Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Ancient Mystery | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

[@ejohnson3131]

I watched this on PBS when it aired originally! I was such a nerd growing up watching NOVA, Motor Week, Rick Steve’s Europe and America’s Test Kitchen! A little National Geographic, History Channel and Discovery Channel! 😂

[@lilafrazer7373]

Lol...i was the same way

[@friedchickenridebarton1567]

All the good stuff!

[@pedenmk]

I love p.b.s. I use to never miss a program several years ago before satellite television. I still enjoy it

[@FrankJohnson-d5v]

Yeah me too 😊 Nova is why TV was invented 😁

[@StopProject2025]

Samesies! But I was 30

[@vtingen]

I love Nova. I have great memories watching it back in the 80s as a kid, and 40 years later we still get beautiful documentaries like this. Thanks PBS!

[@JJMHigner]

Absolutely. We had great documentaries up till the end of the 1990s. I watch Frontline and Nova because they still produce good objective shows

[@churblefurbles]

@@JJMHigner Nova is still pretty good, but Frontline is just blueanon propaganda, hardly objective, the real story is the endless omission.

[@derpett9999]

Wow! What and incredible building with just so much history! Imagine all of the people that have walked inside of it over the last 1,500 years. All of these people with different life stories, different families and traditions, all united by their awe of the incredible building! I hope it remains standing for many more generations to experience! Thank you NOVA for all of the incredible documentaries on ancient buildings!

[@johnprentice1527]

Great Nova documentary. I got to spend a couple of hours in Hagia Sophia many years ago. It's beautiful and immense. Its exterior architecture is every bit as impressive as its interior beauty.

[@trk259]

Watching this at the backend of the recent earthquake in turkey, gives it another layer of understanding and dimension. This building survived

[@meganfoster-campbell9775]

Thanks for sharing this episode on KZbin. A poignant footnote: Dr. Robert Ousterhout, who discusses the Emperor Justinian (around 12:00 in the clip), passed away in late April 2023. He was one of the world's foremost experts on Byzantine architecture, and will be very much missed.

[@caroldean2596]

It's impossible to describe what it is like to be inside this building. You could be there for weeks and not appreciate it all. I can't wait to go back some day after seeing this. And props to the number of turkish women engineers in this program!

[@JJMHigner]

The Secret of this building is that it cannot be photographed easily from within unless you use a fisheye lens, because it really and truly surrounds you. Instead of merely intimidating you it holy Embraces you. This wonderful structure has a Timeless quality about it and that timelessness has God within it or at least the feeling of sacredness. It showcases some of the best of human qualities, hence why it is a world Wonder on the same level as Notre Dame, the Queen Mary, the Empire State Building and other such creations. This great building is as much worthy of preservation as the places I've just mentioned and others and must seen to be believed.

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

I will not put the Empire State building on this list, it is not a religious building and it was built During the Art Deco period. The 3 possible temples which might be comparable are the Abu Simbel temple in Aswan, the Luxor temple and Karnak temples in Egypt which are still standing today. The surprised thing about the Islam charligraphy are that it's written on wood when I saw it on the second floor

[@northernbohemianrealist]

I went to Istanbul just to see Hagia Sophia. I studied it for weeks ahead of time. It is the pinnacle of the Roman Arch (a dome is a 180 degree arch) and, in my opinion, the pinnacle of propagandistic architecture. It has been reconsecrated as a mosque, which limits the time one can visit and carpeted the floor. Many of the things I wanted to see are no longer available. I was most excited to see the Viking runes, and the early Christian mosaics shown here are unavailable except for one. This documentary limits comment on propaganda. This building was the center of the city that was the center of the western world for more than a thousand years. I can only imagine someone sailing in from northern Europe or the Levant and walking in to see the Emperor or the Patriarch of Constantinople. The awe!

[@Pbav8tor]

If I had means to travel, I would go to see this remarably beautiful building.

[@rosemarycrane5137]

Yes, that part of the world is filled with history of great porportions!!

[@carolcooke2624]

It has now been changed back to a mosque. A shame it didn’t stay a museum for both faiths. The Christian mosaics are covered over again.

[@H3LLS4NG3L]

They should strip half of the Hagia's walls to show the difference between the Ottomans renovations and the original. I'm not religious, but the murals are beautiful art that should not remain plastered over.

[@rudester7557]

I was so impressed when I first visited Hagia Sofia. How on earth could they have built this in the year 537?

[@rosemarycrane5137]

Awesome that you were able to travel to Turkey. A country with so much history!!

