Hagia Sophia is richly decorated with countless mosaics, added throughout its existence, depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels, a myriad of saints or, in some cases, Christian emperors and ...

NARRATOR: The sketch depicts Christ, framed by a cross in a circle. Near Hagia Sophia, the church of Chora contains a strikingly similar image found in the crown of a dome. Takanezawa believes the ...

For the first time in centuries, the sounds of Byzantine psalms, as they resonated within Hagia Sophia, have been brought ...

The Hagia Sophia is a major historical monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Istanbul, Turkey. The sixth-century architectural masterpiece is famous for reflecting the various ...

Istanbul, Turkey CNN — Whether you’re a believer or not, visiting Hagia Sophia is a spiritual experience. The architectural genius of this place of worship — which was built as a church in ...

When Western tourists who are visiting Istanbul, Turkey, cruise into a port, many typically look for one particular landmark: the Hagia Sophia. Identifying the ancient temple, which has served as ...

White drapes concealed the mosaic of the Virgin and Christ. Scaffolding obscured crosses ... captured some of these striking changes to Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine cathedral in Istanbul, which ...

As of June 24 of this year, Hagia Sophia’s icons of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ are covered by fabric curtains as the edifice yet again changes functions. Turkish officials have stated ...

icons of Christ, saints and other biblical figures are a defining feature. In Hagia Sophia, the mosaics of Jesus and Mary have been covered with curtains since the conversion. While Erdoğan ...

Hagia Sophia has survived fire ... Prior to this, they had been plastered over and many, such as the great image of Christ Pantocrator which once greeted visitors from the centre of the vast ...

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