The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia

During our recent stay in Istanbul I was able to realize a long-held wish to visit Hagia Sophia, the sixth century church and architectural masterpiece. While thrilled to spend time in this awe-inspiring edifice, we were disappointed to be unable to fully engage with one of the church’s renowned artistic attributes: the Byzantine era mosaics. Made of small blocks of glass, stone and ceramics, as well as gold leaf, these works were among the most sophisticated art of their time. 

Beauty seldom endures unassailed and the mosaics suffered over the years. All but a few of the earliest were destroyed by Iconoclasts who condemned the use of religious images and icons. Some were looted by Crusaders from the West during the thirteenth century. In 1453 the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque. Many of its mosaics were covered with plaster, due to Islam's ban on representation of the human form. 

The secular Turkish Republic was proclaimed by Kemal Ataturk in 1923, and eleven years later Hagia Sophia became a museum. Mosaics were uncovered and restoration work began. 

Then in 2020 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a move to court his base of religious conservatives and distract from economic troubles, announced that Hagia Sophia would again become a mosque. Many in the international community criticized the move arguing that the UNESCO World Heritage Site belongs to humanity. Dissent from within Turkey itself was muted after Erdogan warned that such criticism would be considered “an attack against our sovereignty.”

While visiting Hagia Sophia last month we were able to view some mosaics including the marvelous ninth century Seraphim as they stare down from the pendentives that support the dome. Depictions of the Virgin Mary and the archangel Gabriel, which are situated in the direction of Mecca (where Muslims face during prayer), were covered by veils. Among the most acclaimed works that we could access were the Imperial Gate and Southwestern Entrance mosaics but others, located in the upper galleries, were not illuminated and shrouded in shadows. Most dismaying of all was being unable to directly experience the naturalistic style of the Deesis Mosaic which places it at the zenith of Byzantine art.

Humans have created art for as long as they have been human. Art is an expression of the soul that, if we listen, speaks directly to our understanding of what makes us human. Whether a masterpiece like Hagia Sophia or the everyday art that is all around us, art can communicate the wide range of human emotions and expand our ability to empathize with others despite the boundaries of time, culture or socioeconomic differences.

Because it touches vital human concerns, art can become controversial and an object of attack. In March of this year Americans witnessed the forced resignation of a school principal for using a photograph of Michelangelo's David in her work with students. Recently a study by PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in American public school classrooms and libraries over the last school year.

The mosaics of Hagia Sophia are among the supreme achievements of a civilization that thrived more thanfive centuries ago. Like all great art, they offer a unique opportunity for engagement with our humanity. It is distressing whenever access to such works is barred as a result of base and transient motives.