by Istanbul (Reuters) -The Türkiye will begin in one of the largest repair projects that are carried out on the 1,486 year old structure with the restoration and reinforcement work on the dome of Hagia Sophia, experts said on Monday.
Hagia Sophia has been the largest cathedral in the world for 900 years until he captured by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet, which conqueror in 1453, according to which it has been one of the highest mosques of Islam for almost 500 years.
The building was converted to a museum by the Turkish Republic more than 70 years ago, but was back into a mosque by President Tayyip Erdogan in 2020.
The process becomes difficult and “open an important page in the book Hagia Sophia,” said ASNU Bilban Yalcin, a Byzantine art historian, and added that the restoration of other parts of the structure has been going on for 10 years.
“It is really a structure full of surprises, because sometimes things expect that we don’t expect. That means they design and plan it, but if they open it, things can develop differently,” she said Reuters outside of Hagia Sophia.
The dome is first protected during the repair process, said Ahmet Gulec, an expert in cultural property and repair, and added that the existing lead cover is then removed so that the recovery and reinforcement project is continued.
The reinforcement project will focus on weak structural points that are determined during the simulations of a large earthquake in a country crossed by lines of rejection.
The real structural problems become clearer when the main cover is canceled, said Hasan Firat Diker, professor of architecture at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University.
Hagia Sophia is expected to remain open to worshipers and visitors during the restoration process, which makes the repair process more difficult, said Gual, the expert in cultural property and repair.
The experts did not provide a date for the recovery of the dome, since potential setbacks were unforeseen due to weather conditions and unforeseen additional work.
(Reporting by Ali Kukukgocmen; Editor of Giles Elgood)
