Hagia Sophia and sultans' tombs

[bixaorellana]

This enormously impressive building was a church for a thousand years, a mosque for another half millennium, and since 1935, a museum.
It remains one of the wonders of the world.

The place is huge and beautiful, displaying evidence of its past as both a church and a mosque, with those elements gracefully coexisting.

Its history is so colorful and frequently disastrous that I direct you to the extensive Wikipedia entry, rather than trying to give a boiled-down version here.
Also, some of you may wish to check out this plan of the building. (Throughout the thread I will show links in italics.)

I am fiend for architectural details, so hold on to your hats -- I almost wore out my camera snapping & am going to show all of the results here.















Imperial Gate Mosaic:



The Imperial Gate:









Once inside, my eyes bounced everywhere at first, trying to get my bearings in the huge space ~

[anshjain97]

Have to catch up with your earlier threads but for now will start with your new one- absolutely amazing pictures! You captured it beautifully. Can't wait to see more.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you so much, Ansh! I saved seeing it until my last day in Istanbul, which was perfect. I would go back there in a minute.

This jar was carved from a single piece of marble ~







Not everything is gold and marble. This prayer floor is enclosed by the low rail you see in some of the photos above ~





















As you can see, there were crowds of people there, but the massive space accommodates them all.
I don't even remember it as being very noisy ~

[bixaorellana]

Note the cordoned-off floor in front of the structure in the picture above. That is the Omphalion --
a group of marble circles set into the floor along with ornamental stones. All the Byzantine emperors were crowned there.









I managed two pictures of the mosaic madonna high up in the apse & will post both of them. But honestly, the picture in the Wikipedia link in the OP is much better & can be blown up to see the fabulous detail. This mosaic was inaugurated in 867.



The giant disks were added during renovation in 1847--1849. There are eight of these roundels -- hemp canvas stretched over wood & inscribed with the names of Allah, Mohammedd, the four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and the grandsons of Muhammad, Hasan and Husayn. They are the largest of this type of calligraphic pane in the Islam world. source

[questa]

I could look at these all day. There are some, Bixa, where you and I must have stood on the same spot to get the same angles, specially the marbles. And those marbles! Brought from all the known quarries and split into great or tiny tiles as required. So many different colours and designs and some like Rorschach Inkblot tests.
Thanks for showing them to us again.

[bixaorellana]

A mihrab is a rounded niche in the wall of a mosque that marks the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the most sacred site in Islam.
Since Hagia Sophia started out as a church, its mihrab is somewhat off center. source





You can see in the first picture that there is a short open-ended hall on either side of the mihrab space.

This is in the right hand hall:




And this is in the left:

I really liked that everything wasn't perfect.
It not only pointed up the great age and history of the building, but created a real appreciation for the restoration work ~





And I was charmed by this pocket of tranquility ~



Someone long ago found a quiet moment to leave his mark.
There are similar graffiti throughout the building, as you will see ~

                     

Here you can see a supporting rib camouflaged as a design detail ~



Two views of the half dome ~

[bixaorellana]

Oct 25, 2015 2:49:51 GMT questa said:

I could look at these all day. There are some, Bixa, where you and I must have stood on the same spot to get the same angles, specially the marbles. And those marbles! Brought from all the known quarries and split into great or tiny tiles as required. So many different colours and designs and some like Rorschach Inkblot tests.
Thanks for showing them to us again.

Thank you so much, Questa! I just went back & looked at both your and Ansh's coverages of Ayasofya -- magnificent, each of them! I particularly loved your shot of the Empress Zoe mosaic, which shows a broader view than mine, as you'll see. Also, you achieved a brilliant capture of the madonna of the apse, which ain't easy. You even caught the delicate rose of her cheeks. Your photo of the mihrab is from a different angle & shows some fine details.

Ansh has a fabulous photo of the Omphalion, where you can really see what it is. (Sometimes I don't see the forest for the trees! ) And even though I studied his thread before visiting Istanbul, I still forgot to turn around to see the magnificent mosaic of the the cathedral being presented to the Virgin. Luckily, he didn't forget & gave us a brilliant picture of it. I have to say, Ansh's city threads are miracles of clear orientation, especially with Istanbul, split in two by the water as it is.

