Posted on 06/01/2015 3:35:05 AM PDT by markomalley
A group of devout Muslims from across Turkey prayed before the city’s historic Hagia Sophia on the 562nd anniversary of the Turkish conquest of Istanbul, demanding that the site be turned back into a mosque.
Men and women from across the country gathered before the Hagia Sophia museum early May 31, as part of an event organized by the Anatolian Youth Association (AGD) with the motto “Break the chains, Open Hagia Sophia,” and prayed the morning prayer with a call for the reconversion of the museum into a mosque.
Designed as a Christian basilica in the sixth century by Anthemios of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, Hagia Sophia is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hagia Sophia remained a center of Orthodox Christianity until 1453, when the city was conquered by Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, known as the Conqueror of Istanbul. After 916 years of service as a church, he ordered Hagia Sophia to become a “victory mosque,” symbolizing the Muslim conquest. The mosaics of the church were covered with plaster, but they were successfully restored in the 20th century.
Hagia Sophia was used as a mosque for 482 years. Following the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, it was converted into a museum by republican officials in 1935.
We should demand it be made a basilica again. Pre-existing claim and all that.
CC
I thought this was a done deal and the Muslims already moved in. I bet this time they won’t use plaster.
Free Constantinople from Islamic occupation and re-dedicate Hagia Sophia as an Orthodox Christian Catgedral.
I wonder how modern archetects would fare with very tall and very skinny stone structures these days ?
The staircases in minarets are usually made of stone, but they could also be of wood. They are made in such a way that they “nest,” in other words the two or three spiral staircases leading to the balconies fit one inside the other, a complicated architectural solution. To hold the stairs and the sides together in such a way that they won’t collapse in an earthquake or severe windstorm, molten iron was poured into pre-cut hollows within the stones. When the molten iron cooled, it served to clamp the pieces together. The system worked well so much so that engineers today are again considering using it, given the collapse of many minarets in modern times.
The mortar used was called “Horasan mortar,” taking its name from Horasan in Iran. This is a water-proof mortar that includes brick, stone, sand, ash, lime and water. It was used in Anatolia before the Ottomans and is still in use today. As Horasan mortar was waterproof, it was used in aqueducts, bridges, cisterns and baths.
The balconies on the minarets are often richly decorated as they gave the architects and workers a chance to express their artistic ability. The openwork railings on the Sultanahmet Mosque around the balconies are some of the finest examples of stone art work in Istanbul. The spires are made of wood covered with lead.
The West actually did occupy Constantinople right after WW I (1918-1923). Ah...what might have been.
Good article about that here.
Also in the 4th Crusade. All the Holy Relics at Hagia Sophia were plundered and taken back to Europe. This was justified by claiming the Eastern Christians were heretics.
Any attack on a moslem country should start with the leveling of every mosque or other Islamic shrine.
It’s time we started actually fighting this war.
Free Constantinople Now!
I agree, we want it back, the sooner the better!
BTTT for your remarks. I agree.
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