Unknown Hagia Sophia Museum of Sultanahmet Istanbul
Istanbul is home to several churches belonging to the Byzantine architecture and Hagia Sophia happens to be the most significant Byzantine churches. Hagia Sophia in Greek (Ayasofya in Turkish) happens as the universally acknowledged and the most visited museums in the world.
In 537 during the Eastern Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian the Great commissioned two architects of Anatolia for construction of Hagia Sophia over the ruins of an earlier building. The materials used in construction of this magnificent building were brought from places including Rome, Ephesus, Athens and Delphi. After the completion of the church, Justinian the Great exclaimed with joy saying- ‘Solomon, I have outdone thee!’.
The fact that architects from the world over envy this exquisite monument and have made vain attempts to imitate it very well explain its importance. It is, undoubtedly, stupendous and surviving example of Byzantine architectural excellence and hence, has invited curious visitors from the world over. Let’s together discover several aspects of Hagia Sophia that have remained undiscovered hitherto.
The Hagia Sophia church happens to be the third church built on the site where the first two churches were built earlier. Earlier, it was known not by the its present name of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) but as the Great Church (Mega Ekklesia) for quite a long period.
The Hagia Sophia was an Eastern Roman Patriarchate church, the foundations of which can still be seen today by any of the visitors. The Holy Synod convened in the chambers of the church. The Hagia Sophia also has two other buildings apart from the main building. One of these buildings is considered to be a baptismal. While the building on the northeast was used as a treasury building, the other on the southwest is believed to be a baptismal.
Several great works of art in the Hagia Sophia belong to different periods and ancient civilizations including the pagan period of civilization in Anatolia, the Eastern Roman period and several other civilizations from the Middle East (specifically the 2nd century B.C.). Some of these beautiful artifacts include water vessels, columns and marbles belonging to the Hellenistic period.
As the city of Byzantium had a strong Roman influence during the construction of the church of Hagia Sophia, the monument is an amalgamation of the magnificent Roman architecture and the standard church architecture of the Byzantine period.
Hagia Sophia was a lodging place for nuns, priests, monks and officials of the Patriarchate. The garden in the Hagia Sophia has a small mausoleum and three big mausoleums where five sultans belonging to the Ottoman period rest, two in the baptismal building and three in the main building of the church. The reason why individual mausoleums were not made for sultans is because all of them had been deposed.
The Hagia Sophia also has two public fountains, a huge central pool, a big fountain in triangular shape, an observatory, a primary school, a religious college (a medrese), two sun dials, a soup kitchen and a small wall fountain.
A number of items from the Hagia Sophia were stolen and smuggled outside Turkey in different periods. These can be seen at the museums in European countries.
To provide added strength and greater stability to the Hagia Sophia and to prevent it from collapsing, Mimar Sinan, the famous skilled architect of the Ottoman period, erected big buttresses around the church.
It happens to be the most ancient, biggest and most significant mosques belonging to the Ottoman period where several state functions and important imperial ceremonies were held. It was the seat of Patriarch of Constantinople for nearly 900 years. It was here that the crowning ceremonies of various Byzantine emperors were organized. The Patriarch received the king and placed the crown at the special spot earmarked for the event.
The courtyard has a pool-cum-fountain (sadirvan) which is the largest in the Ottoman architecture. One can see intricately crafted doorknockers made from cast iron and inscribed with the words ‘Ya Fettah’ (‘Opener of All Ways’) in this church. It was in Hagia Sophia that an angel’s mosaic face was uncovered and presented to visitors in July 2009. It is here that the huge water vessels with antique marble carvings brought by Sultan Murat III from Pergamum.
The dome of the church was damaged and collapsed following an earthquake in 558 while its replacement also subsequently collapsed in 563. The dome also suffered some partial collapses in 989 and again in 1346. The apex of the dome of Hagia Sophia has an inscription from a Koranic verse which means –‘Allah is the light of the earth and the sky’ and is considered to be the highest mosque inscriptions of all times.
It was here that a library was built in the main building and a sultan offered thousands of bound volumes to help common masses attain religious education and assist researchers in their efforts.
The mosque was the place for providing mass education to the people in separate rooms during the Ottoman period. Nearly ten classes were held in separate rooms where elective courses were taught for the first time in the history thus paving the way for providing ‘open education’ to the masses.
