Σάββατο 6 Απριλίου 2013
ΥΑŞAYAN EN ESKİ KİLİSELERDEN PANAGIA MUHLIOTISA
Fatih İlçesi'nde, Fener'de, Batı'da Firketeci Sokağı, Doğu ve Kuzey'de Tevkii Cafer Mektebi Sokağı ile çevrilidir. Moğol Kilisesi veya Kanlı Kilise adıyla da tanınır. Kilise, yüksek duvarlı, küçük bir avlunun Kuzeydoğusunda yer alır. Avlu duvarı, yapıya Kuzeyde batı, güneyde dogu köşelerde bitişir. Avlunun Güneybatısında Ayia Anna Ayazması bulunur.
Kilisenin, eski bir manastırın yerinde bulunduğu ve tarihinin 10. yüzyıla kadar uzandığına ilişkin görüşler vardır. Burada bulunan mozaik ikonaların Patrikhane Kilisesi'ndekilerle benzerligi nedeniyle, bu kilisenin de 11. yüzyıl'da inşa edildiği ileri sürülür. 12. yüzyıla kadar Maria Akropolitissa'ya ait olan kilisenin bulunduğu manastırın mülkiyeti, bu dönemde VIII. Mihael'in (hd 1259-1282) kızı Maria Paleologina'ya geçmiştir.
Yapının Mogol Kilisesi olarak adlandırılmasına ilişkin öykü, Maria Paleologina'nın Moğol Hanı Hulagu ile evlenmek için ülkesinden ayrılmasıyla başlar. Hulagu'nun 1264'te ölümü üzerine oğlu Abaka Han ile evlenmeye hazırlanırken, onun da 1282'de öldürülmesi nedeniyle İstanbul'a dönen Maria Paleologina, mülk edindiği manastırın yerinde kiliseyi inşa ettirir. Müller-Wiener , 1261 'de inşa edilen kilisenin, 1266'da büyütülerek, merkezde kubbe ve dört yarım kubbe ile örtülü plan tipinin uygulandığını, 1281'de de onarıldığını belirtir. R. Janin'e göre kilise, yeniden inşası sırasında, Modeste tarafından resimlerle bezenmiştir.
A. M. Schneider, kilisenin 13. yy'ın sonunda "Muchlion'luların" (Tegea) yaşadığı semtte, "despoina ton Mogolion" adıyla inşa edildiğini, 1351'de "Moni tes Panagiotisses" olarak adlandırıldığını açıklar. Basit planlı ve merkezi çevreleyen yarım kubbelerin yonca yaprağı oluşturduğu yapıya, 14. asrın başlannda narteks de dahil çeşitli eklemeler yapılmıştır. Kilisede narteksin üç kubbesinden ikisinde mozaik izlerinin bulunduğu, doğu uçtaki tuğla işlemenin orijinal olabileceği, batıda sonradan yapılan onarımlarda eski malzeme kullanıldığı, çok sayıdaki nişin de Komnenos dönemi yapılarını çağrıştırdığı belirtilir.
1351 'de Patrikhane'nin denetimine geçen kilise ve manastır, II. Mehmed (Fatih) tarafından mimar Hristodulos'a verilmiştir. I. Selim (1512-1520) ve III. Ahmed (1703-1730) dönemlerinde kilisenin Rumların kullanımından alınması için başlatılan girişimler de II. Mehmed'in fermanı nedeniyle sonuçsuz kalmıştır. Kilise, 1583'te Tryphon, 1604'te Paterakis, 1669'da Thomas Smith listelerinde yer almıştır.
17 yüzyıla gelindiğinde ise Moğol Kilisesi'ni camiye çevirmek için harekete geçilir. Bu girişim Kantemiroğlu tarafından engellenmiştir. 1633, 1640 ve 1729'daki yangınlarda harap olan ve onarımlar sonucu mimarisi farklılaşan kilise, kitabesine göre 1731'de restore edilmiştir. Muhliotissa Kilisesi, İstanbul'da fetihten önce inşa edilmiş ve günümüze kadar Rum Ortodoksların ibadet mekanı olarak işlevini sürdürmüş tek Bizans yapısıdır.
