Hagia Sophia

On November 24, 1934, it was decided to convert Hagia Sophia into a museum. The entrance to the mosque is from the West. After passing on the box offices, one enters a broad courtyard. This is a courtyard, which was formerly at the time of Justinian having a columned porch and a fountain for ablutions in the middle that was called Phiale. The Byzantine people went inside, after cleaning themselves at this fountain. In the old sources that survived, it is noted that there was an inscription which read: “Here not only wash your hands and faces, but also your hearts as well.” It is known from old pictures that these columns, which were tied together with arches, were still intact in the 1870’s. The floor of the courtyard was a great deal lower than its present level. It is asserted that the Patriarchate was located during the Byzantine period, at the sites where today the fountain of ablutions and the school for boys (siibyan mektebi) are seen, both of which were built by Sultan Mahmud I.

The school for boys, confronting the fountain for ablutions, is a single-domed simple building constucted by Sultan Mahmud I in 1739. Today, this building is utilized as the library of the museum. The fountain for ablutions was also built by Mahmud I, but a year later in 1740. It rests on eight slender columns supporting eight pointed arches. Decorarative in stYle, the fountain is ornamented with abronze network on which the floral designs are engraved, and is circled with an inscription of a panegyric poem commemorating 1 the date. At the east of the fountain for ablutions and beside the exit route from Hagia Sophia, there is a charitable public fountain.

The Baptistery , which is located at the South of Hagia Sophia, has been converted in the Ottoman period into mauselea for Sultans Mahmud I and Ibrahim. The old Skevophylakion, referred to as the Treasury Building, has today a different entrance and is being used as an office building for official use. The old suite for trustees is utilized as the museum administration, and the adjacent muvakkithane (a building made in order to keep time precisely for prayers) , which was constructed by Sultan Abdulmedjid, is used as offices for the museum, and the sebil (charitable public fountain) next to the fountain for ablutions is used as a warehouse for the museleum. One can see many architectural remains in the courtyard .of Hagia Sophia. One of these, is the remains of Fatih Medresesi (theological school of Fatih) situated in the east of the courtyard.

The remains near the entrance to Hagia Sophia, are those belonging to the Hagia Sophia church built at the time o Emperor Theodosius. These remains, which we see in a huge hole of two meters depth, are partly steps of a staircase and pieces that are architectural remnants with reliefs of lambs, dating back to the old Hagia Sophia. After the conclusion of our tour in the courtyard, let us now proceed to enter the interiorof the outer narthex though the triple doors. This section, which has no ornaments, has nine parts with vaults and is of 5.75 m. width. It does not display any architectural characteristics. Today, a small collection of Byzantine stone-cutting and masonry work is exhibited here. These are panels of mosaics, works of stone, baptism font, slabs with reliefs and copies of the Synode resolutions made in 1166, engraved on marble and collected by Emperor Comnenus. They are all from Hagia Sophia or from its neighbourhood. Besides these, one can see the tughra (monogram) of Sultan Abdulmedjid, made from the pieces of fallen mosaics, collected during the repair work undertaken by Fossati in the years between 1847 and 1849.

The Inner Narthex: Five different doors lead to the inner narthex, the width of which, is 9.55 meters. The doors are made of oak wood, the surfaces of which are plated wih bronze. The narthex, which is divided up into nine parts with arches, that are in parallel to the axis, the walls are covered with marble, and the inner narthex is higher and richer as regards to ornamentation, in comparison to the outer narthex. In the ornamentation, mosaics with geometric figures were used over a gilded surface and these have survived up to the present the grandeur of Saint Sophia of its original construction. The ceiling of the narthex is completely ornamented with mosaics. It is known that the door at the South, which was formerly called Horologion, and is presently used as an exit from the museum, was exclusively used by the emeperors during the religious ceremonies. The bronze wings of a door taken out of a temple in Tarsus and brought to Istanbul in 838 by Emperor Theophilus (829-842) were installed at this door. The gilded panels over these wings that belonged to the Hellenistic period were torn down and taken away during the invasIon of the city in 1204 by the Latins. A panel of mosaics is located at this section, over the door leading to the inner narthex, showing Constantine I presenting Virgin Mary with a model of Istanbul, as well as Justinian, the Great, presenting her the model of Hagia Sophia. At the north of the inner narthex, there is a ramp leading to the upper gallery .

