Upon capture of the city by the Ottoman Turks on 29 May A.D. 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror entered the city. The day of conquest was a Tuesday; Mehmed ordered the church converted to a mosque by Friday. Architects removed the altar and reoriented the items at the front of the church towards Mecca; that following Friday Mehmed entered the former church and gave the sermon and led the Friday Prayers, completing the conversion. The now Aya Sofya mosque functioned as a mosque through 1935.
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| (Seraphim mosaic) |
A story has it that Mehmed killed a soldier upon his first entry who had tried to pull up a piece of the marble. He knew the value of the church he had conquered.
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| (View towards the floor. The velvet rope encloses the original marble floor of the church.) |
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| (Looking towards the former altar) |
The mosque was continuously in use through 1934, even during the Allied Occupation following World War 1 (in which a rogue Orthodox priest performed a service in the mosque, the only such service since its fall). In 1935, as part of his overall policy of dis-establishment of religion Mustafa Kemal Ataturk converted the Ayasofya Mosque into a museum, which it remained through A.D. 2020.
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| (View of the dome) |
In 2020, Turkish President Erdogan reconverted the museum back to a mosque. As a result of the transfer, visitors such as us (and apparently even Muslim non-parishioners) are no longer allowed on the main floor, thus all these pictures are from the upper gallery. This was the only mosque where this was the case during our visit.
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| (Ceiling paintings) |
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| (Full view of the former altar) |
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| (A different cherubim) |
Although a not great picture (thanks to a plastic coating), the above is graffiti from a bored Norseman, likely a member of the Emperor's Varangian guard. It is believed to say "Halfdan was here".
One of the great treasures of the Ayasofia is the remaining mosaics, which once filled its walls.
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(The Emperor John II Komnenos (A.D. 1087-1143 and Empress Irene (of Hungary) (? - A.D. 1134)
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| (A mosaic of the Empress Zoe (A.D. 978 - 1050) and Emperor Constantine IX (c. A.D. 980 - 1055) |
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| (View of the pillars) |
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(The grave of Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice and leader of the 4th Crusade, which destroyed and looted Constantinople.)
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| (The Deesis Mosaic with the Virgin Mary, Christ as Pantokrator, and John the Baptist) |
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| (Another Deesis Mosaic with the Virgin Mary, Christ as Pantokrator, and John the Baptist) |
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| (View of the mosaics looking up) |
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| (Mosaics, likely of the apostles) |
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| (Mosaic of Emperor Justinian and Emperor Constantine presenting the Hagia Sophia to the Madonna and Christ) |
Photos reveal how much time, talent and effort were expended on just the inside of the church, let alone the building of it. Mosaics are stunning TB.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, it is even more amazing to think that this work was initially completed in something like 5 years (with additional improvements over the years, of course.
DeleteI have to confess that the trips to Greece and Turkey have given me taste for mosaics I did not have previously.
What a beautiful and surreal space. Your photos all look like paintings, TB. Even when I embiggen them, I'm not sure if I'm looking at a photo of the real thing, or a photo of a painting.
ReplyDeleteBecki, if I had my druthers, I would love to go back and see Byzantine worship in the Hagia Sophia at its height. It must have been amazing.
DeleteIt's something that they didn't destroy the original Christian works. Makes it all the more fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThe Imperial Capital was a big feather in Mehmet the Conqueror's hat (or turban, as it went). To take possession of Eastern Christendom's main cathedral and plant your flag (as it were) represented a very visible representation of the power of Islam.
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