The Hagia Sophia, the "wonder of wonders" with three lives

One of the symbols of Istanbul, a major architectural work, the Hagia Sophia, nicknamed the "wonder of wonders", which became a museum in 1934, is today the subject of a very political decision concerning its status. Several associations are requesting its conversion into a mosque. They are supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a nostalgic for the Ottoman Empire who is today seeking to rally the conservative electorate and who has made this conversion an electoral promise. One more episode in the rich history of this Byzantine building.

Built in the 6th century by the Byzantines who crowned their emperors there, Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the main tourist attractions in Istanbul.

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It was the Byzantine emperor Justinian who launched its construction in 532 in the city which was then called Constantinople. He entrusted the architects Isidore de Milet and Anthémius de Tralles with a mission: to build the largest Christian building in the world. For that, nothing is too beautiful: a hundred Hellenistic columns from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, green marble from Thessaly, white marble from Marmara, pink marble from Synada, yellow marble from Africa, black marble from the Pyrenees, stones black from the Bosphorus region…

The largest dome in the world

"Justinian is building a breathtaking basilica, says Frédéric Hitzel, a CNRS researcher and specialist in Ottoman history, contacted by France 24. Visitors are impressed by its dimensions, in particular by its dome which was then the largest in the world ( 55 meters high, 30 meters in diameter) and which will remain so until the construction of St. Peter's in Rome, a thousand years later. "

It takes a little less than six years for the more than 10,000 workers and 100 prime contractors to build "Hagía Sophía", which in ancient Greek means "divine wisdom". After its inauguration in 537, the church became the seat of the Orthodox patriarchate and welcomed the coronation of the Byzantine emperors.

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Its story is not easy. Partly destroyed by numerous earthquakes, it is systematically rebuilt. But it is also plundered by the crusaders during the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Its riches, in particular the precious materials of its altar, are highly sought after. The basilica then became a Roman Catholic cathedral until the occupants left in 1261.

Transformed into a mosque

In 1453, the Ottomans seized Constantinople. While most of the Christian places in the city are looted, Sultan Mehmed II orders that Hagia Sophia be preserved and then transformed into a mosque. It is the beginning of a new era for the basilica, to which is added a minaret.

"Mehmed II built the nearby Topkapi imperial palace and thus went to prayer every Friday in procession, says Frédéric Hitzel. Then, Hagia Sophia served as a model for the construction of other mosques, notably the Süleymaniye mosque built between 1550 and 1557 by the famous architect Sinan or the Sultanahmet mosque, known as the Blue Mosque inaugurated in 1616. "

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Over the centuries, three other minarets were added to Hagia Sophia and the Christian mosaics, which Mehmed II had not touched, ended up being covered with plaster from 1750. Numerous restorations were undertaken to preserve the building on foot, as between 1847 and 1849, under Sultan Abdülmecid, who had the dome and the vaults consolidated and reviewed the interior and exterior decoration. Part of the thick whitewash that covered the mosaics is then removed.

Atatürk offers Hagia Sophia "to humanity"

But the tumultuous history of Hagia Sophia took a new turn in 1934. The president of the recent Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, decided to "offer it to humanity" by making the mosque a museum. Its restoration, between 1930 and 1935, makes it possible to completely discover the mosaics, considered as a reference of Byzantine art.

"Atatürk, who was very secular, wished to see his country enter modernity and for him, that went through this symbol, that of a country open and ready to welcome the Christians of the world, explains Frédéric Hitzel. And while Turkey was suffering from the economic crisis after the 1929 crash, making Hagia Sophia a museum made it possible to attract all eyes of the whole world, and in particular that of investors, on Istanbul. "

Today, Sainte-Sophie is still a museum visited by millions of tourists each year. Last year it was even the most visited tourist attraction in Turkey, with 3.8 million people.

Nevertheless, Hagia Sophia has been the scene of several activities linked to Islam in recent years. Since the arrival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power in 2003, these have multiplied inside Hagia Sophia, with notably sessions of reading the Koran or collective prayers on the square in front of the monument. In 2018, President Erdogan himself read a verse from the Koran there.

Since 2005, associations have repeatedly approached the courts to demand a return to mosque status, without success so far.

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