[@777jones]

I got to visit it in early 2023. How was it built, aliens and crypto most likely.

[@superdupersubby]

^Don't forget the ERE/Byzantines

[@stathispapailias634]

Because it was Greeks, not Turks.

[@mat4263]

I am looking forward to this episode, what a beautiful church Hagia Sophia is!

[@astreaward6651]

This is in my top five bucket list places to visit. It's beyond amazing. And I highly recommend "Sailing to Sarantuim" and "Lord of Emperors" by Guy Gavriel Kay if you'd like a fictional, somewhat fantastical, take on Emperor Justinian, Empress Theodora, and the mosaics of Hagia Sophia.

[@brettmuir5679]

Sadly it is no longer a museum today. It has been converted back into a mosque. The beautiful stone floors are carpeted now and many of the iconic mosaics are hidden

[@Andy_Babb]

I feel like the PBS channel read my comment about getting some more Ancient History topics and documentaries on here! 😂 THANK YOU PBS! lol

[@laurapope3685]

This was such an informative watch! Thank you for taking out the time to make such an awesome video!

[@XxXenosxX]

Thanks for adding this! Time to donate to PBS to support future ones 🤞🏼

[@vaporofdeath37]

Your Models for the shake table may be to scale BUT the bricks used and thicknesses of the mortar are not… your bricks are HUGE!!! They do not have the same strength!!! Rebuild it with EVERYTHING to scale… GREAT show tho!!! Beautiful Ancient Buildings!!! I can not wait to see the entire building scanned… I’m wondering if the used a active sonar ping (like from a submarine) inside if they could scan the entire structure at once???

[@mikekaup5252]

In a realistic test the model should have had a much longer time to allow for the mortar to achieve a higher strength . Mortar and concrete grow much stronger if allowed to set for a much longer period of time. Tests are usually taken at 28 days but mortar and concrete continue to gain strength after that time.

[@amazinggrace5692]

Ah! I was wondering about that!

[@EnginAtik]

I think they were more interested in discovering the failure modes of a brick and mortar building in the shape of Hagia Sophia. Forces and stresses will not always linearly scale in this 1/26 model, but the vibration modes will have a similar shape. They can use this information they gathered from this physical simulation later in computer simulations with varying degrees of material strengths.

[@mr.d8925]

This was a Byzantine Catholic Church for 1,000 years before muslims. In my mind and heart, it is still a Byzantine Church no matter what the turks/muslims do with it.

[@mr.d8925]

@@MW-ov8wi I stand corrected. The Great Schism, 1054. Let;s agree that it was and is a Christian Church and should be returned to the Orthodox.

[@Hibernicus1968]

Technically, Catholic for closer 500 years than 1000. There was the final schism that split the Catholic and Orthodox churches apart in 1054. Sadly, there is no chance at all of it being returned to being a Christian cathedral in a majority Muslim country.

[@Mike-cj3nw]

I visited the Aga Sophia 8 times in 2006 and it's awesome.

[@Andy_Babb]

Respectfully, I really wish all of the most ancient aspects of the artwork hadn’t been pasted over and ruined

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

Depends on who's the government. I respect that Jordan, still keep the original baptism site on the Jordan river with 2 churches.

[@Andy_Babb]

@@DrBukk wow, I did not know that. Thank you my friend, that’s interesting.

[@Aranjuez44]

Soooo very interesting! I enjoyed this immensely. Thanks so much for posting! Love NOVA productions!

[@marigeobrien]

A scale model will not properly replicate the integrity of Hagia Sophia. Not everything can be extrapolated, most especially not enormous buildings. But, I supposed we must do something to keep ourselves busy.

[@D00Rb3LL]

No model can perfectly replicate reality, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Our intelligent & beautiful ancestors... ❤❤❤❤❤

[@jessicarettally6534]

Being there is magnificent ❤

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

Has anyone notice that the Turkish pronounced it as Ai-a Sophia? I learned it from the Turkish airlines assigned tour guide and has pronounced it that way. Hagia Sophia sit between the tip of Asia and Europe, no wonder so many conquers wanted this special place. I have visited Istanbul 4 times, and i always made time for this special place. Since it's re converted into a mosque in 2020, i got a brief visit on October 6th 2021. Visitors must keep their shoes inside s free provided plastic bag and to walk inside barefoot. I'm not sure about the second floor because I run out of time and had to rush back to the airport.

[@sopdox]

Αγία Σοφία is pronounced aYIA Sophia. That is the proper Greek pronunciation. I’m impressed that the staff of Turkish Airlines were pronouncing it correctly as the addition of the “H” to Agia is an Islamic convention.

