Ayasofya Building: Enriching Istanbul’s Culture Essay

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Introduction

Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities in the world, creating a link between two continents, Asia and Europe. It has rich history which is intertwined with culture and ethnic orientation of most of its famous and influential conquerors. Part of what enriches Istanbul’s culture is Ayasofya building which holds unbeaten ancient architectural standings and value. Ayasofya is arguably one of the most important and significant buildings in history. Referred to as Hagia Sophia in Greek, the building has gone through several functional transitions, serving as a church, a mosque and currently as a museum in Istanbul. This essay gives a detailed analysis of the building, cutting across its background information, history, physical characteristics and experts’.

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Background information

Ayasofya is located in Istanbul, Turkey and it formerly served as an Orthodox Patriarchal Basilica, then a mosque before it was converted into a museum, a function it served today. From the time of its dedication in 360 until 1453, Ayasofya served as a Greek Cathedral with an exception of the period between 1261 and 1453 when it was used as a Roman Catholic Cathedral under the umbrella of Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (Wegner, 2000). After this period, the building was used as a worship house for the Muslims from May 1453 to the year 1931 when Ayasofya was secularized and ceased being a worship building for any group in Turkey. The building was converted into a museum in 1935, a function which it serves in the 21st century. This museum conversion was an order given Ataturk, Turkish President. As A result, the building became one of the most significant monuments in Turkey and around the world, priding on its historic richness and architecture that outshines countless renowned centers.

According to historic findings, Ayasofya was bestowed to the Logos, who is considered as the second individual as defined by the Holy Trinity in Christianity. This dedication ceremony was held on the twenty fifth day of the month of December after its completion. This date was primarily considered in remembrance of the origin of manifestation of the Logos through Christ (Hagia-Sophia.net, 2008). It is important to mention that its original name defined its divine purpose as it was to serve as the Church of God’s pure wisdom. The building was famously known around the world for its dome that gave rise to Byzantine architecture. With its magnificent architectural finish and design, Ayasofya remained the largest cathedral around the world for close to one thousand years when the construction of Seville Cathedral was completed in the 1520. The construction of the building lasted for two years between 532 and 537 and was a decree from Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Importantly, Ayasofya was erected at the site as the third church after the preceding two buildings were brought down by rioters (Wegner, 2000).

Ayasofya as a Church

As mentioned in the previous segment, Ayasofya was constructed after two other churches preceding it had been demolished by rioters in Istanbul. Due to the previous incidents, Emperor Justinian I chose to build a majestic church beyond the standards of the previous basilicas (Hagia-Sophia.net, 2008). To achieve this historic dream, the emperor contracted the best architects in Turkey to put up a building that was to remain historic throughout his reign and several years later. Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles won the tender as chief architects for the project although Anthemius died during the first year of construction leaving the task to Isidore of Miletus who has since been credited as the main architect of Ayasofya. It is important to note that Miletus was a professional physicist while Anthemius was a qualified mathematics. Construction materials for the building were sourced from all corners of the empire. These included but not limited to Hellenistic columns that were obtained from Ephesus in the Temple of Artemis, huge stones from Egypt, marble from Thessaly, yellow stones from Syria and Black stones which were mainly sourced from Bosporus (Hagia-Sophia.net, 2008).

