Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia readies for for future earthquake

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Istanbul: Istanbul’s famous Higia Sofia-1,488-year-old ancient times that have been transformed from the church to a museum and a mosque in the mosque-an important renovation that aims to preserve its greatness and strengthen it against the next earthquake.

Its royal dome, shiny stones, and thin minarets, which dominate the city’s sky line, are now symbols of rehabilitation.

At this time, blanketing the scales is one of his east fire and one of his minarets, as engineers work to protect historical structures for generations to come.

While “the outline of the course of the course breaks out a bit” and “the aesthetic … renovation of the memorial memorial is essential.”

Hassan Firat Decker, a architectural professor of rehabilitation, told AFP, a World Heritage site and the most visited site of Turkish, Higia Sofia, “continuous problems”, Hassan Furat Decker, a professor of rehabilitation, told AFP.

He added that for this reason he has rebuilt several pieces during the centuries.

‘World’ change

He said the current change is the first time that the site will go through “global rehabilitation”, which includes dome, walls and minarets.

When it was first completed in AD 537, at the same place where the previous churches were standing, Hiagia Sofia was known as a shining example of the Byzantine Empire’s architecture, known as Constantinople.

When it became a mosque, he served the Ottomans in 1453 as a church until the fall of the city.

In 1935, Mustafa Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, who forcibly made the country a secular, turned the building into a museum.

It remained the same until 2020, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a practicing Muslim, who came to power with an Islamist roots party turned it into a mosque.

The next big earthquake

Like the residents of this historic city, Higia Sofia not only faced the desire of her rulers – she faces a constant threat from earthquakes, which has regularly killed Metropolis, which is last important in 1999.

Like many buildings in the 16 million city, which is just a distance from an active earthquake fault line, Higia Sofia does not meet the quality of the earthquake.

Its dome fell into an earthquake in 558 and the building was damaged in another earthquake that has been affected by the city since then.

Therefore, the main rehabilitation target is “reinforcing the building against the next major earthquake” so that the ancient structure “can avoid this incident with minimal damage.”

Decker said experts are studying the dome for the moment to determine how better it is to strengthen and restore it.

The admission is still free from any scaffolding. But eventually four major pillars will be created to support the platform from which experts will restore dome paintings and mosaics.

“Once you are inside … it’s perfect,” said Anna Delgdo, a 49 -year -old tourist from Mexico.

“It’s magic,” said Dominican from his friend, Elias Erdoor, from the Dominican Republic.

Millions of visitors

Hugia Sofia saw that 7.7 million visitors entered its extensive admission last year.

About 2. There are 2.1 million foreign tourists, most of which pay 25 euros for admission tickets, producing millions of euros annually.

Officials hope that the internal pillar will not prevent visitors from coming to work, which is expected to continue for many years. Officials have not said how much the renovation will cost.

“The goal is to continue, the goal and prayers,” said Glyk.

And even if some visitors are disappointed to not observe the building in their whole glory, the important thing is that “one day my children will be able to praise St. Sofia,” said Yana Gatlasia, 35, from Russia.