[@bustermot]

And that the Professor from Pennsylvania couldn’t manage to say it correctly. Strange. I learned how to say it correctly when I was a teenager and I’m a typical American as well.

[@Research0digo]

I'm surprised the experts didn't a wait for the mortar to set, and b, didn't build buttresses as the corners of the outside walls went up. Anyway, @19:30, actual builders of vernacular architecture know those as squinch arches. 29:04 the Greeks knew about capstones - why the hell didn't she call for those to be used? They wouldn't be visible from inside or outside - why leave those out? In any case - since for some reason the structure wasn't just built on the shake table to begin with, there is steel involved (viewed when picked up), which is rigid and as discussed, when it was lifted to be moved, the steel plate it was constructed on deformed. She should have been smarter than this old carpenter, who also happens to be somewhat of an expert in earthen construction, specifically vernacular construction. sigh

[@williamhilbert8324]

Thanks my night just perked up, just got through with the rebuilding of Notre Dame for the 10th time lol

[@roselightinstorms727]

Beautifully made🎉

[@kevinroberts8467]

It is obviously deliberate that the dome-as the professor says-has been painted over by all that writing. It would seem more anciently-authentic, in my opinion, with a majestic mural of the original depicted in the sketch from the renovations.

[@Neilfrozn]

This is very interesting! I had not heard of this structure before finding this video.

I hope and pray for the day Hagia Sophia once again becomes the Church is meant to be.

[@danielmaher7108]

It will never happen under Erdogan.

[@genebryant3333]

I wonder how it have survived if they had scaled the bricks and mortar layers accuratly too. The bricks they used are smaller, but not 1/26th the size used in the actual building.

[@luzrodas519]

Very important and interesting documentary. Thank you!

[@disappearintothesea]

I’ve been there. It’s really something to behold!

[@eachlovediva]

Very well done! Thank you!

[@Jack-eo5fn]

“They don’t build them like that anymore.”

[@HereBeDragonsYT]

I'm not religious at all, but I am in awe of what human hands were able to accomplish.

[@roselightinstorms727]

All beautiful🎉

[@roselightinstorms727]

That why the first dome had to rebuilt

[@roselightinstorms727]

All on earth no matter who they are✨

[@apsaraa8209]

Great documentary.

[@traditionalgirl5585]

Out of all the things you could discuss about this structure is its earthquake readiness? Booooring.

[@oddsman01]

This version of Nova is the best. The latest rendition, much like Horizon, has the pace and tone of a children’s cartoon.

[@roselightinstorms727]

Been through many stages

[@roselightinstorms727]

Everything fights against gravity and earthquakes and many religions and and times.❤

[@jjgreek1]

The Greeks built amazing things

[@asianpersuasion1219]

You mean Roman

[@brabea23]

The Greeks did not build this. Justinian and Theodora asked the Egyptians to build the Hagia Sophia. The Egyptians were able to build this because they had a culture in building. The Hagia Sophia was the first school for a select few European males and the entire teaching staff were Africans. Greeks had no education at all at the time.

[@jacobojala3767]

@@asianpersuasion1219 You mean Christians

[@asianpersuasion1219]

@@jacobojala3767 those Romans were Christians

[@zhaw4821]

The architects were Greek

[@goldenthug9]

Love NOVA wow

[@roselightinstorms727]

Making it into a museum makes you see it All together

[@dmohlde]

I think it is absolutely hilarious that the Hagia Sophia, a Christian church from 150 years before islam was made up, has become the model for all mosques around the world.

[@deannejennings9544]

We don't build like this anymore. Such a feast for the eyes, I hope she continues to stand.

[@mikekaup5252]

Core samples of the ancient, original mortar should be taken and the existing strength should be matched to the test mortar if the test is valid.

[@johnbyrne4438]

This is a great vid on the structure and construction of the dome but it made no mention of the large apparent crack running through the middle of the dome as seen in the exterior above-the-dome shots.

[@hhunstad2011]

Loved this one NOVA!

[@sterneusun]

Wonderful love all the Info

[@CaroleEliseuson]

;SO AMAZING!!/THIS IS TURKEY/HOWDID THESE ANCIENT YEARS AGO/1500 YEARS AGO/WHAT GREAT ENGINEERING SKILLS WITH SUCH BEAUTY/TAKE TIME TO WATCH THIS NOVA PROGRAM THEY HAVE ,LOTS OF THEM ON PBS!/ I MARVEL AT THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!/TAKE TIME 2 EDUCATE YOURSELF WITH THE HISTORY (537)...BEFORE SO MUCH TECHNOLOGY WAS INVENTED!!/LEARN TO EDUCATE YOURSELF/I AM GIVING YOU THE WONDERFUL & GOOD STUFF/WITH 'COUNTLESS' CHOICES!!/2:35 PM/10/14, 2023/KNOWLEDGE/LEARNING 4 BOTH OF US!

