Ideology and symbolism in the conversion and transformation of religious spaces: the case of Hagia Sophia
23/01/2021 2:00pm
British Association for Turkish Area Studies (BATAS)
This talk will focus on:
• the construction of Hagia Sophia and its symbolism during the Byzantine period
• Hagia Sophia as a Royal Mosque during the Ottoman period
• Hagia Sophia as a museum after the foundation of the Turkish Republic
• the current reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque
• the symbolism of Hagia Sophia/Ayasofya in Orthodox Christian and Islamic popular culture as a common cultural heritage - with some reference to other historical examples of conversion or adaptation of religious spaces between different faiths