Kilise orijinalinde ortada kubbe ve dört yönde yanm kubbelerin örttüğü, ''tetraconchos'' plan tipine sahip iken, çeşitli dönemlerde yapılan degişiklik ve eklemelerle farklılaştınlmıştır. Dışta kareye yakın düzgün olmayan dikdörtgen planlı ve kırma çatı ile örtülü kilisenin kuzeydoğusunda bulunan, sekizgen kaide üzerinde silindirik kasnaklı kubbenin örtüsü, basık konik çatıdır. Kuzeyinde ve güneydoğusunda orijinal planına uygun olan yapı, batısında ve güneyinde uzunlamasına büyütülmüştür.
Kilisenin güneybatı köşesinde baldaken tipi çan kulesi vardır. Çan kulesi hizasında batıda yer alan kuzey-güney doğrultusunda dikdörtgen planlı narteks, payeler ve bunlan bağlayan yuvarlak kemerli arkad ile avluda sınırlanır. İçte ve dışta tamamen sıvalı olan yapının güney cephesinde kaba yonu taş ve tuğla kullanımı görülür. Pencere kemerlerinin tuğla ile örüldüğü cephelerde yer yer devşirme malzeme vardır.
Kilisenin örtü sisteminde, duvar payelerini bağlayan yuvarlak kemerlerin oluşturduğu pandantiflerle geçilen yüksek kasnağın üzerinde kubbe bulunur. Yapının kuzeybatı köşesinde, pandatiflerle geçilen küçük basık bir kubbe daha vardır. Merkezi mekanın batısındaki bölümün örtüsü beşik tonozdur. Taşıyıcı sırasının sınırladığı mekanları güneyde dört çapraz tonoz, galerinin bulunduğu bölümü ise iki çapraz tonoz örtmektedir. Nartekste üç takviye kemerinin böldügü, kuzey-güney doğrultusundaki beşik tonozun her bölümü, ters yönde ve karşılıklı sivri tonoz başlangıçlan ile dilimlenmiştir.
Girişler dikdörtgen açıklıklardır. Yapının güneyinde, altta ve üstte üçer pencereli iki sıra vardır. Alttaki pencereler enlemesine dikdörtgen açıklıklardır. Kuzeydeki üç pencereden doğudaki, içten örülerek kapatılmıştır.
Doğuda bulunan iki pencere ile batıda üç pencere üstte ve güneye yakındır. Galerideki bir pencere, çatıya çıkış amacıyla kullanılmaktadır. Batıda alt hizada; girişin güneyinde iki pencere; güneybatı köşedeki mekanın kuzeyinde iki, batısında bir pencere yer alır. Kubbenin batısında bir, kasnakta ise üçü örülmüş sekiz pencere bulunur. Yapıdaki pencereler dikdörtgendir.
Naosun doğusunda yer alan ahşap ikonostasis, güney yanındaki ahşap despot koltuğu ve kuzeydoğudaki ahşap ambon oyma ve kabartma tekniğinde bitkisel motiflerle bezelidir. Yoğun ahşap işçiliği ve tarihi önemi ile benzerleri arasındadır. Ayırt edilen ikonostasisin alt sırasında bulunan ikonalar 1884 tarihli ve kabartma tekniği ile işlenmiş gümüş kaplama eserlerdir.
Kaynak: www.megarevma.net/muhliotissa.htm
Παρασκευή 22 Μαρτίου 2013
Taksim'de kazı çalışması durdu
Cumhuriyet Caddesi'ndeki altgeçit çalışmasında tarihi bir kemer açığa çıktı. Arkeoloji Müzesi'nden arkeologların müdahalesi bekleniyor.
Fotoğraf: Yücel Tunca
Taksim'deki altgeçit kazısı hızla devam ederken Cumhuriyet Caddesi'nde tarihi bir kemer açığa çıktı. Dün çekilen fotoğrafta, yerin yaklaşık bir metre altında Osmanlı dönemine ait olduğu sanılan taş örme bir duvar ve duvara bağlı bir kemer net şekilde görülüyor.
