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Hagia Sophia
• INTRODUCTION:
• Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty
and an important monument both for
Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once a
church, later a mosque, and now a museum
at the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia has
always been the precious of its time
• LOCATION:
• Hagia Sophia is located in Istanbul Turkey. It is at the European part of the city in
Sultanahmet area (old town), nearby Topkapi palace in Istanbul. It is within
walking distance from the hotels in Sultanahmet. The distance from Istanbul
International Airport is 20km

Hagia sophia
• Architect
• Isidore Of Miletus
• Antemio De Tralles
• Ruffino
• Remodelation Architect
• Antemio from Tralles, Isidoro from Mileto
• Built in
• 415
• Remodeled in
• 532-537

• Location
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Architectural masterpiece:
• Imagine an architectural masterpiece that dates back to the 6th century
which has been used first as a church,
then a mosque and finally a museum.
• Architectural monuments:
• It’s become one of the leading artistic
and architectural monuments in the
world therefore attracting not only
 the tourists but also the historians, the architects, the artists and the
archaeologists.
• Importance:
• Hagia Sophia plays an important role in the world of art due to its
architecture, magnificence, grandness and functionality.
Concept
• Hagia Sophia its name from the word “Hagia” in Greek means God
and
“Sophia” wisdom. “Divine Wisdom” is one of the attributes of Jesus
Christ and this church was dedicated to that attribute. In Hagia Sophia
merges logic of Greek theology, the ambitious scale of Rome, the
tradition of vaulting the Near East and the mysticism of Eastern
Christianity, creating a monument commemorating the whole
 tradition of antiquity and the positive affirmation of the triumph of
faith of Christianity.

• This basilica holds a symbolic concept of space, Pantheon, the Church

and Kingdom of God and the dome as
Universe.
• Transformation : The transformation of the
monument in years can be considered as unique in the
world.It was transformed, developed, affected by the
historical, political and religious changes of the area
where it is located from the 6th century till today.
When it was built, today’s Istanbul was Constantinople
then, which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
• Function : The purpose of the building was to worship and it has carried on its purpose
for hundreds of years, first by the Christians then by the Muslims.
• 1.Christian: It was built as a Cathedral reflecting
Christian architectural features .
• 2.Mosque: after the conquest of the Ottoman
Emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmed it was turned to a
mosque by adding Islamic features like minaret, a
chandelier, mihrab and a minbar without destroying
the features of the Christian church.
• 3.Master piece: Not touching the Christian features
of the monument and adding Islamic features make this monument a unique
architectural masterpiece

Hagia sophia as a mosque:

Hagia sophia as a church:
Hagia sophia today as a
museum:
Damaged building of hagia sophia
 Hagia Sophia Renovation
• Damaged : Hagia Sophia has been badly damaged
by earthquakes, fires and vandalism during the
centuries.
• Changes: It has had 3 major changes; originally it
was built as a church in 537 later it was converted to
the mosque in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople
and finally it was opened as a Museum in 1935.
• First restoration : Sultan Abdulmecid ordered
the first restoration of Hagia Sophia in 1847.
Columns were straightened, dome and vaults were
consolidated, old chandeliers were replaced by new
pendants ones, huge circular framed discs were
hung on columns and interior and exterior
decorations were revised by 800 workers in 8 years.
After all these renovations, Minaretes, Mimbar and
Mihrab were also renovated and repaired 1 year later in 1850.
• Cracks in dome : Hagia Sophia’s copper roof
had cracks therefore dome was repaired in
between 1997-2002.
• Decorated with mosaics: Hagia Sophia is
decorated with mosaics date back 4th century.
Significant part of the mosaics has been survived
through the centuries because of covering with
plaster during the subsequent use of Hagia
Sophia as a Mosque.
• After many years of restorations work was
completed, all ornaments and interior marble
pieces cleaned and renovated again during the
restoration process in 2012.
• Calligraphy : A total of 600 m2 mosaics have
been restored together with Islamic calligraphy
on the walls.
• Stains due to humidity: There are still visible stains in some areas of Hagia
Sophia because of humidity of Istanbul. Probably the complete restoration will be
impossible