It is passed to the main body of Hagia Sophia through nine doors in the inner narthex. The three doors in the middle were reserved for the emperors. of these, the one in the middle is framed in bronze, and its wings are made of thick oak and plated with bronze sheets. On these sheet plates are stylized figures in relief of plants and crosses coming out of bowls. The door in the middle was for the exclusive use of the emperors. The emperors entered the main body of the church, after lying down in prostation. The golden ornaments covering these doors were also taken away during the Latin invasion. On the mosaics located over the door for the emperors, Emperor Leon VI is portrayed in lying down in prostration. After perusing over the former mosaics situated over the southern door and the latter mosaics, let us now proceed to the main body.

After the proclamation of Christianity as the official state religion, by Emperor Constantine I., known as the Great, (324-337 A.D.), construction of big churches were undertaken everywhere in Byzantium. Constantine, the Great was claimed, not justly perhaps, to be the founder of many churches, because of his manifestation of such tolerance. Socrates (380-440) , the chronicler of the church history of the period, states that the first building of Hagia Sophia (or sometimes referred to as Saint Sophia) was erected by Constantine the Great.

Hagia Sophia, which is one of the outstanding monuments in the history of art in our planet, had been called a "Megalo Ecclesia" (meaning a colossal church ) at its first construction. This great monument has, however, been called as Sophia since the Fifth Century. This architectural marvel was not, however, dedicated to a Saint as one may think, but has been dedicated to the Holy Wisdom (Theia Sophia), which is the second element of the Christian Trinity .The populace of Byzantium continued for a long time to call this church as "Megalo Ecclesia " .After the conquest of Byzantium in 1453, the name Hagia Sophia has survived to modern times.

The first church was inaugurated with pomp and circumstance on February 15, 360 A.D. The building was like its contemporary religious edifices, was built with a wooden roof on an oblong basilica. Saint John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) , was for a long time in constant struggle with the Empress Eudoxia, wife of Emperor Arcadius (395-408) .As a result of a dispute over a silver- plated statue of the empress to be erected outside of, but in the close vicinity of the church, the Patriarch was sent to exile on June 20, 404, and during the riots that immediately followed his exile, the church was partly burned down. Its restoration was completed in the reign of Emperor Theodosius II ( 408-450) .After a long period of repairs, the church was inaugurated again on October 10, 415. This newly restored Hagia Sophia was to stand intact for slightly more than a century. At the time of Emperor Justinian, the Great (527-565), just before the realization of the Sixth Century, a strong feud started in Byzantium between the Blues and the Greens.

These were, at first, sports clubs so- named as they were groups participating at the horse races in the Hippodrome, and bearing those colours respectively. But later on, these groups assumed political identities, and began to turn into instruments reflecting the different tendencies of the people. As time went by, the Blues assumed the representation of Orthodoxism and the big land owners, while the Greens represented the Monophysi- tes, tradesmen and artisans. The ranks in the political, social and religious strata of the society thus became clearly distinct in the conflict between the Blues and the Greens. In 532 A.D., the Blues and the i iGreens joined forces in rebelling against emperor Justinian, the Great. The riots breaking out first in the Hippodrome, and known in history as "the Nika riots" (Nika meaning "to conquer" ) , soon spread out to the entire city .The fire breaking out during the ensuing tumult, caused Hagia Sophia to burn down. The emperor, who had accepted defeat and was about to flee, saved his crown thanks to his wife, the empress Theodora, who sent out Generals Narces and Balisarius to suppress the rebellion. The Palace Guards, attacking the rebels, restored the law and order by putting ten thousands of rebels to the sword.

Despite the suppression of the rebellion on January 13, 532, unfortunately Hagia Sophia was being consumed in flames for the second time. During the excavations carried out by A.M. Schneider in 1935 in the western courtyard of Hagia Sophia, a lot of big marble slabs were unearthed. The slabs were ornamented with lambs in relief, representing the twelve apostles. It was thus discovered that these slabs were fragments of an entrance of monumental dimensions. These are apparently the remains of the entrance front of the second Hagia Sophia, built by Emperor Theodosius 11, in the form of a basilica. This second Hagia Sophia, the remains of which we see today, was burned down during the Nika riots. We find out from Procopius, the Byzantine historian of the period, that as soon as the rioting mob were put to the sword, Emperor Justinian took steps to build an edifice that would be entirely different from its earlier models, but would be a more majestic and gigantic temple ever built up to that time.