ISTANBUL - CONSTANTINOPLE 

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Settlements have thrived since the 7th century BC where Europe, Istanbul/Constantinople, meets Asia, Uskudar/Scutari...
Settlements have thrived since the 7th century BC where Europe, Istanbul/Constantinople, meets Asia, Uskudar/Scutari...

...by the Golden Horn, Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara, here from Topkapi Palace/Topkapi Sarayi on Seraglio Point.
...by the Golden Horn, Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara, here from Topkapi Palace/Topkapi Sarayi on Seraglio Point.

Inside the immense Hagia Sofia / Aya Sofya / Santa Sophia / Church of Divine Wisdom in Istanbul...
Inside the immense Hagia Sofia / Aya Sofya / Santa Sophia / Church of Divine Wisdom in Istanbul...

...are astonishing uncovered mosaics: from the eleventh century, of Christ Pantocrator (All-Powerful)...
...are astonishing uncovered mosaics: from the eleventh century, of Christ Pantocrator (All-Powerful)...

...giving blessing and holding a bible between King Constantine IX Monomachus and Empress Zoe, both making offerings...
...giving blessing and holding a bible between King Constantine IX Monomachus and Empress Zoe, both making offerings...

...from 1118AD, the Virgin and Child, with the Byzantine Emperor...
...from 1118AD, the Virgin and Child, with the Byzantine Emperor...

...John II Comnneus and his wife Empress Irene receiving blessings from the baby Jesus...
...John II Comnneus and his wife Empress Irene receiving blessings from the baby Jesus...

...dating from 944 and rediscovered in 1849, with circular Mother of God monikers is this beautiful Virgin and Child ...
...dating from 944 and rediscovered in 1849, with circular Mother of God monikers is this beautiful Virgin and Child ...

...flanked by Constantine I, offering her the city of Constantinople, and Justinian I, offering the Hagia Sophia...
...flanked by Constantine I, offering her the city of Constantinople, and Justinian I, offering the Hagia Sophia...

...the outstanding Deësis Mosaic dating from the 1200s (the Restoration of Constantinople) was uncovered...
...the outstanding Deësis Mosaic dating from the 1200s (the Restoration of Constantinople) was uncovered...

...over five painstaking years, after the first glimpses under the plaster in 1934...
...over five painstaking years, after the first glimpses under the plaster in 1934...

...this remarkable Byzantine masterpiece was restored and preserved...
...this remarkable Byzantine masterpiece was restored and preserved...

...to display the original craftsmanship and gentle, compassionate Palaeologan Christ once more...
...to display the original craftsmanship and gentle, compassionate Palaeologan Christ once more...

...as Our Saviour holds the Gospels between the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.
...as Our Saviour holds the Gospels between the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.

Hagia Sofia, Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, Constantinople, in an early engraving...
Hagia Sofia, Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, Constantinople, in an early engraving...

...Aya Sofya around 1885, by Pascal Sebah in Mosquée de Sainte Sophie, it remained the world's largest cathedral for 1000 years...
...Aya Sofya around 1885, by Pascal Sebah in Mosquée de Sainte Sophie, it remained the world's largest cathedral for 1000 years...

...survivor of fire and several earthquakes, it is larger than any previous domed building, depicted here in an early hand tinted print...
...survivor of fire and several earthquakes, it is larger than any previous domed building, depicted here in an early hand tinted print...

...a church until 1453, a mosque following the Ottoman Turk conquest until 1935, when first Turkish President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, restored the building as a museum...
...a church until 1453, a mosque following the Ottoman Turk conquest until 1935, when first Turkish President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, restored the building as a museum...

...Hagia Sophia was built by Emperor Justinian in 536. The very first Constantinople church was constructed by first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine/Constantinus, in 347AD.
...Hagia Sophia was built by Emperor Justinian in 536. The very first Constantinople church was constructed by first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine/Constantinus, in 347AD.

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