Hagia Sophia

45 Pages·2015·4.47 MB·English

by  Approach Guides

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Introduction
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Travel guidebooks for the ultra curious, Approach Guides reveal a destination’s essence by exploring
a compelling aspect of its cultural heritage: art, architecture, history, food or wine.
A wonder of 6th century engineering, Istanbul’s church of Hagia Sophia stood as a symbol of the Byz-
antine empire for over 9oo years. So great is its magnetism that it was adopted by the conquering Ot-
tomans and converted into a mosque to signal their rightful inheritance of the empire’s distinguished
legacy. And the magic remains on full display today: a massive dome that appears to float weight-
lessly above the floor, filtered light that infuses the interior with a glow symbolic of God’s wisdom and
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gold-filled mosaics that encourage contemplation. It is yours to discover.
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What’s in this guidebook
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• An introduction. We review the church’s history and explain why the emperor-builder Jus-
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tinian broke from earlier design precedent in favor of an innovative central plan that features
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a prayer space covered by an enormous dome.
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• Review of the architectural highlights. Following our tradition of being the most valu-
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able resource for culture-focused travelers, weO profile the church’s most important architec-
tural features and offer a discussion that ties it all together.
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• Tour of the mosaics. The church hoClds one of the greatest collections of mosaics in the
world. To do it justice, we crafted a comprehensive tour that features eleven of the premier
works. For each, we review its history, stylistic features and iconography.
• A visit to the prototype. Since the nearby church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus likely
served as a small-scale prototype for the great church, we offer a tour that focuses on their
shared characteristics.
• Advice for getting the best cultural experience. To help you plan your visit, this guide-
book supplies logistical advice, maps and links to online resources. Plus, we give our personal
tips for getting the most from your experience while on location.
• Information the way you like it. As with all of our guides, this book is optimized for intui-
tive, quick navigation; information is organized into bullet points to make absorption easy;
and images are marked up with text that explains important features.
Contact us anytime
Our readers are our greatest inspiration. Email us at [email protected] to let us know
about your experience with Approach Guides — many of our recent updates have been inspired by
customers like you. We personally respond to every email.
We hope this cultural guidebook offers you fresh insights into Hagia Sophia’s legacy and sets you on
a path to making your own discoveries.
Enjoy your trip!
David and Jennifer Raezer
Founders, Approach Guides
www.approachguides.com
Other Cultural Sites in Istanbul: Sinan’s Mosques
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Presiding over the Ottoman empire at the height of its power, sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (ruled
1520-1566) championed the construction of large Friday mosques throughout Istanbul. Mimar Sinan,
the chief royal architect who was himself a convert to EIslam, oversaw this building campaign, trans-
forming the landscape of the capital city. Sinan’s mosques — designed for sultans, royal family mem-
bers and high-ranking government and military oIfficials — are sublime works of art and architecture.
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They are yours to explore with our Approach Guide to Sinan’s mosques.
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Get the Approach Guide to Sinan’s Mosques in Istanbul
Istanbul Revealed:
Hagia Sophia
Version 1.0
by David Raezer and Jennifer Raezer
© 2015 by Approach Guides
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, with-
out permission in writing from the publisher (excluding Creative Commons images). Further, this book is licensed for
your personal enjoyment only and may not be resold or given away to other people.
Copyright, licensing and attribution information can be found in the metadata for all images and illustrations.

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Approach Guides and the Approach Guides logo are trademarks of Approach Guides LLC. Other marks are the property
of their respective owners.
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Although every effort was made to ensure that the information was as accurate as possible, we accept no responsibility
for any loss, damage, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone using this guidebook.
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Approach Guides
P New York, NY
www.apprCoachguides.com
ISBN: 978-1-936614-51-6
Contents
Introduction
Watch Before You Go
Tour Map and Itinerary
HAGIA SOPHIA
Background
Introducing the Great Church
A New Vision

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The Construction
Ottoman History
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Layout
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Layout of Justinian’s Church
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Layout of the Current Structure E
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Church of Light R
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A Walk Through
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Visiting
Exterior
Entrance
Interior
The Dome
Things to Look For
Islamic Features
Tour of the Mosaics
The Basics
A New Figurative Aesthetic
Virgin Mary as Theotokos
Christ as Pantocrator
1. Inner Narthex
2. Christ with Leo VI
3. Apse Virgin and Child
4. Alexander
5. Archangel Gabriel
6. Deesis
7. Seraphim
8. Church Fathers
9. Virgin with John, Eirene, Alexios

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10. Christ with Constantine and Zoe
11. Virgin with Constantine and Justinian
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SAINTS SERGIUS AND BACCHUS
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Visiting Y
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Layout P
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Exterior
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Interior P
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Our Recommendations
Continuing on Your Own
Continuing Travel in the Middle East
Where to Eat, Stay and Shop
Packing List
About Approach Guides
Join Us!
Videos
More from Approach Guides
Free Updates and Enhancements
—
So the church has become a spectacle of marvellous beauty,
overwhelming to those who see it, but to those who know it by
hearsay altogether incredible. For it soars to a height to match
the sky, and as if surging up from amongst the other buildings
it stands on high and looks down upon the remainder of the
city, adorning it ... And it exults in an indescribable beauty.
Indeed one might say that its interior is not illuminated from
without by the sun, but that the radiance comes into being
within it, such an abundance of light bathes this shrine.
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From Procopius of Caesarea’s “Buildings of Justinian,” likely written in the late 550s, soon after the comple-
tion of Justinian’s Hagia Sophia. Translated into English by H. B. Dewing, as printed in volume VII of the

Loeb Classical Library edition, published in 1940W. Read the full text here.
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Watch Before You Go
Watch the Istanbul episode of OnLocation, an online travel show from the creators of Approach
Guides. In this quick video of Istanbul’s skyline, we highlight the principal monuments in the old city
(Fatih) visible from the Galata tower across the Golden Horn.

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Watch the video on Istanbul’s skyline.
To see all episodes in our video series, visit approachguides.com/video or subscribe to our YouTube
channel.
Tour Map and Itinerary

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Fig 1. Map with tour itinerary. See detailed view in Google Maps.
While this guidebook is focused chiefly on Hagia Sophia, we have also included a visit to the church
of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, which likely served as a small-scale prototype (Fig. 1).
1. Hagia Sophia
2. Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Author tip: Only a 12-minute walk from Hagia Sophia, Sergius and Bacchus is worth visiting,
as it provides valuable insight into the starting point from which architects crafted the much
grander church.
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