Circuit in Turcia 2. Minunile Sfintei Sofia / Roundtrip in Turkey 2. The St. Sophia’s Wonders

Sf. Sofia’s Church in Istanbul is 1400 years old. It was build on 360 at Constantin’s II order. By then, it was a basilica with a wooden roof, which was burnt during a riot in 404. Theodossius II ordered the reconstruction, but another riot is thge cause of its perish again. Justinian the Great recovered it on 537. Materials have been brought from all over the empire: yellow stone from Syria, porphir from Egypt, and the Hellenic Columns from the Artemis’s Temple in Ephessus. After the conquer of Coonstantinopole (1453), Mehmet II decided to transform Agia Sophia into a mosque. It was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkey, who ordered the mosque be turned into a museum.

The treasures of this museum are the mosaics, dating from VI-IX centuries. After the church was transformed into a mosque, the mosaics have been covered by plaster. On 1847 they have been restored in order to be registered, an then covered again. On 1894 a big earthquake destroyed parts of the church and, probably, some mosaics, which have not been found again, at the restauration in 1931.

Biserica de 1400 ani vechime a fost inaugurata de imparatul Constantin al II-lea, in 360. In acea vreme, era o basilica cu acoperis din lemn, cladita pe locul unui templu pagan. Aceasta a ars insa, in timpul unei revolte din 404. Din ordinul lui Theodossius al II-lea biserica a fost reconstruita dar nici istoria sa nu este prea lunga: 405-532, cand este din nou distrusa in timpul altei revolte. Cel care o reconstruieste de data asta este  Justinian cel Mare, care o inaugureaza in 537. Materiale au fost aduse din tot imperiul: din Siria, piatra galbena, din Egipt, porfir, iar de la Templul din lui Artemis din Ephes, Coloanele elenice. Dupa cucerirea Constantinopolului (1453), sultanul Mehmet II a ordonat transformarea ei in moschee. Sultanii care au urmat, au tot adaugat cate ceva. Astfel, forma originala i-a fost schimbata prin construirea, in timp, a unor contraforti, precum si a unor minarete din caramida. Vizitatorii din vest aveau nevoie de un firman (aprobare) de la sultan pentru a o putea vizita. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, fondatorul Turciei moderne, a hotarat transformarea moscheii intr-un muzeu, in 1931. Muzeul a fost dechis in 1935.

Interiorul (naosul) copleseste prin cupola imensa, inalta de 56 m. Initial, acolo existau mozaicuri (pana in sec. al XIX-lea), acum este decorata cu inscriptii din Coran. La etaj, unde se afla adevaratele comori – mozaicurile bizantine, datand din secolele VI-IX – se urca pe un plan inclinat, pietruit. Dupa transformarea in moschee, mozaicurile au fost acoperite cu ciment. In 1847 a avut loc o restaurare a lor, cu scopul inregistrarii dar, in 1894, a avut loc un mare cutremur care a distrus parti din biserica si probabil si mozaicuri deoarece la dezvelirea din 1931 ele nu au mai fost gasite.

caligrama
Iisus Pantocrator (Atotputernicul), detaliu din Mozaicul Deesis
Fecioara Maria cu imparatul Ioan II Comnenul si imparateasa Irina
intrarea de sud, mozaic datand din 944 – Fecioara cu Iisus, Constantin cel Mare si Justinian I
detaliu poarta din bronz, intrarea de sud

Comments

Circuit in Turcia 2. Minunile Sfintei Sofia / Roundtrip in Turkey 2. The St. Sophia’s Wonders — 12 Comments

  1. What an incredibly beautiful building. Mosaics are also wonderful to see. Very sorry to read that after an earth standing part of the mosaics have not been found.

    Greetings, Helma

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