The church was identified as a mega architectural work which Heron of Alexandria’s theories applied in analyzing some of the challenges witnessed during the construction period say, the establishment of an expansive dome as opposed to having large space. Although the church was inaugurated in December of 537, interior mosaics and other finishing were spearheaded by Justin II who reigned between 565 and 578 (Sacred Destinations 2005). The building was known for Byzantine royal celebrations like coronations and acted as a refugee center for those who found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Despite its architectural design, Ayasofya cracked in August 553 and December 557 due to a severe earthquake which hit the city. Subsequent earthquakes which were experienced in 558 led to complete destruction of the alter, ambon and ciborium. This was caused by high bearing load and flat dome (Sacred Destinations 2005). Due to this destruction, the emperor ordered the immediate restoration of the building by appointing Miletus to head the reconstruction team as the head architect. This repair gave the building its current interior design. The reign of Leo the Isaurian saw the destruction of statues and images from Ayasofya after he made public decree for the items to be destroyed all over the empire. The church further suffered damages in 869 which destroyed the entire half dome before it was repaired following the order of Basil I. After the destruction of October 989, main repairs were done by Trdat, an Armenian architect who was contracted by Basil II. Because of the extensive nature of the repair that was needed, the church was closed for six years. It vandalized and ransacked during the time of the Fourth Crusade that led to the capture of Constantinople. The church was converted into a Catholic Cathedral between 1204 and 1261 with Baldwin I of Constantinople being inaugurated in the church in May 1204. Additionally, the church hosts the remains of Enrico Dandolo who is believed to have ordered its ransacking (Sacred Destinations 2005).

In 1261, the church was in a terrible state compelling Andronicus to order the construction of buttresses in northern and eastern parts. These finances were an inheritance the emperor had received from his wife who had died. Following earthquakes which were experienced in 1344 and 1346, the church was closed to allow time for major repairs until 1354. This repair work was headed by Peralta and Astras as architectural engineers (Eastmond, 2004).

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Ayasofya as a mosque

Despite several challenges, Christianity opposition and natural disasters, Ayasofya continued to function as a church until May 1453 when the city of Constantinople was triumphantly conquered by Sultan Mehmet. Upon his entry into the city, he marveled at the beauty of the church and was amazed by its decoration, design and overall architectural work done on the building (Wegner, 2000). In his capacity as the conqueror, he immediately converted the basilica into a royal mosque without a second thought on how this would impact people of other faith. Following this capture, Ayasofya served as the main mosque in Istanbul for hundreds of years and as a model for other mosques in the city like the Suleiman Mosque, Rustem Pasha Mosque, the Blue Mosque and the Shehzade Mosque.

With its professional finish and design, no major structural changes were done on the building despite it having changed its original purpose of serving Istanbul Christians. To convert the church structure into a mosque-looking building, the addition of a prayer niche, pulpit and minaret made of wood were enough initial steps. Most of the mosaics, artifacts and mosaics initially adored by Christians were covered by plaster because of Islamic opposition towards figurative imagery in worship (Eastmond, 2004). Successive Sultans made several additions in order to completely erode the Christian taste of the building into a fully Mosque-like structure.

Sultan Mehmed II propagated the same spirit of maintaining Ayasofya as a mosque by establishing Madrasa School within the vicinity of the mosque before planning for a mega Waqf for the expenses that were to be incurred (Hagia-Sophia.net, 2008). Historical research reveals that major restorations were led by Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect and Civil Engineer who served several Sultans. Sinan oversaw the construction of a second minaret and Sultan’s loge during the reign of Selim II. He also constructed a mausoleum for the same Sultan towards the southern part of the Mosque before building others for succeeding Sultans in 1600s (ArchNet, 2011).

The stature of the mosques was reinstated in the year 1739, led by Mahmud I. During this process, a fountain for ablution was added together with a library, Kitchen and Koranic school (Sacred Destinations 2005). This turned the mosque into an amazing complex and social center. Nevertheless, the most renowned restoration of Ayasofya was completed in 1849 during the rain of Abdülmecid II who engaged architectural services and expertise of Guiseppe Fossati and Gaspare of Swiss origin in renovating the mosque (Eastmond, 2004). Among the renovations done were consolidating of vaults and the dome, decorating of interior and exterior sections and aligning of columns.

Ayasofya as a museum

The building was converted into a museum in the year 1935 by founder and first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (Sacred Destinations 2005). Following this development, carpets were removed from the building exposing marble decorations which had not been seen for centuries. In addition, plaster which had been used by Muslims to cover mosaics was also removed. Despite this conversion by the government, the conditions of the structure continued to diminish causing the World Monuments Fund to place Ayasofya on World Monuments Watch of 1996 and 1998 (Nelson, 2004). Due to poor maintenance, the copper roof started leaking and the interior decorations like mosaics got damaged. There was also rising water from the ground which caused the floor to become damp, raising humidity of the air within the monument. This led to unstable conditions which could not favor stone and paint work in the building.

