Traveling Project

Time Traveling

Byzantine Architecture -- the Hagia Sophia

In all my travels, no structure can bring about as much awe and respect as that of the Byzantine Hagia Sophia, an immense temple that merges East and West in a conglomeration of buttresses and minarets. Looking back at its 1,500-year history, I can only imagine the changes that the structure has undergone through those eras, from its Byzantine origins to its Ottoman refurbishments. The full form of the Hagia Sophia had been altered after the 15th century, when the Ottomans invaded and ended the thousand-year civilization that was once Constantinople. But let me start at the Hagia Sophia's beginning.

To further illustrate the Hagia Sophia's mixture of east and west, one must look at its historical bearings, for the Greeks sought to reconcile their beliefs with their Byzantine beliefs with that of the Roman Church. Translated to "Holy Wisdom,"...
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