The interior of Hagia Sofia was richly decorated with mosaics and marble pillars, Emperor Justinian (482-565), who had it built, proclaimed, "Solomon, I have outdone thee!"
The decoration of the church took place over the centuries. They either depicted the Virgin Mother, Jesus, saints, or emperors and empresses. Other parts in a purely decorative style with geometric patterns.
During the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, the Latin Crusaders vandalized valuable items in every important Byzantine structure of the city, including the golden mosaics of the Hagia Sophia. Many of these items were shipped to Venice, whose Doge, Enrico Dandolo, had organized the invasion and sack of Constantinople.
Following the building's conversion into a mosque in 1453, many of its mosaics were covered with plaster, due to Islam's ban on representational imagery.
I'm so glad Attaturk had the site made into a museum and some of the wonderful mosaics have been restored and that the World Monument Fund placed it on World Monument Watch and assisted in getting funding for restorations.
@sunnygreenwood thanks Anne, I am loving remembering all the little stories and the information about these places, thinking of ordering one of those photobooks of it all just for me
@filsie65 thanks, for a very long time I always thought of myself as a holiday/travel photographer and rarely took a photo any other time, it is nice to see these shots agin and relish in reliving the experiences
