-Exterior: plain and massive -Interior: altar at end of the name, but emphasized under the dome -Dome supported by pendentives -Large central dome, 40 windows at bases create a “halo” over the congregation -Cornice unifies the space -Large areas for mosaic decorations, 4 acres of gold mosaics on walls -Gold= status, royalty, godlike -Minarets added in the Islamic period, functioned as a mosque
--It was light, which showed divinity and christ -Byzantium -> Constananople -> Istanbul -Great church built near emperor’s palace -Burnt down twice -Smaller domes arranged to equal a larger dome -Windows throughout (unlike the pantheon) -Variety in window size
-Originally a Christian church; Hagia Sophia mean “holy wisdom” -Built on the site of another church that was destroyed during the Nike revolt in 532 -Converted to a mosque in the fifteenth century; minarets added in the Islamic period
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