byzantine works of christian art and is now off limits. In the main nave above the apse there are white drapes covering Christian images. But there is still much to admire:
The grand entry is the largest set of doors into the nave. One of the sets of brass doors had crosses. The arms of the crosses have been removed, but it is still possible to see the original intent. Inside the nave, high above the grand entrance, is a black and white mosaic depicting the church with its crosses. Mosaic Seraphim angels are visible high in the corners of the nave. In the hallway, there are beautiful mosaics depicting Mary and Jesus. Above one of the side entrance doors there is a mosaic depicting Justinian on the left (holding a model of the church) of Mary and Jesus and on the right Constantine (holding a model of the city walls).
At one end of the main hallway is an enormous baptismal font that was a gift from the church in Pergamon. At the back of the nave there are two matching marble lustration (meaning meant to hold liquid or oil) urns each carved from a single block of marble.
On the Hagia Sophia grounds there are some remnants from the earlier versions of the church. There is also a stone ambo, or pulpit, in the garden. From what we've read, it is probably from the ruins of one of the Beyzit churches in Istanbul.
#hagiasofia #istanbul #earlychristianity #constantinople #byzantine
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Turkey