[@jerometaperman7102]

In a boneheaded, short sighted move, the toad, Erdogan, has changed it back to a mosque.

[@OllieRamone]

Agreed. He is a moron

[@melissabernard8683]

So beautiful glittering in the sun.

[@Pbav8tor]

I adore the 'shake it til you break it' scientific method!

[@pedenmk]

I definitely would love seeing this wonderful place. I hope to someday.

[@billbobstephensjon8472]

Sadly, it has been reconverted from a museum to a mosque now. You are not allowed to visit the upper gallery and observe most of the mosaics anymore 😢

[@Shiloh7377]

I think it's in Assassins Creed revelations video game, but hagia sophia is in that game and you get to go into it its reallly impressive.

[@southeastcoastalphotography]

That game is literally where I first really fell in love with this building and probably why I’m watching this documentary right now.

[@SadisticSenpai61]

Arches _love_ staying up. And the domes would distribute the load equally as well. Rather clever engineering, really. Edit: Considering the part that was damaged in the earthquake shortly after it was built was the great dome collapsing... Yeah, they probably should have figured that the great dome would be the weakest point in the structure.

[@heartlights]

"Wow Lord look at all these magnificent buildings!"

[@SadisticSenpai61]

You know, I feel like they could probably develop a computer simulation that could show roughly how well a building would stand up during different types of earthquakes - esp if the exact dimensions and materials of the building are known. At the end of the day, it's an intersection between math and physics - and we should know enough about both to be able to accurately create a working simulation.

[@SameAsAnyOtherStranger]

They should use muon tomography to create a database of every cubic millimeter of Hagia Sophia. Muon tomography or muography is a technique that uses cosmic ray muons to generate three-dimensional images of volumes using information contained in the Coulomb scattering of the muons.

[@BearsArms45]

It is TRULY marvelous. Awe-inspiring in every single way. As marvelous and more than the European cathedrals that it’s original Christian designers went on to build. But with the Turkish Erdogan government standing inside it, waving an ottoman sword, cursing attaturk and changing it from a museum back to a mosque, along with praising and encouraging the Islamic takeover of Europe… I can’t help but feel an instinctual, Roman Empire type urge to “reconquista” it in the name of Christendom, as well as retaking the land and restoring its European name of Constantinople.

[@user-dc1dr9kr8x]

As a full time construction worker the real mystery is why we build so cheaply now

[@pozzerbob]

Are the models tested with green concrete?

[@LiveBetterSaveMoney]

I hope to see it one day

[@mikekaup5252]

Why they didn't build the model ON the shake table is beyond me!

[@amazinggrace5692]

Probably because they needed the shake table for other things as well

[@BigRigFrog]

Ahh yes amazing innovation of a great Christian society!

[@rossrreyes]

I always thought it was 1,000 years old. But it is actually 1,500 years old !!!

[@sarge420]

Did they construct massive holes underneath and add gravel to help dissipate the earthquake movement?

[@danthomas6587]

Very cool

[@JohnLindquist-du5wr]

At one point, it is implied that the Islamic Arab invasions were after the Fourth Crusade; they were before, and the Byzantine or eastern half of the Roman Empire, successfully survived them. In 1204, long after the loss of the Anatolian plateau to the Turks and more infighting; the vulnerable Eastern Roman Empire did not survive the attack, occupation and sacking by Fourth Crusade. The Crusaders helped ensure the political fragmentation of the Eastern Roman Empire and robbed the capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul) of its immense wealth. (NOTE: this previous statement is fiercely debated among scholars.) Another major factor contributing to the Empire’s fall is that the Greeks, who ran the Empire, were constantly fighting among themselves. The rump Roman state that emerged in the later half 13th century, after the Latin occupation; managed to miraculously linger on another three centuries. It’s cultural contribution to the West was immense. However, the rump Roman state lacked resources to fight its external enemies and suffered from more debilitating infighting; the Ottomans conquered the last major bastion of this rump state, Constantinople, in 1453.