İBB'nin sekiz ay içinde tamamlamayı hedeflediği altgeçit kazısının durdurulması ve Arkeoloji Müzesi'nin ortaya çıkan yapıyı korumaya alması bekleniyor.
ELLE KAZILACAK
İstanbul 2 Numaralı Kültür Varlıklarını Koruma Kurulu, Aralık ayında ihaleyi alan Kalyon İnşaat yetkililerini çağırarak kazının müze denetiminde yapılması gerektiğini ve iş makinelerindan önce arkeologların el yordamıyla sondaj kazısı yapacağını bildirmişti.
Radikal'in 'Taksim Elle Kazılacak' haberi üzerine dönemin Kültür ve Turizm Bakanı Ertuğrul Günaykazının yavaşlatılmayacağını söylemiş, "Önce arkeologların nezaretinde iş makinesi girecek, kültür varlığına rastlanırsa o zaman arkeologlar elle kazacak. Arkeologlarımız gece gündüz hafriyatın başında duracak" demişti.
ŞİMDİ NE OLACAK?
2863 sayılı Kültür Varlıklarını Koruma yasası gereği, hafriyatın hemen durması ve arkeologların çıkacak tarihi eserin boyutlarını görebilmesi için kazı yapması bekleniyor. Kazı sonucunda çıkan yapının tüm ayrıntılarıyla Koruma Kurulu'na sunulması, ve kurulun 'yerinde koruma' ya da 'kaldırılarak koruma' kararı alması gerekiyor. Eğer 'yerinde koruma' kararı çıkarsa, projenin tamamen durdurulması ya da başka bir yöne söz konusu olacak..
.
Τρίτη 15 Ιανουαρίου 2013
Μια νέα Βυζαντινή «Πομπηία» ανατέλλει στην Τουρκία
Στο Ντεμρέ της Τουρκίας αρχαιολόγοι ξεσκεπάζουν σιγά-σιγά ένα τεράστιο δείγμα βυζαντινών αρχαιοτήτων. Τον 4ο αιώνα μ.Χ. ένας αρχιεπίσκοπος με το όνομα Νικόλαος, μεταμόρφωσε τα Μύρα, τη μεσογειακή πόλη που τώρα ανήκει σε εδάφη τουρκικά, σε μια χριστιανική πρωτεύουσα. Μετά από 800 χρόνια όπου η πόλη ήταν πόλος έλξης χριστιανών, εξαφανίστηκε κάτω από 18 μέτρα λάσπης από τον διπλανό ποταμό Μύρο.
Αλλά τώρα 700 χρόνια αργότερα, η πόλη εμφανίζεται ξανά χάρη στους αρχαιολόγους. Από το 2009, άρχισαν οι αρχαιολόγοι να βγάζουν δείγματα μιας μεγάλης πόλης και πριν λίγους μήνες ολοκληρώθηκε η ανασκαφή, ενός μικρού παρεκκλησιού το οποίο λόγω του ότι ήταν «σφραγισμένο» μέσα στην λάσπη, διατηρήθηκε ανέπαφο.
Στον ένα τοίχο υπάρχει χαραγμένος ένα σταυρός που δημιουργεί ένα παράθυρο από το οποίο διαπερνά το φως, και μέσα από την πλευρά του τοίχου εμφανίστηκε μια τοιχογραφία, πολύ σπάνια για τα δεδομένα των Τούρκικων ανασκαφών. Η τοιχογραφία είναι δίμετρη απεικονίζει την δέηση και έχει τον Χριστό στην μέση και τον Ιωάννη και την Παναγία από κάθε του πλευρά, να κρατούν και οι δύο επιγραφές με χωρία από την Καινή Διαθήκη.
Αυτό που υπολογίζουν οι αρχαιολόγοι σύμφωνα με δημοσίευμα των New York Times, είναι ότι πιθανώς να υπάρχει μια ολόκληρη πόλη η οποία να σώζεται σε πάρα πολύ καλή κατάσταση όπως ακριβώς η Πομπηία.
