A crown jewel in Istanbul’s skyline, the Hagia Sophia, also known as the Church of the Divine Wisdom, stands testimony to mankind’s aspiration to transcend time. The 6th century iconic structure, an epitome of Byzantine architecture, is believed to have changed the history of architecture.
It became a model for many of the Ottoman mosques of Istanbul including the Blue Mosque. Originally built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed by Justinian, it is rich with mosaics, marble pillars and ornamental stone inlays. The domed Basilica of St. Sophia rises almost 55m above the ground with a diametrical span of 31m. It is a stunning feat of human ingenuity and endeavour that has survived the ravages of nature and man.
Hagia Sophia, as it was built in 537 A.D, was designed by Isidore of Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician. Both of them Greeks, it is surmised, were influenced by the mathematical theories of Archimedes in designing this edifice. In its 1,400-year life-span, it has served as a cathedral, mosque and is now a museum. A new chapter in Hagia Sophia’s life began in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the armies of Sultan Mehmed II, who established the Ottoman Empire. The church of the earlier Byzantine rulers was converted into a mosque and remained so until Kemal Ataturk, the ‘father of modern Turkey’, declared it as a museum in 1935. Since its construction, Hagia Sophia enjoyed for 1,000 years the pride of place as the largest cathedral in the world.
We walk through expansive gardens before entering the Imperial Gate of Hagia Sophia which is sandwiched between Istanbul’s other predominant landmarks — the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque. Just outside the entrance, stone cannonballs used by Mehmet the Conqueror line the gravel path of the outer courtyard. The four slender, pencil-shaped minarets towering over 200 ft. outside the church were additions made following the Ottoman conquest. The round marble pitchers on either sides of the main entrance to Hagia, brought from Pergamum, Greece, served as fresh water fountains.
The Hagia now stands in all grandeur, an architectural confluence of two religions with its massive dome, tall marble columns, restored gold-layered mosaics and stained glass windows. While Sophia’s exterior reveals simple stuccoed walls, an astonishing 30 million or more tiny mosaic tiles of polychrome marble, gold, green, white and purple porphyry, cover its interior. Hagia Sophia has two levels: a ground floor and galleries above. The two levels are centred on a huge nave with the giant domed ceiling alongside smaller domes. Its central dome with its forty windows and golden tiles sparkles with the rays of the sun gently falling on it. The dome rests on four concave triangular sections that rise from four huge piers that bear the weight of the cupola. And this precisely is the marvel of the dome: its circular base rests on a square base. Its four magnificent arches are held aloft by concealed ribs originally made of special porous clay bricks that were brought from Rhodes. However, the dome suffered damages several times in its history and has been rebuilt many times. The dome displays beautiful calligraphy of verses from the Koran while the walls of Sophia are adorned with mosaics of Christ.
A 13-foot-tall mosaic of Virgin Mary holding infant Jesus adorns the apse of the church. The apse or mihrab was added by Mehmet the Conqueror. Pillars carrying monograms of the four caliphs flank the apse and the entrance of the nave.
An artistically designed Turkish bath with a fountain stands on one of the sides of Sophia, adjacent to its verdant and well manicured park. We come out of the Hagia Sophia through the Vestibule of the Warriors, so named because it is where the emperor’s bodyguards waited while he worshipped.