[@WubiWatkins]

Did you use Roman concrete though

[@roselightinstorms727]

Greeks knew it would be a miracle🎉

[@patrickblaney1675]

The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall and stands on a pedestal that is 154 feet tall, making the height of the entire sculpture 305 feet. While it's true that the Statue of Liberty could fit under the dome of Hagia Sophia, the Statue of Liberty and its pedestal base would not. So, when you think of the Statue of Liberty, if you picture the statue atop its base, you're being misled..

[@KAAN_TR]

There are other churches closer to this one and it can be very hot outside but inside of the church is very cold, you might want take jacket or something to keep you warm inside the church.. walls are all marble made.. 🇹🇷

[@nirad6766]

The works of Anatoly Fomenko, Sean Hross, and David Ewing Jr. are recommended.

[@curtisowen3233]

Oh how I'd love to see the beautiful mosaics hidden underneath the relatively plain ottoman cover up. Religion, makes beautiful art, and destroys it. I hope this ultimately human place remains a museum.

[@holeshothunter5544]

Brick structures do not scale. You can't find out a thing by building a smaller construction using relatively HUGE bricks. How did it survive? Look at the huge buttresses.

[@Hibernicus1968]

@@PBFoote-mo2zr Interestingly, back when the building was originally built, its original builders didn't allow quite enough time for the mortar to set properly either -- an impatient Justinian was pushing them to complete the structure as quickly as possible. As a result, the piers were pushed slightly apart by the outward and downward thrust of the dome. Then when that original dome collapsed in 558, it pushed the piers apart still farther. Some reinforcing was done when the new, current dome was added, but it resulted in permanent structural deformation of the building. If you stand directly under the main dome and look up (or look at a photo taken from that position), you can very clearly see the base of the dome is no longer circular. There is even one point where there is a very visible kink in the line where the base of the dome meets the pendentives.

[@bradleyjames1340]

Alot changes with scale though. Like how insects are stuck being small because at a certain size their body weight becomes too much for their legs to support. Mass increase is not linear with dimensional increases.

[@Epoch11]

It's too bad that it's no longer a museum that both Christians and Muslims and anyone else could visit. It was changed back into a mosque. What's strange is why turkey is part of the European Union when it's in Asia.

[@juanb3838]

pbs I love you

[@teddymoon3744]

i walked around this building and touched its arches. Christendom will retake it.

[@Hoechachi]

Lol

[@roselightinstorms727]

Didn't need to look at subtitles understand what they say

[@11BlackLamb]

Exterior and interior airbags to fill when sensors detect earthquake coming

[@fethikasap]

Ayasofya is still one of the greatest buildings in the world & was the greatest in its time. Period. I am Muslim-Turkish and I have a great respect to Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. I believe these two men were not only great scientists but also they were good designers. However, we owe a lot to Sinan, The Ottoman Empire''s Master Architect, because he really did a lot to protect this building and help it to survive. I wish they have mentioned about him and his works too.

[@brabea23]

The Hagia Sophia was built by the african Egyptians of that time. Not Isidore and Anthemius who are just made up figures.

[@trevinowens70]

We Christen built that building. It will always be a Church!!☦️

[@macrc2129]

@@brabea23 What?? 🤣

[@brabea23]

@@macrc2129 What is funny?

[@macrc2129]

@@brabea23 The completely inaccurate only speculative without any facts, thing you typed up there. It was a few months ago. Must be a challenge keeping up with all the lies.

[@monaiannucci9434]

Solace

[@gregthegroove]

Agia Sophia. Not Hagia. Agia (Greek for “saint.”) Where is this “H” in Hagia coming from?

[@ZeeMiucin]

❤

[@IkeTurner2.0]

I do not have the athority to amend such greivances in the history of sophia but I do have the authority of the Quran for Muslims....

[@wah666]

that “experiment” was insanely bad science lmao so ridiculous but everything else in the episode was cool

[@susanprather1021]

Love history but is this Leonard Nimoy narrating? So familiar!

[@roselightinstorms727]

Cause windows hold it up

[@nourahrmumeenslave]

As a Muslim, I hold Turkey accountable to give this church back to it's rightful owners. According to Islam, it was a sin and a shame to take it and then, more sin and shame to make it a museum, then more sin and shame to turn it to a masjid. Until we give it back, we deserve whatever we get from the Orthodox. Wrong is wrong, I dont care who did the wrong.

[@PREDATOR07]

I'm not expert but having a single plate underneath to support that weight?? At least some bars from the middle to each corner.

[@xhorxheetxeberria-td1hu]

Unfortunately, it's not a museum anymore. Once again, it's a mosque instead of Christian Church as it was built for. ☦️🙏🏻