Tunnels of Hagia Sophia

• Hagia Sophia keeps its secrets. With the documentary
“Beneath the Hagia Sophia”, the myth of Hagia Sophia
becomes a popular subject.
• To the legend, Hagia Sophia was important as Vatican.
There were tunnels reaching to Princes Islands (Kinaliada)
starting from Hagia Sophia.
• The underground tunnels covered the city of Constantinople. The huge cistern that a galley may
sail was beneath earth. The tunnels under Hagia Sophia were reaching to Crypto rooms and the
rooms for secret writings. The treasures were hidden beneath Hagia Sophia due to the sieges.
• Any trace of such legendary long tunnels or secret rooms is still a question after the permission
taken just for one day. Yet, there are places to be discovered.
• As the Ministry of Culture prohibits any change beneath the structure, the idea of tunnel
entrances that might have closed in time may still a possibility, and, therefore, the legend may still
continue.

160 years old secret Unearthed

After 160 years of darkness, Seraphim's face is in daylight.

There are 4 seraphim mosaics ( God's protector angels with 6 wings) on the 4
pendentives that carry the dome. The 4 seraphims' faces were covered with 67
layers of plaster for almost 160 years during the sovereignty of Ottomans. The
last person who saw the faces of the Seraphims was the Swiss architect Gaspare
Fossati while he was holding the restoration at Hagia Sophia in 1840s. With a 10
day hard work, experts managed to take off the 7 layers of plasters and reveal
the face of one of the seraphims.

The 16 years old scaffold that was standing on the southeast quarter of the dome
for reconstruction purposes has been unstitched to be set up to northeast
quarter.

The certain age of the mosaics is unclear however they are known to be older than
700 years.
 Hagia Sophia Architecture
• Justinian’s Hagia Sophia is the one that stands
today. It is an architectural intelligence and
the first masterpiece in Byzantine
architecture. It has been the largest cathedral
for 1000 years until the Seville Cathedral was
built.
• Shape: The church has a rectangular shape,
and the square vast square nave measuring
31m (102ft) is covered with a central dome
that is carried on four pendentives.
• The arcade: the archade around the dome
is unbroken with 40 arched windows to bring the light inside. Excluding the
two narthexes and the large atrium.
 Hagia Sophia Architecture
• The basilica: the basilica measures 70 x 75 m
(229 x 245 ft) . The atrium measures 48 x 32 m
(157 x 106 ft) and the total length of the
construction measures 135 m (442 ft).
• The narthex outside at the eastern part of atrium is enclosed, and the
inner narthex is entered by 5 doors, and from this inner narthex there
are 9 doors to the nave.
• The accesses to upper galleries are provided by ramps, which are
traditional feature of Constantinopolitan church planning.
Hagia Sophia Dome
• It is mostly the dome which makes Hagia
Sophia world famous. Hagia Sophia dome sits
at the centre of the church. It is between two
half domes which together equals to the
diameters of the dome. The dome is built by
brick and mortar, it is 31, 24 mt (102 ft 6 in)
diameters and is 55, 6 mt (182 ft 5 in) high.
Because of the several repairs and
constructions in time, the dome lost its circular
shape and the diameter became 31,24 mt (102
ft 6 in) to 30,86 mt (101 ft 3in).
• Hagia Sophia Dome is carried on four pendentives and these pendentives
enable its transition into the square shape of its piers below. These
pendentives distribute the weight of the dome to the walls under it.

Loge of Empress
 Empress’ loge is on the west upper gallery,
overlooking the nave from the top. From there,
the Empress could watch the rituals and
ceremonies.

Marble Door
It is located at the upper southern gallery. It is
probably removed from another Hellenistic
building and was brought to Hagia Sophia. The
marble door was used by synod members to enter
and exit to the meeting chamber.