Πολλοί ερευνητές από όλο τον κόσμο θεωρούν ότι ο χώρος ανασκαφής είναι από τους πιο «πλούσιους» αυτή τη στιγμή. Η αρχαία πόλη των Μύρων ήταν μια από τις πιο ένδοξες πόλεις της Λυκίας, με δείγματα πολιτισμού από την εποχή του Χαλκού.
Περίπου τον 13ο αιώνα, η πόλη εγκαταλείφθηκε και μερικές δεκαετίες αργότερα, τρομερές βροχές και πλημμύρες φαίνεται πως έθαψαν την πόλη μέσα σε μια θάλασσα λάσπης.
Τα στρώματα της πόλης μετά τον 14ο αιώνα δεν έχουν κανένα εύρημα, αλλά πριν από τον 14ο αιώνα, τα ευρήματα είναι πάρα πολύ πλούσια και ακριβώς επειδή είναι τόσο καλοδιατηρημένα θα μας δώσουν πολλές πληροφορίες για την ζωή εκείνη την περίοδο, και θα φωτίσουν ένα μεγάλο ερώτημα των αρχαιολόγων. Πως οι κλασικές ειδωλολατρικές πόλεις μετατράπηκαν σε βυζαντινές πόλεις μεταξύ 650 και 1300 προ Χριστού.
Εκτός από την εκκλησία, βγαίνουν σιγά-σιγά στο φως ένα ρωμαϊκό αμφιθέατρο και τμήματα του λιμανιού της πόλης, όπου έχουν βρεθεί ένα εργαστήριο βαφής και μια συναγωγή από τον 5ο αιώνα. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί, πως σύμφωνα με το ρεπορτάζ της εφημερίδας, η τουρκική κυβέρνηση αγοράζει τη γη από τους πολίτες για να συνεχίσει τις ανασκαφές και να εμποδίσει την αρχαιοκαπηλία.
Αλλά τώρα 700 χρόνια αργότερα, η πόλη εμφανίζεται ξανά χάρη στους αρχαιολόγους. Από το 2009, άρχισαν οι αρχαιολόγοι να βγάζουν δείγματα μιας μεγάλης πόλης και πριν λίγους μήνες ολοκληρώθηκε η ανασκαφή, ενός μικρού παρεκκλησιού το οποίο λόγω του ότι ήταν «σφραγισμένο» μέσα στην λάσπη, διατηρήθηκε ανέπαφο.
Στον ένα τοίχο υπάρχει χαραγμένος ένα σταυρός που δημιουργεί ένα παράθυρο από το οποίο διαπερνά το φως, και μέσα από την πλευρά του τοίχου εμφανίστηκε μια τοιχογραφία, πολύ σπάνια για τα δεδομένα των Τούρκικων ανασκαφών. Η τοιχογραφία είναι δίμετρη απεικονίζει την δέηση και έχει τον Χριστό στην μέση και τον Ιωάννη και την Παναγία από κάθε του πλευρά, να κρατούν και οι δύο επιγραφές με χωρία από την Καινή Διαθήκη.
Αυτό που υπολογίζουν οι αρχαιολόγοι σύμφωνα με δημοσίευμα των New York Times, είναι ότι πιθανώς να υπάρχει μια ολόκληρη πόλη η οποία να σώζεται σε πάρα πολύ καλή κατάσταση όπως ακριβώς η Πομπηία.
Πολλοί ερευνητές από όλο τον κόσμο θεωρούν ότι ο χώρος ανασκαφής είναι από τους πιο «πλούσιους» αυτή τη στιγμή. Η αρχαία πόλη των Μύρων ήταν μια από τις πιο ένδοξες πόλεις της Λυκίας, με δείγματα πολιτισμού από την εποχή του Χαλκού.
Περίπου τον 13ο αιώνα, η πόλη εγκαταλείφθηκε και μερικές δεκαετίες αργότερα, τρομερές βροχές και πλημμύρες φαίνεται πως έθαψαν την πόλη μέσα σε μια θάλασσα λάσπης.
