A Brief History:
For more than a thousand years, until the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Byzantine art retained a remarkably conservative orientation; themajor phases of its development emerge from a background marked by adherence to classical principles. Artistic activity was temporarily disrupted by the Iconoclastic controversy (726–843), which resulted in the wholesale destruction of figurative works of art and the restriction of permissible content to ornamental forms or to symbols like the cross. The pillaging of Constantinople by the Frankish Crusaders in 1204 was perhaps a more serious blow; but it was followed by an impressive late flowering of Byzantine art under the Paleologus dynasty.
Architecture of Byzantium and The Church of Holy Wisdom:
The most imposing achievement of Byzantine architecture is the Church of Holy Wisdom or Hagia Sophia. It was constructed in a short span of five years (532–37) during the reign of Justinian.
the strange thing about this outstanding monument was that it was designed and built by a physicist rather than an architect, and became a supreme accomplishment.its about 270 feet long and 240 feet wide with a dome that is 108 feet in diameter and 180 feet above the ground. AND this structure doesn't have any steel!!
The mysticism of light:
the mystic light of hagia sophia is a mind-blowing element of this great structure.
the windows under the dome add a very interesting element of light to the interior.
it seems as if the dome is floating in mid air or over a halo.
What i like?
the halo under the dome is what forced me to add this building in m,y blog because one cannot stop admiring the architects cleverness and the wise use of his brains in this church.