I have zillions more pictures to show. Just got detoured by the loud fireworks & weird, almost snake charmer music outside my gate, so had to go out to try to get some shots of the Virgin of the Rosary's procession as it passed by in the ugly yellow glow of our streetlights.

[bixaorellana]

Um, I guess you can tell I was hung up on looking up.
That was partly because I could see people on that upper level & was dying to get up there myself, but didn't know how ~









Gazing across the floor I saw some groups with guides, one of which had just turned like a school of fish and was heading over to the right.
I zipped over & slithered into the group, then quickly found myself on the upward ramp ~

[bixaorellana]

I'm in the upper gallery, which is higher and wider than I'd imagined when looking up at it. Note that ceilings here are painted. Hagia Sophia was renovated in 1847--1849 by the Fossati brothers, architects from Switzerland. Part of their work required covering over Christian symbols still visible, as the building was a mosque at the time. Later in this thread I will supply links to the history of their renovation and that of the Byzantine Institute. For now, note how the painted ceilings mimic the mosaic ceilings of the ground floor.

















There are several windows up here, each with a wonderful view ~



Mosaic areas being renovated. It really makes you wonder what is underneath the adjacent painted area ~













It wasn't until I finally looked down that I realized that I was much higher up than I'd thought!

~ There's much more to show. I'll be back later ~

[questa]

The stony ramp that leads to the upper level narrowed down to steps which were high and uneven. I wondered how many long-robed men had tripped and fallen over the centuries. I think I was on a lesser used path.

With all the decoration and architectural details it would be easy to think that this place is OTT.
It definitely is not. I think that is because it is so huge that the empty space is part of the experience. Just looking at the people below from the upper level gives the feeling air-iness and lack of clutter.

Bix, after showing us the delicate detail and colour you then insert that mighty arc of four grey marble pillars sweeping across the yellow background. What a pic!

[bixaorellana]

Questa, I don't remember stairs, but maybe there were some. The first thing you notice on arriving up top is the gift shop space for the really expensive items. It's kind of funny that you can wander & touch at will in a centuries old building full of irreplaceable treasures, but the eagle-eyed vigilance was all for the gift shop reproductions.

And THANK YOU for making that excellent point about the scale of the place! There is something natural, almost organic in the perfection of the proportions and the feeling of space that as you say, makes everything just right and not at all excessive.

I hugely appreciate your attention to this thread and your kind words. Maybe you can help me out with something --

In the third picture from the bottom in my last post above & in the two following this text, you'll note the striking black and white decoration. There is a great deal of it, and I can't figure out what it is. Black and white marble? Mother of pearl? Paint? I've searched online & can't find the information. I'll show some closeups, too, where it can be seen that the decoration is an overlay. But of what on what?











Gratuitous art shot ~







I got so excited when I saw this seraphim(?) painted on the wall. It seemed so amazing, so inspired that someone had created a completely non-anthropomorphic angel. Later I read that all of the seraphim on Hagia Sophia's walls do have faces, but that the Fossati brothers covered the faces with gold bosses since the building was a mosque when they worked on it. You will see the ones with faces in some of the other pictures. Oh well -- the thrill was nice while it lasted ~





What a lucky moment for a shot -- an almost unpeopled ground floor ~

[Deleted]

These photos are so amazing that once again I am at a loss for words. In spite of two short trips to Istanbul, I did not manage to see this -- closed during the first trip, and the second trip was for work, so I was stuck most of the time. It really does seem to be totally huge, but I knew that already just seeing it from the outside.

I'm going to read the Wikipedia article, but I am intrigued as to how the Madonna escaped being covered over. Out of reach? Or maybe she was covered over and then uncovered when the museum opened.

Naturally, I noticed that the tourists are much more relaxed in their attire compared to your photos in the mosques or even the Topkapi.

