back to overview
 
23 photos
Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Justinian (527-565) over a 4th ct. basilica. Minarets were added when the church became a mosque after the Turkish conquest in 1453. Painted-over mosaics were restored under sultan Abdul Mecit in 1847. Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (also known as Byzanz or Istanbul) and a principal setting for Byzantine imperial ceremonies. In this church the coronation of emperor Alexios IV Angelo took place on August 1 1203.
#150304 1

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Jus...

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Justinian (527-565) over a 4th ct. basilica.Minarets were added when the church became a mosque after the Turkish conquest in 1453.Painted-over mosaics were restored under Sultan Abdul Mecit in 1847. Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (also known as Byzanz or Istanbul) and a principal setting for Byzantine imperial ceremonies. In this church the coronation of emperor Alexios IV Angelo took place on August 1 1203.
#150304 2

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Justinian...

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Justinian (527-565) over a 4th ct. basilica.Minarets were added when the church became a mosque after the Turkish conquest in 1453.Painted-over mosaics were restored under sultan Abdul Mecit in 1847. Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (also known as Byzanz or Istanbul) and a principal setting for Byzantine imperial ceremonies. In this church the coronation of emperor Alexios IV Angelo took place on August 1 1203.
#150309 1

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) church and mosque, now museum. Built under Jus...

Buttresses on the south side were added to Hagia Sophia church when earthquakes damaged the central cupola in the 14th century.
#150309 2

Buttresses on the south side were added to Hagia Sophia church when earthquakes...

West facade of Hagia-Sophia church, now a museum. Built under Emperor Justinian (525-567) over two earlier basilicas, columns of which are in the fore- ground. Turned mosque after the Turkish conquest 1453, President Atatuerk made Hagia Sophia a museum in 1935.
#150309 3

West facade of Hagia-Sophia church, now a museum. Built under Emperor Just...

Madonna and child, flanked by Emperor Justinian, (527-565),left, with the model of Hagia Sophia and inscription "Justinian,famous king"; and Constantine I (280-337) with the model of Byzantium and the inscrip- tion "Constantine,among the saints, great king".
#150309 4

Madonna and child, flanked by Emperor Justinian, (527-565),left, with the...

Christ enthroned, blessing. In the medallion left Saint Mary, right the archangel Gabriel. The kneeling figure Emperor Leo VI (886-912).Tympanon in the narthex,above the "Emperor's door", one of the nine doors leading from the narthex into the church proper.
#150309 5

Christ enthroned, blessing. In the medallion left Saint Mary, right the ar...

Interior of Hagia Sophia.The cupola is 55 m high,and measures 31 m across.The green columns come from the harbour gymnasium in Ephesos,the red porphiry columns from the temple of Jupiter in Baalbek.Columns have byzantine capitals,some bear the initials of Justinian.
#150309 6

Interior of Hagia Sophia.The cupola is 55 m high,and measures 31 m across.The gr...

Emperor Alexander (912-913), the short-reigning brother of Leo VI (see 15-03-09/5).Tympanon in the narthex of Hagia Sophia.
#150309 7

Emperor Alexander (912-913), the short-reigning brother of Leo VI (see 1...

Deesis from the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Christ in the centre, Saint Mary and John Baptist left and right.
#150309 8

Deesis from the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Christ in the centre, Sa...

Christ, from the Deesis in the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Detail of 15-03-09/8 Full mosaic shows from left to right: Saint Mary, Christ and Saint John Baptist.
#150309 9

Christ, from the Deesis in the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Detail...

Saint John Baptist from the Deesis in the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Detail of 15-03-09/8 Full mosaic shows from left to right: Saint Mary, Christ and Saint John Baptist.
#15030910

Saint John Baptist from the Deesis in the north gallery of Hagia Sophia. Detail...