Τα στρώματα της πόλης μετά τον 14ο αιώνα δεν έχουν κανένα εύρημα, αλλά πριν από τον 14ο αιώνα, τα ευρήματα είναι πάρα πολύ πλούσια και ακριβώς επειδή είναι τόσο καλοδιατηρημένα θα μας δώσουν πολλές πληροφορίες για την ζωή εκείνη την περίοδο, και θα φωτίσουν ένα μεγάλο ερώτημα των αρχαιολόγων. Πως οι κλασικές ειδωλολατρικές πόλεις μετατράπηκαν σε βυζαντινές πόλεις μεταξύ 650 και 1300 προ Χριστού.
Εκτός από την εκκλησία, βγαίνουν σιγά-σιγά στο φως ένα ρωμαϊκό αμφιθέατρο και τμήματα του λιμανιού της πόλης, όπου έχουν βρεθεί ένα εργαστήριο βαφής και μια συναγωγή από τον 5ο αιώνα. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί, πως σύμφωνα με το ρεπορτάζ της εφημερίδας, η τουρκική κυβέρνηση αγοράζει τη γη από τους πολίτες για να συνεχίσει τις ανασκαφές και να εμποδίσει την αρχαιοκαπηλία.
Παρασκευή 7 Δεκεμβρίου 2012
Some of the rarely-seen mosaics of the Hagia Sophia
I have little doubt that most of us have seen pictures of the spectacular golden mosaics in the Hagia Sophia that depict Alexandros I, John II Komnenos, his wife Eirene, their son Alexios, Zoe, Constantine IX Monomakhos, Gabriel, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Mary. If you have not seen them, check them out: Hagia Sophia – Wikimedia Commons. You can also read about the Leo mosaic on one of my other on Leo and the narthex mosaic entitled “Quadrigamy and Art History’, which I will not link to due to incompetence in running the WordPress software. However, there are other mosaics that are not visible to most visitors. Besides the rumors (and Fossati drawings) of a large John V Palaiologos mosaic still covered up near the apse, there is a set of mosaics in the rooms above the southwest ramp and vestibule. I do not have pictures of them all here, and there seems to be at least one large and fairly intact Pantokrator mosaic there that I cannot find a decent picture of. There are numerous fragments in those rooms, but this is all I could find for decent colour photographs.
The rooms in question were likely built shortly after the construction of the cathedral, but after Justinian. Academic opinion (Cormack and Hawkins) believe that the rooms date to the later sixth century. They likely served as a sekreton (council hall) for the patriarchate, and seem to be sizable rooms. The mosaics date from later. A recent work has argued that the medallion with the cross (the last picture) dates from the reign of Constantine V. There were earlier mosaics present, although they appear to have been removed sometime earlier in the eighth century during iconoclasm. This is one of the (admittely few) cases where corroborating evidence actually reveals Theophanes to be correct, for he states that the patriarch Niketas removed the images in the “small sekreton of the patriarchate”, which was likely this room.
I do not have solid dates for any of these, but they must be at least from the middle of the ninth century, for they almost certainly required an iconodoule patriarch. Additionally, the second figure portrayed is the Patriarch Nikephoros, which also suggests that the mosaics date after the end of iconoclasm, for not only would it have been extremely presumtuous for Nikephoros to put up a mosaic of himself while he was patriarch (806-815), he acquired a reputation of a remarkable iconodoule due to his excommunication at the synod of 815 that began Second Iconoclasm.
Running in order from top to bottom: Mary, Nikephoros I of Constantinople, Simon Zealotes, St. Constantine, medallions in the south tympanum.
Early Ottoman Constantinople: Assassin’s Creed’s Hippodrome
I’ve played a bit more since the last post and now I’ve travelled around most of Assassin’s Creed Revelations‘ Constantinople, although much of it superficially. When I finished the last post I was headed towards the Hippodrome, and not long after I arrived there to quite a bit of disappointment.
The first thing that struck me was the size. It’s tiny. Although the Hippodrome is not longer extant today in Istanbul, one can get a sense of the size given the courtyard west of the Blue Mosque and the massive surviving sphendone. The sphendone survives, and although I don’t have any great pictures which show its size, it is a worthy trip for anyone visiting Istanbul who wants to get a sense of the Hippodrome’s enormity.
