The rise and fall of empires, Hagia Sophia has seen it all
The rise and fall of empires, Hagia Sophia has seen it all
For decades now, Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia has operated as a museum. The structure, which was originally built as a church some 15 centuries ago, has been utilized both as a cathedral and as a mosque. However, Turkish authorities are turning the clock backward, converting Hagia Sophia once again into a mosque.
The first structure on the Hagia Sophia site emerged during the early 5th century. Originally, the structure was proposed as an Orthodox Christian cathedral. What we see today on the site is not the original building. Rather, it’s its glorious replacement that has mesmerized generations of peoples.
It was as recently as 1934 when the site of Hagia Sophia became a museum. The landmark building is also a protected UNESCO World Heritage site. However, earlier in July, the Turkish court annulled the site’s museum status.
End of an era
It was in March 2019 when the Turkish government first announced its intention to switch back the status of Hagia Sophia. The idea has been taking root in the country for the last several decades and it appears that it finally came to realization besides the site’s UNESCO protected status. Any amendment of Hagia Sophia’s status naturally requires the approval of this organization.
Political and religious leaders around the world have condemned the latest move from Turkey in removing the museum status of Hagia Sophia.
In Turkey, opinions are divided. There’s a dispute between the country’s Islamists who have long wished for the site to be turned to a mosque and between the secular opposition members who disapprove of any such move.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the decision, stressing out that the country had exercised its sovereign right in turning the museum site back to a mosque, reports the BBC.
He told a press conference the first Muslim prayers would be held inside Hagia Sophia on 24 July, according to the BBC.
“Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims,” he said.
Christian emblems such as intriguing portrayals of the Virgin Mary found inside the wonder structure will not be removed, further said Turkish authorities.
With 15 centuries worth of history to its name, Hagia Sophia has outlasted both the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. Within this time frame, it served both as a church and as a mosque, until it obtained its museum status in the years preceding World War Two. The decision for Hagia Sophia to become a museum was endorsed by Kemal Ataturk, the so-called Father of the modern Turkish republic.
Critics interpret President Erdogan’s move to dismantle the site’s museum status as another step to disassemble Ataturk’s secular legacy.
Hagia Sophia: Symbol of Coexistence
The building of the first Hagia Sophia church was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Constantius II, shortly before he died in 361 A.D. At that time, Istanbul was called Constantinople. The early church structure was lost in a fire that took place on the site in 404 A.D. as the city witnessed riots and political tension.
Hagia Sophia was rebuilt in 415 A.D. now under the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. The second structure contained an elaborate entrance and five naves within the church interior. During the fifth and sixth centuries, the church grew in importance. It served as a site of the Greek Orhotodox church, however, just like the original structure, the second one was also engulfed in fire.
As the fire severely deteriorated the church, in 532 A.D., Emperor Justinian I (who reigned between 527 and 565 A.D.) sent orders that the site is cleared away entirely. A group of renowned architects of the day worked on the building of a new cathedral site which was completed within less than seven years, and it was this Hagia Sophia structure that prevailed, defied age, and survived into modernity.
As Hagia Sophia was rebuilt, its domed roof reached almost 55 meters (180 ft) at its peak. The structure measured 80 meters (270 ft) in length and 73 meters in width (240 ft). Arches graced with figures of winged angels‒called hexapterygons, supported the dome, while a half-domed altar with two porches completed the interior.
Intriguingly, the church edifice used building materials from various locations of the far-flung Byzantine empire. Bricks and marble were brought for Hagia Sophia all the way from Syria and Egypt. The interior of the church was further enriched with marble from the Temple of Artemis, the remnants of which still stand in the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey.
The walls of the cathedral were graced with elaborate mosaics of silver and gold. Its mosaics also used various semiprecious stones, glass and clay. Each mosaic depicted a different scene from the Bible.
The extravagance of Hagia Sophia swiftly enchanted the hearts of Greek Orthodox followers, hence the structure became the mother church of the religion, the main and official religion of the Byzantine empire. Accordingly, the site was reserved for coronation ceremonies of the rulers of the empire.
While the third church structure survived, there was more than one occasion when its interior changed. The 8th and the 9th centuries were times when the empire had banned the use of all religious icons, so it was within this period that most of the religious art sheltered inside the basilica was irrevocably lost. Some of the church art ended up badly damaged, some stolen.
During the 13th-century, although for a very short period, the church was captured by the Romans. The event resulted in causing prominent damage to the edifice before the Byzantines were able to resume governance.
When the region fell under the Ottoman rule during the 15th-century, it was a turning point in Hagia Sophia’s history. The site was converted to a mosque.
The Ottoman campaign to capture Constantinople, as well as the greater region of Anatolia and the Balkans which eventually formed the Ottoman Empire, was led by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. The sultan preserved the artwork that remained in Hagia Sophia, however, the Byzantine mosaics that graced its interiors were now covered with gold Islamic calligraphy. The mosaics were recovered during the 19th-century.
Golden calligraphy additionally replaced the imagery of the basilica’s main dome, which also contained genuine Christian imagery. In between the 15th and 19th centuries, Hagia Sophia was fundamentally transformed. Each Ottoman ruler added something symbolic of Islam on the former church site.
Noticeably, during this era, Hagia Sophia gained its four minarets. Beyond their religious purpose, the minarets structurally enhanced the building. To this date, the minarets add to the authenticity of Hagia Sophia, attesting to its fusion of styles and religions.
Hagia Sophia was allotted its museum status during the 1930s, a nod to its rich past and the bridging of two distinct cultures that shaped the region’s past. The site is visited by over 3.5 million people each year.
While the move to convert Hagia Sophia back to a mosque is popular among conservative religious supporters of President Erdogan, the international community decried the move, arguing that the beautiful edifice is a heritage to all humanity. Essentially, it stands as a symbol of co-existence, and a bridging point between cultures, religion, and architecture.
Turkey’s most famous author, Orhan Pamuk said the decision to change the status of Hagia Sophia is to diminish “pride” some Turks had in being a secular Muslim country.
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