Hagia Sophia’s Mysterious Underground World to Open for Visitors

January 4

The Hagia Sophia is the most iconic symbol of Byzantine architecture. Credit Benh LIEU SONG / CC BY-SA 2.0 / via Wikimedia Commons

After fifteen centuries, Hagia Sophia‘s maze-like, underground complex world will open to visitors, Turkish media reports.

The underground structures of the Byzantine architectural masterpiece include tunnels, cellars, corridors and a three-room tomb, which those working on their restoration have described as “underground beauties.” After the cleaning and restoration process is completed, they will be presented to the public. The structures surrounding Hagia Sophia are approximately one kilometer long and the cleaning is expected to last one year.

Professor Hasan Firat Diker, a member of the Hagia Sophia Science Board, tells Turkish daily Yeni Safak that an architectural visualization study of these underground structures had been completed about five years ago.

“This study is very important and valuable in the sense that both existing places can be visited, even if only a part of them, and the findings inside are dealt with sensitivity under the supervision of the Hagia Sophia Museum and those that are revealed can shed light on the history of Istanbul,” Diker says.

The underground structures of Hagia Sophia, which have been neglected, are being cleaned and opened for visitation pic.twitter.com/srKW8HRTvH

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He adds that the sections under the arcaded courtyard are as old as Hagia Sophia, meaning they are 1,500 years old and the tomb area is believed to be older than the current structure.

Moreover, Diker notes that the cleaning of these underground structures, which have been neglected for centuries, will be very beneficial for the superstructure overall, saying that it “will be very important for the comfort of the current air conditioning of Hagia Sophia and for it to breathe more easily.”

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One of the entrances of Hagia Sophia with the mosaic above it. Credit: Gryffindor Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY SA 4.0

More restoration work under way for Hagia Sophia

Last month, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the iconic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (Constantinople) will undergo extensive restoration, including the dismantling of its dome, to preserve the historical and structural integrity of the world-renowned monument .

Ahmet Gulec, a member of the project’s scientific committee, said damage to the dome’s lead cover and cement materials made the restoration necessary. “The underside of the dome is covered in mosaics, making structural intervention from below nearly impossible” Gulec explained. The team will remove the lead cover and other harmful materials to ensure the building’s safety.

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