[questa]

M. Kerouac...Mme Bixa is a respectful lady, she would not insult these places of wonder dressed as a common tart!

OK, Bixa...from the close-up you can see the faint pattern of squares which shows the design was placed there like panels or tiles one at a time. I would hazard a guess the material is marble (which can be dyed black)as a base, then gemstones used as the more decorative sections.

Black gemstones like Agate, Onyx and Obsidian are fairly plentiful in that region, and Tourmaline and polished lava could be traded. The white sections do look like Mother of Pearl (over marble?) but Moonstone, Agate and Quartz may have been added.

There is no doubt that parts of the black on white marble design are painted in. To add to my gemstone suspicion, the design has a row in which oval stones are inserted (1st close up) To my untrained eye they look like agate or onyx on the right and obsidian or agate on the left. Your 2nd pic shows chips of gemstone arranged around the insert as well.

I can imagine artisans laying out panels of thin white marble side by side, sketching the design on the panels, painting the black parts in, then fixing them in place. Then the artists get to work putting in the features in gems.

Does this answer anything?

[bixaorellana]

Kerouac, I hope you get to see it one day. My recommendation is to plan nothing else on the day of that visit, in order to spend as much time as you want taking it in.

Yes, the Madonna was covered over and not re-exposed until Hagia Sophia was deconsecrated as a mosque & turned into a museum. The Fossati brothers had actually been commissioned only to clean and restore the mosque, which was in shabby and even dangerous condition at the time (1847). The Byzantine mosaics were discovered by accident in 1848 and shown to the sultan. He was so impressed that he ordered them cleared of plaster. The Fossatis made drawings and watercolors of the mosaics, then covered over the figural or Christian ones with plaster and paint, leaving the purely ornamental ones exposed. For instance, in Reply #5, sixth picture & in several other places, you can see crosses showing through the ornamental figures. One of the fascinating things about Hagia Sophia is the way the dual uses of the place are in evidence and the decisions that had to be made. For instance, the gorgeous dome with its golden Islamic calligraphy is suspected to have a mosaic Christ Pantocrator beneath it. Although that would be the older artwork, it would also be a shame to remove that particular evidence of the building's tenure as a mosque.

Incidentally, back to the topic of the building's size, the Madonna in the apse is a staggering 13 feet/4 meters tall, positioned almost 100 feet/30 meters above the floor.

Re: attire -- it was so much better to be able to truly explore and enjoy the place without having my peripheral vision blocked and without wanting to rush away so I could rip off the swaddling, smothering scarf!

Questa, you are a jewel! I can't believe you ferreted out all that information from my blurry pictures. It sounds very plausible and, if your conjecture is correct, makes the work all the more remarkable as there is so very much of that particular motif. Thank you!

I said that I'd supply some good informative links for those who are interested, and this seems like the right place to put them.

This is a very complete illustrated publication from Dunbarton Oaks, which housed the Byzantine Institute:
Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: The Fossati Restoration and the Work of the Byzantine Institute

This is a good overview with some interesting details. However the author says the apse Madonna was not covered over, which is incorrect:
Hagia Sophia: Facts, History & Architecture

Here is an excellent, very recent blog post which could be used as orientation for visiting. There may be some inaccuracies, but it is overall good reading:
Hagia Sophia – Inside the Temple of the World

[questa]

c2.staticflickr.com/6/5619/21437682282_6551041cbc_n.jpg


You posted this, Bixa, but have you Googled about these tiles? I found several entries when we were discussing the blue-ness of the ceramics. Just enter Iznik .

[bixaorellana]

You're right, Questa -- fascinating subject! I have some more photos of Kaaba tiles from other mosques and was planning to cover that subject separately, since this is already going to be such a long thread -- I'm only @ 1/3 of the way through it so far! I think you'll really like the 2nd half, which is the part about the sultans' tombs. Lotta tiles!

[bixaorellana]

Details and graffiti ~

View from one of the windows ~

[bixaorellana]

The Deësis -- from the latter part of the 13th century ~

This rather horrible little picture purports to show how the complete work would have appeared ~

                     

Here you can clearly see how the painted plaster covered the mosaics ~



Looking below to the Sultan's lodge, designed by Gaspere Fossati in 1847. The grills are carved marble.

