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Hagia Sofia:Cistern
Made by BrianSearwar
A marble cistern added to Aya Sofia by Sultan Murad III in the 16th century. These contained water used to cleanse worshippers before they proceed to pray. The marble cistern is made from one single piece of stone. The earliest of Istanbul’s churches was constructed during the reign of the Emperor Constantinus in basilica form, with a wooden roof. It was then the cathedral church of the city, and entitled Megala Ekklesia. From the 5th century onwards it became known as the church of Divine Wisdom - Hagia Sophia. The original church was said to have been during an uprising on 20th June, 404, was rebuilt during the reign of Theodosius II, and re-opened on 10th October, 415. The second church was destroyed by fire during the Nika uprising in 532, and was completely restored with the support of the Empress Theodora, wife of Justinianus after that uprising had been suppressed.


Hagia Sofia:Henricus
Made by BrianSearwar
In the centre of the south gallery is the former tomb of Henricus Dandolo, the blind Doge of Venice who led the Crusaders in their capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Dandolo was responsible for steering the Crusaders away from the Holy Land and towards Constantinople, where the Byzantine pretender Alexius promised them great rewards if they assisted in helping him take the throne from his uncle. Although he Crusaders succeeded in installing Alexius IV as Emperor, the usurper never paid Dandolo's forces what he had promised them and after six months of waiting, Dandolo decided to take his reward by force and he ordered his forces to storm the city on April 12, 1204. The Crusaders breeched the walls, killed the inhabitants and plundered much of the city's treasures.


Hagia Sofia:Empress Zoe
Made by BrianSearwar
The mosaic of Christ, Empress Zoe and Emperor Constantine IX Monomakhos. Zoe had three husbands in her lifetime, and it is said that each is featured on the mosaic. After she had her first husband, Emperor Romanus III, drowned in his bath with the help of her second husband, Michael IV, in 1034, Zoe had the former's head replaced with the latter's on the mosaic. Michael died of natral causes in 1041, and the following year Zoe married Constantine IX Monomakos and had the head on the mosaic changed again. Constantine's head remains only because he outlasted Zoe, who dies in 1050. Constantine offers Christ an apokombian (a purse estimated to contain gold coins wighing about 3 kg). Zoe presents Christ with a scroll inscribed with a list of her donations to the church.


Hagia Sofia
Made by BrianSearwar
The church measures 77 x 79 m. and the impressive huge dome soaring 62 m. above the floor has a diameter of about 33 m. The nave is 38.07 m. wide, more than twice the width of the aisles, which measure 18.29 m. each. The emperor commissioned the architects Anthemios of Tralles and Isidor of Miletus to rebuild the Hagia Sofia after the nika uprising, and according to the account of the Byzantine historian Prokopius, the emperor ordered a building of great stature and magnificence, using his imperial authority to ensure that nothing was lacking in the building of it. Eight columns of red porphyry were brought from the Diana Temple at Ephesus. Other marbles were obtained from classical sites and from some of the finest marble quarries of the Byzantine world.


Hagia Sofia
Made by BrianSearwar
The grand piers over the underground cisterns on the site were, to some extent, a measure against earthquake damage, but did not prevent this monumental structure from suffering some damage during earthquakes in 533, 557 and 559. We learn that it was restored in 562 by the architect Isidoros, nephew of the earlier architect of the same name, who raised the previously depressed dome by some 6.25 m. Further support for the major piers was provided by buttresses. The four minarets, one on each corner of the building were added at various times during the Ottoman period, the southeastern minaret dating from the reign of Mehmed II, the northeastern minaret to Bayezid II and the two minarets on the western facade to the period of Selim II.


Hagia Sofia:Mihrab
Made by BrianSearwar
The mihrab is a niche in a mosque indicating the qibla, the direction in which a Muslim shall perform his salat. The mihrab is considered by both Muslim and Western scholars as an element taken from churches, an element added to the mosque of architectural reasons. The mihrab was introduced in the 3rd century of Islam most likely in the 9th century AD. Mihrabs can be of wood, but are normally made out of masonry, and adorned with pillars. Mihrabs very often come highly ornamented and the one in Hagia Sofia was no exception. As was often the case in Turkey, tourists are everywhere! The stained-glass windows high above the mihrab were originally part of the building when it was built as a Christian place of worship.


Hagia Sofia:Ramp
Made by BrianSearwar
The ramp to the upper gallery at Aya Sofia. It was made of stone and ‘spiralled’ up for about 4-5 floors. The upper gallery contains the fantastic mosaics, which were created by Christians then later covered with plaster when the building became a mosque. Islam forbids the ornamentation of mosques with images of humans or animals, which explains why the Turks covered over all of Aya Sofya's mosaics with plaster. However, they also went to great lengths to remove all signs of abstract Christian ornamentation from the church, such as the reliefs of crosses that filled the galleries. It's hard to turn around in Aya Sofya without seeing a cross with its top having been chiseled or hacked off.