Şunu daha büyük bir haritada görüntüle: Hagia Sophia
Yedikule – City Walls of Istanbul
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
People from the world over love to throng to various famous sights and places in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. This is because this is one city which is home to not one or two but countless tourist destinations located within the province of one city. And no tourist can afford to miss visiting such a place.
The map of Istanbul is full of several historical gems hitherto unexplored by many of us. You can choose to travel by taxi to enjoy the beauties of Sultanahmet. As you pass by through the old city walls and lanes, you will witness the falling ruins of the old structures. Also, you will see many new establishments including houses, parks and businesses rising on the ruins of the falling structures.
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
Nonetheless, one thing is for sure, that you cannot fail to see the exotic blend of ancient era into the modern in the most perfect and natural manner. This is exactly true for the fortress of Yedikule, which is an amalgamation of Ottoman as well as Byzantine architecture. This is a monument of history that offers some stunning views of not only the city but also of the Marmara Sea as well.
Also known by the name of Seven Tower Castle, the famous complex of Yedikule was built way back in 388 to mark the celebrations of the win of Theodius I (379-395) over the ruler Magnus Maximus. This monument originally started as the Golden Gate. Made in the Roman style, Yedikule gate had a huge archway in the center with two small and plain arches on both sides.
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
Originally, the structure had decorations of sculptures including two winged victories and four bronze elephants. Also, it had beautiful gold plating. The gate of Yedikule was situated on the Via Egnatia, a common Roman roadway stretching from Constantinople right through the three provinces namely Thrace, Illyria and Macedonia.
The city walls were extended to include the famous Golden Gate after Theodosius II rose to power in 408. Until the year 1261, the Golden Gate remained to be used as a venue for important imperial ceremonies. It was only when Michael VIII Palaeologus came riding a white horse after winning Constantinople that this practice came to a halt. And the wall had to be closed after a series of defeats in fight during the last two centuries of the Byzantine Era.
After the city was conquered by the Ottomans, the gate was amalgamated and merged into the structure of Yedikule. Majority of the workforce required for erecting the fortress was provided by the military.
The construction details and related works were done under the observation of Karistiran Mustafa Bey. The name refers, no doubt, to a castle, but it was seldom used for as a residence by the royals. Rather, it was used extensively as the state prison and the royal treasury. Many foreign emissaries, after earning disfavor and wrath of the sultans, used to be incarnated at this place. And many knew that once they went inside the tine cells of this prison, they would not see the open air of the sky any more. So, in their desperation, several prisoners wrote their names or last words on the tiny and dark chambers of the prison.
It was a general trend or the practice to either behead the prisoners or to throw them from the top of its walls so as to let them suffer an agonizing and painful death. But, it was believed that those, who were beheaded, had to die a slow death. Also, many were subject to extreme torture even as the hands and ears of the prisoners were cut off before executing death sentence.
Just to the left of the main or the central gate lies the bloody well commonly referred as ‘kanlikuyu’. All the executions were performed near this well and the severed heads of the prisoners were thrown inside the bloody well that were eventually sweeped and taken away by the channel into the Marmara Sea. The channel was a connecting link between the open water and the well.
Yedikule, with its glorious history of honor, torture and death, happens to quite an important relic reminiscing of the past of Istanbul. However, the sad thing about most tourists from various parts of the world is that they, somehow, fail to realize the significance of this timeless monument that is, undoubtedly, beyond the confines of time. The small chambers as well as the too narrow corridors of the historical towers certainly give a feeling of foreboding even on a day full of bright sunshine.
The warm and inviting breezes coming from the famous Marmara Sea greet the visitors and offer the much sought after relief from the drag, dreary and horrific cells located just below. And as one sees all around, it is not uncommon to know and accept the reason why Yedikule had an important relation with the old walls of the city.
The visit to this grand fortress is certainly worth enjoying, especially when accompanied by your friends. the gatekeeper at the entry point to this fortress is all the more happy to see you coming for exploring this great monument. The reason being that this is one site, an interesting mixture of Ottoman and Byzantine history and architecture, which is rarely included in the list of the sites to be visited by the tourists visiting Istanbul.