St. Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum , museum in itanbul , turkey

St. Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum , museum in itanbul , turkey

The Chora Church, or Kariye Museum in Turkish, has one of the best examples of Byzantine mosaic art. The museum today is located at Kariye neighborhood near Edirnekapi city walls over the Golden Horn. Originally a Christian church, it was converted into a mosque after the Conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, and after the Republic it became a museum.

view of St. Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum , museum in itanbul , turkey,,

 

The church was originally built in the early 5th century outside the first wall of Constantinople, as the name Chora means "countryside" in Greek. It's original name was St. Saviour in Chora and it was a small monastery just outside of the city. Later on, it was destroyed by earthquakes and abandoned for many centuries until the area was inhabited after the city walls were enlarged thus the neighborhood remained within Constantinople.

Chora church was rebuilt in the 11th century by Maria Ducaena, the mother-in-law of Alexius I Comnenus. It was restored in the 12th century by Isaac Comnenus after some earthquakes and finally rebuilt again by Theodore Metochites, responsible of the Byzantine treasury and the art at that time, in the 14th century. Most of the mosaics and frescos we can admire today are from this last restoration.

byzantine chora museum :

 

 History of St. Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum , museum in itanbul , turkey

The first church on this site was built in the 4th century as part of a monastery complex outside the city walls of Constantinople. This is the reason for the "in Chora" part of its name - chora zonton means "in the country" in Greek. The present building dates from the 11th century.

The interior was restored and richly decorated with mosaics and frescoes in the early 14th century by Theodore Metokhites, Grand Logothete of the Treasury.

When the church was converted into a mosque in the 16th century, the Byzantine mosaics were covered in plaster. This protected them for several centuries. They were first uncovered in the 19th century, but the government ordered that those in the prayer hall section of the mosque be re-covered.

American archaeologists uncovered the mosaics for good during World War II and the church-turned-mosque became a secular museum in 1947.

 

When the church was converted into a mosque in the 16th century, the mosaics were plastered over. A 19th-century architect uncovered the mosaics but was ordered by the government to re-cover those in the section of the prayer hall. American archaeologists Whittemore and Underwood finally uncovered these masterpieces during World War II, and although the Chora became a museum in 1947, it is still often referred to as the Kariye Camii.

video St. Savior in Chora (Kariye) Museum , museum in itanbul , turkey

 

 The Kariye Museum has the best Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul, similar to the ones in Ravenna - Italy. Many mosaics in the narthex and inner narthex describe the life of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary, with citations from the Old and New Testaments. In the Paraclesion, which is the side corridor, you can view great frescoes such as the Resurrection (Anastasis) or the last judgment (Deesis). In the nave, the Dormition of the Virgin (Koimesis) mosaic is impressive. During the visit of the church you're not allowed to use flash while taking photographs.

Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya) Museum , mussem in istanbul , turkey

 Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya) Museum , mussem in istanbul , turkey

The ancient Byzantine church, built by Justinian I between 532-537 AD after the Nika Riot, was later converted to a mosque with the addition of minarets in mid-15th century. The remarkable structure with its 56m high immense dome is a museum today in which you can see both Christian and Islamic art. There are good examples of the Byzantine mosaics as well. For about 1000 years this was the largest church in the world, and glory of the Byzantine Empire.

 Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya) Museum , mussem in istanbul , turkey - Overview

 

 Hagia Sophia, once the greatest church in the Christian world until its conversion into a mosque in 1453, is now one of Istanbul’s most well known and breathtakingly beautiful museums.

The Byzantine emperor Justinian I had Hagia Sophia built, in all its glory, in under five and a half years. Completed in 537AD, this patriarchal basilica remained the largest cathedral in the world until 1453, when Constantinople was conquered by Ottoman armies and Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Prior to its conversion, the interior walls were covered with marble and porphyry, as well as beautiful mosaics which included 30 million gold tiles depicting various religious scenes. Its massive columns are made from granite.

Hagia Sophia is rectangular in structure, measuring 70 metres by 75 metres with a massive central dome. Its dome made it the focus of intense architectural interest and wonder; with a height of 55.5 metres and a diameter measuring 31.24 metres, it appears to float on its arches. This was achieved by the construction of triangular piers at the corners of the base and by a sequence of arched windows under it, allowing vast amounts of sunlight into the building.

The Crusaders ransacked Hagia Sophia in 1204. In the wake of their destruction and desecration they also robbed the cathedral of many of its relics, shipping them to Venice, and replaced its Patriarch with a Latin bishop. This event ultimately served to divide the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

Hagia Sophia was used as a model for many other mosques including the Blue Mosque which stands opposite it. During its conversion to a mosque, all the traditional Christian elements such as its altar, bells and iconoclasts were removed. As Islam prohibits the representation of figures, the mosaics and frescoes were plastered over and replaced with geometric designs, gold, wood and mother of pearl. Two minarets were later added, along a prayer niche, pulpit, ablutions area, tombs and an elementary school. Large medallions inscribed with Islamic calligraphy were suspended from the mosque’s dome in the 19th century and are still visible today.

The Museum’s Upper Gallery, where the church council would sit, includes many of the best preserved mosaics and Christian imagery, while the lower level contains the greatest concentration of Islamic art and functional elements of a mosque.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the secular Turkish Republic, had Hagia Sophia converted into a museum in 1935 following extensive restoration led by Thomas Whitmore of the Byzantine Institute of America. In the process, a compromise had to be made as many of the covered Christian mosaics and icons were exposed, resulting in the destruction of the Islamic art which had replaced it. In this regard, the restoration project has attempted to strike a balance between the two religious styles. The Museum’s restoration is ongoing, visible by the scaffolding inside.

 The interior of Hagia Sophia Ayasofya-Istanbul

 

 According to many Hagia Sophia, is the prime example of Byzantine architecture. We made it to Hagia Sophia on our first full day in Istanbul and manage to beat the lines by purchasing a Museum pass which you can find just next to the main entrance being sold from a mini-van. Once inside, the grandor and history of the mosque/church was all around us. It looks old, and I was a bit surprised but how some of it looks so rundown, but I guess that is what time does.

Hagia Sophia as a long history, and particularly impressive are the early 13th century mosaics on the second floor. Many of them were covered for hundreds of years due to its conversion to a mosque. Also impressive to me, and the subject of this photograph, are the chandeliers on the main hall and throughout the building. You can’t see it here, but they are just above your head as you walk about.

From a photograph perspective, this shot was made at ISO 800 at f4. I’m continuously impressed at how good the files out the Canon 5D Mark II are. I purposely composed the people out of the shot, and had to skew the right bottom corner a bit in Photoshop to remove some of the heads that poked out, and align the image a little bit. During post, I applied individual curve layers for each major section of the interior. I then used a black and white layer to de-saturate the image, and brought some of it back on the lights of the front most chandelier. I then toned the image slightly with another curves layer, and finaly added a vignet.

video of Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya) Museum , mussem in istanbul , turkey

 

This is a short video of the interior of the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The magnificent Ayasofya was originally built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, and it was used as a church for 916 years. It then became a mosque for 481 years, and Turkey's first President, Atatürk, declared it a museum in 1935.