Is it just me, or did the artist give the Virgin a rather avaricious expression?

[Deleted]

If ever I win the Euromillions lottery (maximum something like 130 million euros), I wouldn't mind purchasing some visits from time to time in the Sultan's Lodge if they install a futon and an internet post while I am there.

[mossie]

Don't be greedy, unless all of us are included.

[questa]

To me, the Virgins look is not so much avaricious as the glazed (sorry) look of a junior member of the Royal Family about to officially open yet another child care centre, and admire the kiddies' finger paintings.

[questa]

The guide told us that paintings or mosaics on the domed areas can not be painted in normal proportions because of the curve. Therefore the Madonna's head is bigger than shoulders, one arm longer than the other, feet smaller than normal when seen from close up. As we view the portrait from the floor, it appears in proportion.

A bit like the distortions of the Mercator projection of the world map v. the Globe view

[nycgirl]

Wow! The calligraphy-adorned disks, the mosaics, the soaring domed ceilings- what a magnificent place! It's so huge, too, that the crowds don't seem overwhelming. Would you say you enjoyed the experience here more than the Blue Mosque?

A few general questions about your epic journey as a whole: How long were you gone? What was your favorite part? Did you enjoy the length of the trip, or did you get homesick?

[breeze]

I've seen every one of your trip photos, but unfortunately I was stuck viewing most of them on the phone screen and I know how much I miss at that size. I need to go back and see each one in full living color on my 19" monitor.

nycgirl asks some questions that I'd be interested in learning too.

Also, I'd be interested in knowing what you consider the highlights of whatever you ate in Turkey. I have recently been thinking of Turkey as a possible food destination, with architectural interludes. I'm sure it should be the other way around but like Napoleon's army, we travel on our stomachs.

[questa]

> nycgirl and breeze. My visit to Turkey was actually 2 three day stop overs at the start and finish of the Silk Road trip I did. From Istanbul I flew to Almaty in Kazakhstan, then by bus into western China through steppes and deserts and south to Kashgar. From there to Kirgizstan and Uzbekistan. I flew from Tashkent to Istanbul for the final 3 days of exploring, then back to Oz.

I was out of Oz just over a month, takes a couple of days to fly back home. Some of the more interesting places ...Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and my favourite, Kashgar I spent 2-3 days marvelling at.
I don't get homesick when travelling, I get "Travel yearning" when I am not. Poring over maps, researching locations and setting up itineraries, even though I won't do the trip.

I liked Sofia better than Blue Mosque. It seemed to breathe history and religion like a living thing whereas the Mosque was still an inanimate building although beautiful.

There were so many marvellous parts that I can't single out a favourite. I had read so much about these regions back in the era of "The Great Game" (UK, Russia and others running spies from their consulates in Kashgar) I stayed one night in the old British consulate and one night in the Russian.
I love deserts and there were plenty of these, and also giant snow covered mountains which over-awed me. Thousands of square Km of green grasslands. The people also are friendly and hospitable. I am not a foody and settled for mostly local eateries. Bowls of lamb or goat meat with veges and noodles or eggplant, tomato, flat bread etc.

In the Asia thread in Compass points are 2 reports I posted about Central Asia...the people of central asia thread will show you the food and cooking

[bixaorellana]

Please let me apologize for having almost abandoned this thread. It is far from complete! A very special thank you to Questa for her continuing interest and for the wonderful insights and details she has provided to make the thread so much richer.

And another thanks for zeroing in on the obviously correct interpretation of the Virgin's expression.

Kerouac, I have no doubt that if they know you're coming, the museum board would hop to with some nice Byzantine comforts and electronic access for you.

Questa, that is a fascinating detail about proportion in the dome painting. It never occurred to me that of course an image painted "in the flat" would not work visually when seen from below. The mind boggles at the insight and mathematics it took to produce what appears to be a perfectly proportioned and delicate double portrait.

