Myself, marveling the interior of Ayasofia.
The name in Latin means “Holy Wisdom”. Built in 537, it initially served as a Greek Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople. It has also served as a Roman Catholic cathedral and a mosque. From 1935 to this date, Ayasofia is a museum although there have been campaigns of recent to convert Ayasofia back into a church/mosque.
In its time, Ayasofia went through several earthquakes, a great fire and war and although damaged, it was repaired and restored and is still surviving to this day.
When the Ottomans took over Istanbul in the 1400s and Ayasofia converted into a mosque, the Christian relics were removed and the mosaic depicting Jesus, his Mother Mary and Christian saints and angels were also removed or plastered over. Islamic features were brought in such as the minbar, mihrab and the minarets were added.
As a museum, restoration work has been carried out and continues to this day. The plastering has mostly been removed hence you can see in this photo the mosaic depicting Jesus is flanked by “Allah” and “Muhammad”.
August 4, 2015