Hagia Sofia: Mihrab
Made by BrianSearwar
The Church of Hagia Sophia, associated with one of the greatest creative ages of man, was also the Cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for more than one thousand years. Originally known as the Great Church, because of its large size in comparison with the other churches of the then Christian World, it was later given the name of Hagia Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity.The church of Hagia Sophia is believed to have been founded by Constantine the Great. The initial building was erected over the ruins of an ancient temple of Apollo, situated on a hill commanding a magnificent view of the Sea of Marmara.


Hagia Sofia:Virgin and Child
Made by BrianSearwar
The magnificent mosaic panel in the lunette over the south doorway of the esonarthex is dated to the 10th century. An esonarthex is an entrance covered by a roof outside the front door of a church. The composition shows the Virgin and Child enthroned and flanked by the standing figures of the two Emperors. To the left, Justinian presents a model of the church of Hagi Sofia and to the right, Constantine I offers a model of the walled city. The mosaic was probably commissioned by Basil II (976-1025), who held in great admiration both these Emperors, whose example he believed he had followed in restoring the empire to its former extent.


Hagia Sofia: Ceiling
Made by BrianSearwar
The ceiling of one of the smaller domes in the upper gallery. The church was converted into a museum during the recent Republican period, by order of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and re-opened on 1st February, 1935. The building covers an area of 100 x 70 m., and the plan consists of a wide central nave flanked by two smaller naves, an apsis, an inner and outer narthex and a central dome up to 55.6 m. in height. Owing to restorations carried out at various periods, this dome is no longer entirely circular but has gradually become elliptical


Hagia Sofia:Minbar
Made by BrianSearwar
The minbar is the pulpit in a mosque, placed next to the mihrab. The minbar is used with the khutba the Friday sermon, and the khatib (the person performing the Friday sermon) ascends it. But he stops on one of the lower steps, as the top of the minbar is restricted to the Prophet only. Early on, the minbar soon got an important function for transmitting official proclamations, whether it be from the secular rulers or from religious leaders.A minbar is considered as a good place for baraka, blessings, and for giving oaths.


Hagia Sofia: Mosaic deesis
Made by BrianSearwar
This is the Mosaic of the Deesis in the south gallery of Hagia Sofia. The mosaic is dated to shortly after the Restoration (1261) and had probably been commissioned to express the City's gratitude for the victory of Michael VIII Palaeologus (1261 - 1282), which put an end to Latin occupation. Christ is portrayed at the centre holding a closed Book of Gospels in the left hand and raising the right hand in the act of benediction. On either side, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist are shown.


Hagia Sofia: Madonna and Child
Made by BrianSearwar
The mosaic of the Madonna and Child with Emperor John II Komnenos and Empress Irene is located in the south gallery. The emperor offers the Virgin a sack, presumably filled with gold, while the empress presents her with a scroll inscribed with a list of donations to the Theotokos. Theotokos means literally God-bearer, it si the title given to Mary, the Blessed Mother, in recognition of her role s Mother of God, the woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ.


Hagia Sofia: ka'aba
Made by BrianSearwar
The Holy Ka’aba in Mecca depicted on Iznik tiles. The Holy Ka’aba is the most holy structure in Islam, and is according to Islam the centre of the world. The Ka'ba is in the qibla, the direction Muslims perform the salat, the prayer. The area around the Ka'ba is considered sacred, and inside the area the truce of God reigns. Man and animals are safe here, and shall not be forced away.


Hagia Sofia: Leo the Wise
Made by BrianSearwar
The mosaic in the lunette over the imperial doorway leading from the narthex to the naos(nave) shows Christ enthroned and on either side, enclosed within roundels, the busts of the Holy Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel. To the left, Emperor Leo VI The Wise (886-912) is shown prostrate before Christ. The piece of art dates to the tenth century A.D.


Hagia Sofia:Viking rune
Made by BrianSearwar
On top of the marble balustrade in the South Gallery inn Hagia Sofia in Istanbul I found part of what a Viking wrote in runic letters a 1000 years ago, probably: Halvdan was here. The Vikings referred to the city as Miklagaard(The Great City); They weren't mistaken. The runic markings were made in the ninth century.


Hagia Sofia: Omphalion
Made by BrianSearwar
Omphalion is the place where Byzantine emperors were coronated. The size of the stone circle is indicative of the importance of the person standing within in it. The Emperor would stand in the largest centre circle with his heir and family in the next largest circle and members of the court in the smaller circles.


Hagia Sofia:Minaret
Made by BrianSearwar
One of the minarets of Hagia Sofia showing the loud-speakers which regularly announce the call to prayer during the day. Although Hagia Sofia itself is not currently a place of worship, its minarets are used to help call the faithful to some of the other mosques in the area.


Hagia Sofia: Lodge
Made by BrianSearwar
The muezzin's lodge in the Hagia Sofia. The muezzin was the person who would call out for people to come to the mosque for the salat, the 5 daily prayer times of Islam. The lodge was probably similar to being their 'office' while they were in the mosque.


Binbirdirek Sarnıcı
Made by Amanda Michaltchuk
Mais conhecida como Cisterna das 1.001 colunas ou Cisterna de Filoxeno, só perde de tamanho pela Cisterna Basílica. Tinha água suficiente para abastecer uma população de 360 mil pessoas por 10 dias nos seus 64m por 56m de construção.