Hagia Sophia Redux--Part 2

The above photo shows the upper gallery decor above the Empress' Loge. The upper gallery is reached by means of a long ramp, shown in the photos below. The Ramp starts in the narthex in the orthwest corner of the building.

The first photo below is taken from the upper gallery above the Emperor's entrance looking towards the apse. The second is from the upper gallery, apse end, looking towards the Emperor's entrance.

The three photos above show typical decor of the gallery ceiling, columns and window arches.The photo below shows where some of the Muslim plaster has been removed revealing the original Byzantine beneath. When the Muslims took over in the 15th century they redecorated, including plastering over the mosaics. Their belief does not like depictions of humans but does allow for geometric designs.

The above is a partial bit of a painting or mosaic from an arch in the upper gallery.

This mosaic of Mary with the Christ child is high up in the apse. It has been dated to the 9th century. Below is more of a closeup; at least as close as I could get from the upper gallery.

The mosaics that have been uncovered are quite amazing. The two photos below show what are called the Empress Zoe mosaics. They show Constantine IX, his Empress, Zoe, and Chris or Christ and Mary. They date from the 11th century.

This next mosaic is one of my favorites, even though it is only partially intact. It is referred to as the Deesis mosaic. In the early 1200s the Venetians sacked Constantinople and it was returned to Byzantine control 57 years later. This mosaic was done in 1261 in commemoration of the return to Byzantine control. It shows Mary and John the Baptist with Christ. I find Christ's eyes remarkable; they seem to bore right through me.

The above mosaic, found on the tympanum of one of the exit doors from the nave to the narthex, is another favorite. It shows the Emperor Justinian on the left presenting a model of the Hagia Sophia to Mary and the Christ child. On the right the Emperor Constantine presents a model of the city of Constantinople. This mosaic dates from the 9th or 10th century.

This is a part of the original frieze, depicting the Lamb of God.

A note on the photos--all the photos in this and the previous blog entry were taken with a Sony a900 DSLR and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens. Because of the difficulty of using a tripod here, they were all hand held. The interior shots were mostly if not all shot at ISO 2500, to get the aperture I wanted and have a fast enough shutter speed to prevent blurring.

Hagia Sophia Redux--Part 1

Hagia Sophia is now a museum in Istanbul, although originally built as a Christian church in 527 AD by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was converted to a mosque when the Muslim Turks conquered Constantinople in the 15th century. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1935. The photo above shows the Hagia Sophia at sunrise from the Golden Horn; it is the large building to the left of center. Below is a closer view.

This was the largest dome in the world until a cathedral in Seville and St. Peter's in Rome were built in the 16th century AD. The Statue of Liberty will fit inside the dome as will Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral.


These flying buttresses were added several centuries after initial construction to add strength.

The mosaic shown here is over the door from the narthex into the nave. This was the door by which the Emperor entered; no one else was allowed to use it. The mosaic is from the 9th or 10th century and shows the emperor prostrating himself to Jesus Christ.

Above is a huge door; the doorway is between the narthex and the nave. Below is the threshold, showing the results of 1500 years of foot traffic.

We arrived about five minutes after the opening, 0900. Lights were still on in the interior and there were relatively few people inside. It was quiet inside and the quietude added greatly to the experience. You could almost feel the presence of the thousands upon thousands of people who had worshiped here over the centuries. The immenseness of the space and the fact that it was built in the 6th century also added to the awe of the place.

Below is a photo of the interior looking towards the apse. On the left is the Empress' box in which she attended services; it was entered from the gallery. The apse is in the middle with a mosaic of Mary and Jesus high up on the back wall. The large round medallions with what appears to be Arabic writing were added by the Muslims.

The photo above is taken from near the apse looking diagonally towards towards the Emperor's entrance. Below are shown  two of the massive pillars supporting the dome.

This is a massive marble jar brought from Pergamon.

 Above is the Empress' box. She and her retinue of ladies would attend services in this box.

Below is the dome, photographed from the main floor looking straight up. The last photo is of one of the six winged seraphim or cherubim, I'm not sure which is correct, which are found on the supports of the dome.

I first visited Hagia Sophia in 2009 and wrote about it in a blog entry of Oct 19, 2009. I will write more about it in the next blog entry, Hagia Sophia Redux--Part 2.

Spice Bazaar--Istanbul

The Istanbul Spice Bazaar has been in existence at this location since the building was constructed in the 16th-17th centuries(see sign in photo above). The building is owned by the Yeni Mosque next door, shown in the photo below. It is second in size only to the Grand Bazaar. It is L shaped; there is a long corridor with shops on either side, an arm and shops on the outside running up the west side of the building. There are still many spice shops but it has been infiltrated somewhat by tourist shops selling purses, souvenirs and such. Some of  the outside shops sell fish, cheese, fruit and veggies, as well as some fast foods.

The photos below are  typical shops that specializes in spices. One prominently features Turkish delight.

The photo above shows a shopkeeper weighing out a spice. There were a lot of locals buying in the spice bazaar.

The photo below is about halfway along the main corridor. As you can tell, there are many tourist type shops in this part of the bazaar.

 The shop above is featuring dried fruits.

This shop is featuring sponges and strings of red peppers..

Above is a kebab shop where the shopkeeper is cutting slices of meat to make a Doner Kebab. All over Europe you will find Doner Kebab shops run by ex-pat Turks. They are excellent!

Above is a fish market. This and the other shops below are on the west side of the market on the outside.
Below in order are a cheese shop, a fruit and veggie shop and a shop featuring olives.

The photo above shows a man with a large basket on his back talking with a shopkeeper. I couldn't tell if he was a shopper or a supplier.

This street vendor was cooking and selling corn on the cob.



We didn't buy any spices because we didn't know what the USDA regulations are regarding bringing spices into the country. It was very tempting, however.

Basilica Cistern-Istanbul

Some time during the reign of the Emperor Justinian(527-565 AD), a large cistern was built near the Haggia Sophia, on the site of an old basilica. This was used to store water brought by aqueduct, also built by Justinian, from the Belgrade forest, approximately 19 kilometers away. The water apparently was used mostly by the palace. Other cisterns were also built for water storage in the city.

The cistern was used for water storage for centuries. It was apparently unknown to the Ottomans for about 100 years after they conquered the area(approximately 15th century AD).. It was rediscovered when some people were found to be getting water through holes in their basement floors. It has undergone restoration and was opened to the public in 1987.

According to some historic texts, 7,000 slaves were used in its construction. It is 453 feet long by 212 feet wide. The walls are three and one half meters thick, made of firebrick. The roof is vaulted brick supported by 336 columns, 30 feet tall, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns in a row. It would hold 2.8 million gallons of water. A special water proof mortar was used. Most, if not all of the columns were recycled from other structures; they are mostly Ionic and Corinthian.

There is only a foot or two of water now present, a walkway has been constructed and lighting put in place.

The photo below is of the cistern looking straight between two rows of columns.

The next photo is shot more diagonally.

The column shown here is quite unique. It is referred to by some as a "peacock eye" column. As far as I know it is not known where it came from.

 The next two photos show two Medusa head sculptures used as column base supports. They were brought to the site from an unknown location. Why they were used upside down or sideways is not known. These are the only two Medusas. All the other columns are on regular plain bases.

All in all a very interesting and unique place to visit.