Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Turkey
Richard Rathe June 2016 (History, Photography)
Hagia Sophia is one of the most historic buildings in the world! It is a strange palimpsest of Islam superimposed on top of Orthodox Christianity. Finished in 537 CE, it was the largest building in the world for a thousand years. When we visited it was a secular museum and world heritage site. In 2020 a theocratic government turned it back into a functioning mosque. I do not know if the Christian art and iconography has been covered or possibly removed since then.
I took several fisheye photos of the interior. Note that about a quarter of the space was occupied by a massive scaffold for ongoing restoration and maintenance.
There were four unusual angels
painted on the ceiling. They seemed to be all feathers except the face. All but one had masks covering their faces.
(click any image to view or advance)