World Monuments Fund embarked on a renovation exercise in collaboration with American Express Company. This lasted for five years and was completed in 2002. Together with the Ministry of Culture in Turkey, renovation project began with sealing of the leaking roof (Nelson, 2004). The second phase of renovation targeted the interior of the dome where experts were hired to take care of the mosaics. With these efforts, renovation exercise was reported successful in 2006, although other segments of the building need attention in terms.

Physical description

Ayasofya has an overall basilica design which could be attributed to the fact that the building was formerly dedicated for Christian worship. It has a general rectangular ground plan which is seventy meters long and seventy five meters wide. This rectangle is covered with a dome that has a diameter of thirty one meters and slightly compares to the Rome’s Pantheon (ArchNet, 2011). In addition, the main dome of the building is lifted on pendentives with four sections which have a triangular shape. Each of these pendentives is beautified using seraphim. The weight of the dome is therefore distributed to the pendentives and passed to the four pillars located at the corners of the building.

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The arched openings to the eastern and western sides of the dome are expanded by semi-domes. There is a flat wall on the south and north of the building. This wall is referred to as a tympanum with twelve huge windows that are designed into two row; five in the upper section and seven in the lower segment. The gravel path seen outside the entrance of the building is lined up by stone cannonballs. It is believed that the same stones were used in 1453 by Mehmet during the battle for the city in which he victoriously worn (ArchNet, 2011). All the inner surfaces of Ayasofya are covered with green and white polychrome marble, golden mosaics and purple porphyry. The exterior side of the building is well furnished, showing the clarity of domes and vaults. Major things seen outside the church include but are not limited to the remains of Theodosius, Sultans mausoleum and baptistery.

Analysis of Ayasofya

There is a sharp contrast between the uncovered Christian decorations and Islamic roundels which have remained suspended as seen through the main dome of the building (Sacred Destinations 2005). Accessible Byzantine mosaics have continually been uncovered by use of hired laborers to eliminate Christian imagery that was a major characteristic of the building when it was being used as a church, although it still has most of the items used when it served as a mosque. It is worth noting that the main focus of the building was towards the eastern side based on the fact that the building was initially used as a Christian church and most of them are usually oriented towards the eastern side (Hagia-Sophia.net, 2008). Similarly, Muslims worship facing Mecca which is located to the eastern side of Istanbul. This explains why Ayasofya has countless mosaics, artifacts and interesting sights towards the eastern side as compared to any other part of the building.

It has been arguably mentioned that the building must have been constructed to symbolize power and claiming of the Byzantium throne. Although Ayasofya has been secularized since 1935, it is still believed to have been the place of God and one of best churches built by Christians (Sacred Destinations 2005). Nevertheless, it has gone through a series of abuse that has detached it from its initial purpose. Other religious experts have considered the transitions of Ayasofya as mere disgrace and disrespect to God.

Conclusion

Indeed Ayasofya’s history is not only enriching but interesting. The three transitions of purpose i.e. from being a church to a mosque and currently a museum makes it one of the buildings in history with unbeaten and incomparable history. Its architecture is undoubtedly fascinating having been designed by one the best architects of that time. Even as it serves as Istanbul’s best monument and tourist attraction site, its history remains rich.

References

ArchNet. (2011). The History of the Hagia Sophia. ArchNet. Web.

Eastmond, A. (2004). Art and identity in thirteenth-century Byzantium: Hagia Sophia and the empire of Trebizond. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Hagia-Sophia.net. (2008). Hagia-Sophia.net. Web.

Nelson, R. (2004). Hagia Sophia, 1850-1950: holy wisdom modern monument. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Sacred Destinations. (2005). Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. Sacred Destinations. Web.

Wegner, E. (2000). Hagia Sophia, 532–37. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Web.

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