The entirety of the Hippodrome’s banks of seating is gone today, but the sphendone survived likely because of it served the useful purpose of providing extra level ground for this part of the city. When the hill upon which the Hippodrome was to be built was not sufficient for the size of the structure, Roman engineering took over. While the Greeks modified their buildings to suit the environment (take a look at Hellenistic theatres, for an example), the Romans modified their environments to suit their buildings. Sometimes, for example, if you want to build a bathhouse in Britain you just might have to make the place a desert (Tacitus, Agricola, XXX). Why let the environment limit your construction project when you can fix the problem with an excessive quantity of vaulting?
While it was nice of the developers to include the detail on Theodosius’ Obelisk, the Latin inscription appears to have been unfortunately reversed.
A decent quantity of the seating of the far end of the Hippodrome has survived in theAssassin’s Creed rendition. From Ottoman miniatures it may be that the videogame version of the Hippodrome may actually be in better condition than its real counterpart. While chariot racing had fallen out of fashion as the Byzantine centuries continued, the space continued to be used as a location for emperors to address the public, and was apparently in a condition considered acceptable to show to foreign dignitaries under the Komnenoi. After the establishment of the crusaders in the Levant and the Byzantine court’s interest in western customs tournaments were supposedly held in the Hippodrome.
Other than the rather tiny size of the Hippodrome in Assassin’s Creed Revelations, it’s not too bad. Given that the miniature from 1536 shows columns on the sphendone I think it’s safe to say that seating on that end of the hippodrome is probably a safe bet, and that what we’re seeing here is likely a good depiction of how it looked early in the sixteenth century.
Byzantine Heritage in Constantinople-Part 1
It occurred to me that despite having been back in North America for sixth months, I haven’t really posted anything on my trip. This summer I spent a month in Turkey, primarily visiting late Roman and Byzantine sites, and a vast number of them. I was continually impressed by the quality and size of the Roman ruins in Turkey. They certainly dwarf anything that I’ve seen in Italy, and there are numerous Pompeii-sized cities just about everywhere in the western half of the country. The first week was spent in Istanbul. Then we flew down to Antalya (ancient Attaleia) on the south coast, rented a car, and headed east, before returning to the western half of the country and thoroughly exploring the southwest coast and parts of the central Aegean coast.
Istanbul was an incredible experience, although it was also sad to see the state of preservation of many of the Byzantine monuments. For the sake of this post, I am going to concentrate on the Byzantine buildings. This is not to suggest that there are not other things worth seeing in Istanbul. The major Ottoman mosques are quite impressive on the outside, even if on the inside they are almost entirely identical to each other and it is hard to get a good view of the elaborately painted ceilings on account of the vast number of cables coming down that hold up the lights. The St. Stephan of the Bulgars church is also worth stopping in, purely to see a hideous pre-fabricated metal Austrian church in all of its rusting glory.
The first church up is no longer a church. The Church of the Theotokos Pammakaristos actually has a bit of important history behind it, as it served for about 130 years as the Greek patriarchate in Constantinople after Mehmed II decided to bulldoze Justinian’s Church of the Holy Apostles. (While that act certainly caused a serious loss to posterity, the church seems to have been utterly decrepit when the Ottomans took the city in 1453.) Pammakaristos may have been a Komnenian foundation, and there is some slight evidence that Alexios I Komnenos, the emperor who called the First Crusade, was buried there. The church is still a mosque today, but the parekklesion (side church) has been restored and is now a museum. Although its interior is quite small, it is an absolutely brilliant building and it is covered in gold mosaic. The decorations inside date from the early 14th century.
Central dome and apse. Old Testament prophets flank the dome, and a large Christ dominates the apse.
Sure, the curve seems a little odd, but it never alters the perspective of the figure.
Look carefully, and you can see some fresco hidden behind a crack in the brick, just there to make us wonder what sort of beautiful art remains covered in the mosque itself. You’ll probably have to look at the full size image to see the fresco.