Sultan's Lodge:
The earlier lodge was located on the apse, but
Gaspere Fossati designed the new lodge in 1847
 and replaced it against the pier to the north of the
apse. The lodge was used by Sultan to join the rituals
without being seen by public and it was also to
protect the Sultan from possible assassins. The grills
of the lodge are carved marble in Turkish rococo
style, and the columns carrying the lodge are
Byzantine.

Mahmut I's Library

Mahmut I who reigned between 1730- 1754, gave
strong interest in Hagia Sophia. He ordered repairs, and
also he added a library, a fountain, an imaret ( a kitchen
to serve food for poor) and a school for children to
Hagia Sophia. The library is located on the first floor of
Hagia Sophia at the southern aisle. It is a rectangular
room, half of the walls decorated with marble and half
top with iznik tiles. On the east wall hangs the “tugra” (calligraphic signature)
of Mahmut I.
The library’s front side has six columns, and in between there are bronze grills
that closes the interior.

Marble Jars
he marble jars on the main floor of the
church were brought to Hagia Sophia
from Pergamon, during the reign of Murat
III (1574 – 1595). Each jar was carved
from a single block of marble.
Plan:
PLAN:

Features:
Elevations:
Section:
Section:
Architectural features:
Architectural features:
Primary structure system:
Architectural Features:
Features:

Pendentive dome construction:

Arches:
Earthquake performance of hagia sophia

Materials:
Bricks : The central dome is built with bricks laid on edge and thick mortar beds for added lightness.
Colored marble : Colored marble, porphyry and basalt columns that
divide up the ships and painted cover their walls, which help to generate
an ethereal glow iridescent inside the enclosure.
White marble : The interior columns were brought from temples in
Baalbek, Heliopolis, Ephesus, Miletus and Delphi, while other pillars and
capitals were made of white marble and ancient quarries abunundantes
Proconessos, in the Sea of Marmara, Thessaly green, golden Libya, Phrygia
and ivory roses of Cappadocia.
Stone and lime stone
material : Originally many of the
windows in a round arch windows
were closed and divided into small
squares either worked stone or
limestone material.

For both minarets to the walls of the church were used stone and brick, marble floors were also
combined with copper inside.
Materials:

Heritage value of Hagia sophia:

• The Hagia Sophia is a component of a UNESCO World Heritage site called
the Historic Areas of Istanbul (designated 1985), which includes that city's
other major historic buildings and locations.
• Protection and management requirements:
• The Historic Areas of Istanbul is legally protected through national
conservation legislation. There is no specific planning legislation to protect
World Heritage sites. The management structure for the protection and
conservation of the properties includes the shared responsibilities of
national government (The Ministry of Culture and Tourism General
Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums, General Directorate of Pious
Foundation) local administration and several state institutions. The
approval of the Conservation Council has to be obtained for physical
 interventions and functional changes in registered buildings and
conservation sites.
Importance:
• n its more than 1,400-year existence, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has
meant many things to many groups of people.
• The building served for centuries as the main religious center for
Christians in the Byzantine Empire. Under Ottoman rule, it was used
as an Islamic religious center. Today it serves as a museum. Millions
of people visit the famous domed structure each year. UNESCO -- the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization –
recognizes it as a World Heritage Site.
 Decorations and iconoclasm

• The decorations within the Hagia Sophia

at the time of construction were probably
very simple, images of crosses for
instances. Over time this changed to
include a variety of ornate mosaics.
• “There are a number of mosaics that
have been added over the centuries,
imperial portraits, images of the imperial
family, images of Christ and different
emperors, those have been added since Justinian’s day,” said Goodson
in the documentary.
Links
• Kotor
• Kusadasi
• Ephesus
• Kotor Old Town
• Ephesus Tours
• Dolmabahce Palace
• Bodrum
• Kotor Tours
• Chichen Itza
References
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hagia-Sophia
• https://www.hagiasophia.com/
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293974-
d294497r165061320-Hagia_Sophia_Museum-Istanbul.html
• https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/museum-or-mosque-
turkeydebates-the-hagia-sofia/5493273.html