Interior Narthex

You get wowed first in the Interior Narthex of the Hagia Sophia before entering the enormous nave! The Interior Narthex of the Hagia Sophia is a... more

by Joan Carroll

Title

Interior Narthex

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

You get wowed first in the Interior Narthex of the Hagia Sophia before entering the enormous nave! The Interior Narthex of the Hagia Sophia is a long, relatively narrow space outside of the main nave. It has nine vaulted lines with inch-thick marble panels. These panels were affixed to the walls using stucco and iron rods. In some other parts of the building, the iron rods rusted and the marble fell off, so that the walls are painted to replicate the original marble. However, in the Interior Narthex, the marble walls are intact. The ceiling of the Interior Narthex has the original Justinian mosaics that survived the Iconoclast Era (CE 730-840) because they were non-figurative. The mosaics pieces are interspersed with bits of semi-precious stone. The colors of the mosaics change depending on the direction of the light. When the mosaics were first completed, services were conducted after sunset by candlelight and mosaics were designed to be vivid in the flickering candlelight.

FEATURED PHOTO, Images That Excite You group, 3/24/15

FIRST PLACE finish, The Beauty of the Middle East Contest, 3/20/15

FEATURED PHOTO, Orthodox Christian Beauty group, 7/16/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Images of Europe group, 7/15/14

FIRST PLACE finish, Sold In June On Faa contest, 7/20/13

FEATURED PHOTO, Art Deco and Unusual Architecture group 6/17/12

FEATURED PHOTO, Fascinating Architecture Monuments and Statues 6/6/12

Uploaded

April 18th, 2012