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| Crowd Waiting to enter the Hagia Sophia |
The Saint -Sophia Church was built in by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and reconstructed in 537 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianus. It was the largest cathedral in the world for almost 1000 years. It was converted to a Mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmet II and then declared as a Museum by Ataturk in 1935. Some history!
(Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them)
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| Inside the Vast Sophia Hagia |
On the Upper walls and Domes there are large beautiful mosaics captured here by Tom using the big powerful Nikkon camera.
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| Mosaic of the Archangel Gabrial |
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| Mosaic of Mary and the Infant Jesus |
On the walls of the Galleries are the rements of numerous mosiacs depicting aspects of the Christain religion
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| Christ depicted in the Deesis Mosiac |
This Marble Jar (Mermer Kup) was carved from a single block of marble during the Hellenistic period and brought to Istanbul by Pergamon in 16th century. The pillar behind the urn is called the pillar of St Gregory the Miracle Worker and is thought to have healing powers.
Sections of the magnificent frescos on the ceiling are still visible.
Among the ruins that were escavated was a Byzantine Freeze of sheep.
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| Remains of Byzantine Freeze now in a Garden Setting |
Thousands of tourists flock to the Sophia Hagia in busload after busload every day. We visited early one morning to try to avoid the crowds but even so we were able to tag along behind the tour guides speaking in almost any language we wished to hear if we wanted to listen!
The Sophia Hagia is magnificent! Don't miss it if you are in Istanbul.
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