The Christ Pantokrator from the dome. Since there was no one else there, I managed to get such a good picture by laying on my back beneath the dome and resting my arms on the floor to create a sort of tripod for my camera. It got a good picture, but the experience of laying the cool stone floor with golden Byzantine mosaics all around me was fantastic. This exact image now adorns my wall in gorgeous 8″x10″.
South wall of the church. Much of the decoration is gone, but most of the lower mosaics are intact, and the marble still looks good seven hundred years later.
The Küçuk Ayasofya is another mosque that was once a Byzantine church. It was a particularly famous Byzantine church, for this was Justinian’s church of Sts. Sergios and Bakchos. Most of its Byzantine decorations are gone, but even as a mosque today it remains an important part of the Byzantine heritage in Istanbul. The marble floor is now carpeted, something that you can hardly fault the Muslims for because it just feels so nice to take off your shoes and wander around mosques in your socks after long walks from site to site. The plan of the building is still very evident, and you can see why the Turks call it Küçuk Ayasofya, “Little Hagia Sophia.” It is a miniature version of that monumental structure, albeit with less of a nave and more of a centralized plan. In the Hagia Sophia you can at least see the basilical base to the church, but Sts. Sergios and Bakchos is much more rounded. How much of the original decoration lies under the Turkish plaster is anyone’s guess, and as far as I know no art or architectural historians have yet had the opportunity make some experimental cuts in the walls to see what might be underneath.
Part of the fun of exploring this building was hunting down its Byzantine heritage. The column capitals, at one point as elaborate as those supporting the Hagia Sophia, have suffered whitewashing, but their original intricacy is still visible underneath.
The carvings that wrap around the interior are also original, but are particularly notable for two things. The first is that their Greek inscriptions remain. The second is that the despite the church being dedicated to two saints, St. Bakchos seems to have got the shaft when it came to getting his name carved in. Only St. Sergios is mentioned.
Another great part about this mosque is the gallery. Unlike some troublesome churches in Europe, they let you go up into the gallery in this mosque for a different view.
Not much remains of the grand hippodrome of Constantinople other than its shape and some of the decorations on the spina. Still, we should consider ourselves fortunate, because there is more of it left than the Circus Maximus in Rome, which is nothing more than an earthen depression. Because of the hilly nature of Constantinople, the hippodrome had to be built up quite a ways on the sphendone end to accommodate the massive size of the track. Modern construction has been built over one end of the hippodrome so even though you can wander into it and appreciate how big it is, you aren’t really getting the full size unless you go to the far end to see the exposed substructure of the sphendone. This isn’t even my picture of it. 6000 Turkey pictures, and I don’t have a decent one looking down to the hippodrome, probably because it was getting paved while I was there and thus filled with bright orange fencing, piles of bricks, and construction workers. I was forced to steal this picture from Wikipedia. The green spaces around the obelisks no longer exist. The entire area in front of the Blue Mosque is covered with large bricks. The Blue Mosque is the building to the right, and the Hagia Sophia is the more distant red building. The nearer column was erected by Constantine VII in the tenth century. The further one was brought from Egypt by Theodosius I in 390, and contains some carvings of his court.
This is the famous bronze serpent column from Delphi, originally cast after the Battle of Plataea in the 5th c. B.C. It was brought to Constantinople by Constantine I. One of the heads is in the Istanbul Museum. Amazingly enough, they lasted into the seventeenth century, only to be allegedly damaged by a drunken Polish nobleman. We have a sixteenth century Ottoman miniature that depicts the heads still on the column.
Unfortunately, the obelisk of Constantine VII was undergoing repairs and covered in scaffolding, so I don’t have a good picture of it. So here’s some pictures of the substructure of the sphendone. This is construction allowed the hippodrome to be much bigger than topography would allow, and was constructed in the typical Roman style of using massive vaults to shape the land however they wanted it. Today some sort of school sits on the end of the hippodrome where seating and the hairpin turn that the chariot racers had to be make would have been.
KUTSAL VAFTİZ TÖRENİNİN TÜRKÇE METNİ
Εγγραφή σε:
Αναρτήσεις (Atom)