HAGIA SOPHIA

Introduction

Hagia sophia is famous particular for its massive dome, it is considered the
epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of
architecture.
It remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years thereafter,
until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.
The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and
537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and was the third
Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site.
It was designed by the Greek scientists Isidore of Miletus, a physicist,
and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician.

Convertion of church into mosque

The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among
other things, a 15-metre (49 ft) silver iconostasis.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under
Sultan Mehmed II, who subsequently ordered the building converted into a
mosque.
The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed and many
of the mosaics were plastered over. Islamic features such as
the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets were added while in the
possession of the Ottomans.
It remained a mosque until 1931 when it was closed to the public for four
years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum.

Plan

Length-82 m (269 ft)

Width-73 m (240 ft)
Height-55 m (180 ft)
Beginning date-532
Completion date-537; 1475 years
ago

Architecture

Justinians Hagia Sophia is the one that stands today.

It is an architectural intelligence and the first masterpiece in Byzantine
architecture. It has been the largest cathedral for 1000 years until the Seville
Cathedral was built.
The church has a rectangular shape, and the square vast square nave measuring
31m (102ft) is covered with a central dome that is carried on four pendentives.
The arcade around the dome is unbroken with 40 arched windows to bring the
light inside. Excluding the two narthexes and the large atrium, the basilica
measures 70 x 75 m (229 x 245 ft) .
The atrium measures 48 x 32 m (157 x 106 ft) and the total length of the
construction measures 135 m (442 ft).
The narthex outside at the eastern part of atrium is enclosed, and the inner narthex
is entered by 5 doors, and from this inner narthex there are 9 doors to the nave.
The accesses to upper galleries are provided by ramps, which are traditional
feature of Constantinopolitan church planning.

View of interior

Architecture

It is mostly the dome which makes Hagia Sophia world famous.

The dome sits at the centre of the church. It is between two half domes
which together equals to the diameters of the dome.
The dome is built by brick and mortar, it is 31, 24 mt (102 ft 6 in)
diameters and is 55, 6 mt (182 ft 5 in) high. Because of the several repairs
and constructions in time, the dome lost its circular shape and the diameter
became 31,24 mt (102 ft 6 in) to 30,86 mt (101 ft 3in)
The dome is carried on four pendentives and these pendentives enable its
transition into the square shape of its piers below. These pendentives
distribute the weight of the dome to the walls under it.

Detail

Plan

3D view

3D view

Details

Material

Wall-brick , stone
Covering &
ornamentationMarble , Glass
mosaic ,Gold
Mortar used for
bonding is in the
same proportion of
thickness of brick.

Use of natural light