Istanbul Photos - The Hagia Sophia / Ayasofya Museum (Part 2)

[mcgillianaire]

It costs 20 Turkish Lira (US$11.2/£7) to visit the museum. We pre-booked a guide for the day which I recommend because they save you from standing in the long queues at each of the main tourist attractions in the old city. The guide we had was very good and he was easy to understand, which cannot be said of many Turkish people speaking English, because he had studied and lived for several years in America and Canada.


The current structure is the third church to be built on the same spot but the marble remains of the second church (415-532 AD) can still be seen next to it, including reliefs showing the Lamb of God. They were part of a monumental front entrance.



There's a tight closet-like ramp that takes you to the top of the structure and back down again. Much easier to walk up than flights of stairs.


With my dad, uncle and my cousin. I was meeting my cousin and his parents for the first time since January 2007!


The Loge of the Empress - located in the centre of the upper enclosure is the gap from which the empress and the court-ladies would watch the proceedings down below. A round, green stone marks the spot where the throne of the empress stood but you can't see it in this picture because there are people stood right in front of it, taking pictures of the proceedings below.


Even though the Ottomans converted the church into a mosque in 1453, they merely covered many of its Christian mosaics with plaster due to Islam's ban on representational imagery. After the mosque was converted into a museum in 1935, the plaster was removed revealing the mosaics underneath. This one is the Deësis Mosaic with Christ as ruler and probably dates from 1261. It was commissioned to mark the end of 57 years of Roman Catholic use and the return to the Orthodox faith.


This is the Comnenus Mosaic which dates from 1122. The Virgin Mary is standing in the middle, depicted, as usual in Byzantine art, in a dark blue gown. She holds the Child Christ on her lap. He gives His blessing with His right hand while holding a scroll in His left hand. On her right side stands emperor John II Comnenus, represented in a garb embellished with precious stones. He holds a purse, symbol of an imperial donation to the church. Empress Irene stands on the left side of the Virgin.


The Empress Zoe mosaics on the eastern wall of the southern gallery date from the 11th century. Christ Pantocrator, clad in the dark blue robe (as always the custom in Byzantine art), is seated in the middle against a golden background, giving His blessing with the right hand and holding the Bible in His left hand. On either side of His head are the monograms IC and XC, meaning Iēsous Khristos. He is flanked by Constantine IX Monomachus and Empress Zoe, both in ceremonial costumes. He is offering a purse, as symbol of the donation he made to the church, while she is holding a scroll, symbol of the donations she made. The inscription over the head of the emperor says : "Constantine, pious emperor in Christ the God, king of the Romans, Monomachus". The inscription over the head of the empress reads as follows : "Zoë, the very pious Augusta".


The southwestern entrance mosaic dates from 944. They were rediscovered during the restorations of 1849 by Fossati. The Virgin sits on a throne without a back, her feet resting on a pedestal, embellished with precious stones. The Child Christ sits on her lap, giving His blessing and holding a scroll in His left hand. On her left side stands emperor Constantine in ceremonial attire, presenting a model of the city to Mary. The inscription next to him says: "Great emperor Constantine of the Saints". On her right side stands emperor Justinian I, offering a model of the Hagia Sophia. The medallions on both sides of the Virgin's head carry the monograms MP and ΘY, an abbreviation of "Mētēr" and "Theou", meaning "Mother of God".


The Apse mosaic of the Theotokos (Virgin Mother and Child) was the first of the post-iconoclastic mosaics. It was inaugurated on 29 March 867 by Patriarch Photius and the emperors Michael III and Basil I. This mosaic is situated in a high location on the half dome of the apse. Mary is sitting on a throne without a back, holding the Child Jesus on her lap. Her feet rest on a pedestal. Both the pedestal and the throne are adorned with precious stones. These mosaics were believed to be a reconstruction of the mosaics of the 6th century that were previously destroyed during the iconoclastic era by the Byzantines of that time.


The Imperial Gate mosaic is located in the tympanum above the gate used only by the emperors when entering the church. Based on style analysis, it has been dated to the late 9th or early 10th century. The emperor with a nimbus or halo could possibly represent emperor Leo VI the Wise or his son Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus bowing down before Christ Pantocrator, seated on a jeweled throne, giving His blessing and holding in His left hand an open book.[38] The text on the book reads as follows: "Peace be with you. I am the light of the world". (John 20:19; 20:26; 8:12) On each side of Christ's shoulders is a circular medallion: on His left the Archangel Gabriel , holding a staff, on His right His Mother Mary.





Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Of great artistic value was its decorated interior with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings. The temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, "Solomon, I have outdone thee!" (Νενίκηκά σε Σολομών). Justinian himself had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years.

Source: Wikipedia