NYCGirl, you are so right about the size and magnificence of Hagia Sophia. As far as preferring either it or the Blue Mosque, I'd have to say that you get more, so to speak, with Hagia Sophia, but I am very glad that I saw working mosques -- and churches, for that matter -- beforehand, to better grasp the brilliance of the architecture of Hagia Sophia and the uses to which it's been put. Questa's comment about it seeming "to breathe history and religion like a living thing" is a perfect description of how the place affects one.
I am planning to put together a separate thread with some other mosques I visited. You'll see their similarity to the Blue Mosque and how they feel different from Hagia Sophia. I think others who have visited Istanbul would concur on that point.
Questa is the one who took an "epic journey". I had an amazing trip, though, & would say in answer to your question that I was gone @six weeks -- from leaving my house on July 9 to returning to it on August 18. My favorite parts of the trip were the cities -- Paris, Palermo, Istanbul. I did miss my doggies, but never had a twinge of homesickness and would have preferred to keep going rather than return home.

Breeze, you've been traveling too, and I appreciate your checking out threads on the phone, which must be kind of a pain. I took an 11.6" laptop with me and a 7" Windows tablet which also served as a Kindle. I want to see the world, but I want to see it with my electronics!
It's a little hard to answer the food question. I'd planned to really explore the food in Istanbul, but .... first, it was so hot when I was there that all the eating I did was for necessity, not pleasure. Also, at least half the time I was with another person who is far less enthusiastic and much less of an omnivore than I. It is a place to which I'd love to return, but next time I am going to really research the cuisine before I go and learn some terminology. The food was heavier than I expected -- for most of the year it's not a hot climate -- but overall interesting and delicious.

There will be much more to this thread! I'm paying for letting it fall by the wayside, as I'm also trying to crank out the DoD thread.

[Deleted]

You captured so much of the wonderful architectural detail beautifully.
It's interesting because you showed some areas that were being renovated when I was there so, now I get to see what I missed.

I do recall how huge the place was and almost overwhelming all the eye candy so to speak.

Aside from the mosaics I was totally blown away by the grill work and those massive doors.

I also remember having a very sore neck from all the looking up. I even had a brief spell of dizziness from craning so much.

My travel companion made a video and it is lying around here somewhere (on VHS). I remember she captured a shot of me twirling around with my arms out that was very cool. (A virtual Polish whirling dervishski!! )

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Dervishski!
I think the renovation will continue for years. In fact, they'll probably start over at the beginning at some point, for double-checking & maybe to apply new methods that evolve. The scaffolding is in a different spot in Questa's 2005 photos. I went to check Anshjain's Istanbul thread from Spring of this year and was horrified to see that all the pictures were gone. Ansh is a busy student and might not have known of ImageShack's betrayal of its users. Hope he can rework that thread!

I'm waiting for some people right now, so let me see if I can fit in at least one more picture post ~

A last little bit of the interior before we go outside to the grounds and then on to the gorgeous tombs ~



My second photo of the apse Virgin, which came out much better. To see the details in the full-size version, click here

                                





And on to the down ramp. I found my friend downstairs and she said I needed to see the slide show in an ante-room, something I would have skipped otherwise, but now recommend to other visitors.

On the way down the ramp you pass a couple of these, although it was too dark to get a good picture ~

                                








Daylight and ruins kitties ~



                                









From here we went around the side of Hagia Sophia to the Sultans' tombs.
But first, in the next post, I'll show the gorgeously opulent washing pavilion.

                     

[bixaorellana]

While waiting in line to get to the ticket window for Hagia Sophia, there is ample time to admire the washing pavilion from a distance. Situated between the museum and the Sultans' tombs, it was erected by Sultan Mahmud in 1740. After visiting the interior of Hagia Sophia, I made sure to check out the pavilion. You'll see that I went a little ga-ga over it ~

[bixaorellana]

From here we moved on to the adjacent tombs of the sultans. Before going there, though, I'd like to include this cut-away view of Hagia Sophia.
You may have to magnify the picture to fully appreciate it ~