Hagia Sophia Folio
I have created a folio of 12 photographs from the dome of Hagia Sophia. The photographs are printed photographically on metallic paper which brings out the reflective qualities of gold extremely well. The folio opens with a title page, includes a certificate of authenticity, and continues with a collection of 12 photographs. They are all enclosed in a hand made gold-charcoal folio cover. I sign and number the certificate of authenticity and the folio cover. This stunning collection will make an excellent addition to anyone’s art collection.
The current price of the folio is $250 per set and will increase to $300 after the copy number 6, to $400 after copy number 10. There may be additional increases after that and the total number of folios of this collection will be limited to 18 copies with no more than 3 artist proofs.
Available copies are:
| Copy | Price | Status |
| #1-#6 | $250 | Sold |
| #7-#10 | $300 | Sold |
| #11 | $400 | Sold |
| #12-#18 | $400 * | Available |
| * Subject to change | ||
Please contact me using the form on the “Contact” page if you have questions or are interested in acquiring a copy for your collection or for gift giving.
Here are the photographs in the folio collection
The Puppeteer in Pera
On one of our outings, when we visited Narmanli Han, I heard an enchanting music coming behind a line of people watching something. I could see the head of a very tall man with his face painted white but could not make anything of it until I got reasonably close to peek through the crowd. It was a puppeteer manipulating his alter ego with an accompanying story. In a way it was mesmerizing, the man was talking, narrating a story in a deep voice over the music seemingly coming from a device attached to his waist. His black attire, a backdrop for the marionette, made him look larger than he probably was. His arms moved in carefully choreographed sequences carrying the marionette in different directions, or made him kneel. The totality of the experience was captivating, almost to a fault as I do not remember even one word the man said for fear of missing a move, or missing a note of the music. Read more
Six-Winged Seraphim 3D
As I mentioned in the previous post, the newly unveiled Seraphim mosaic in Hagia Sophia reminded me of a head mapped to a flat surface. I am not an expert in 3D mapping, but I created the following composite showing how the face could have looked in 3D. I used FaceShop, a Photoshop plugin, to map the features of the depicted face to the features of a 3D face. The software then creates a 3D model that can be rotated maintaining the features of the original. I took two angles that show the shape of a face. Read more
Hagia Sophia, a new mosaic unveiled
I read in a Turkish newspaper, Aksam, that one of the mosaics in Hagia Sophia was cleaned to reveal the face of the angel Seraphim. According to the news article, the mosaic has been covered for about 160 years. Possibly because of this, the pieces of the mosaic are preserved exceptionally well. This is exciting news for art historians and art lovers around the world. It is particularly exciting for me as I was probably within touching distance from the beautiful face when I was up on the scaffolding a month ago. Read more
From the roof of Hagia Sophia
Earlier, I posted a slide show consisting of the photographs I took inside Hagia Sophia. Since then, I have created a second slide show, this time featuring the photographs taken from the roof of Hagia Sophia. You will see the Blue Mosque, the old hippodrome, the obelisks on one side; and Hagia Eirene and the Topkapi Palace on the other. In between, you will see the Marmara Sea and a view of Istanbul not many has seen before.
I walked a narrow ledge on the roof, probably not wider than 4 feet, to go from the front side to the back side so that I could see Hagia Eirene and Topkapi Palace. Making that walk with no protection was not the smartest thing I have ever done! But, the view on the other side was worth it (now that I made it back in one piece!)
In this post, as well as the earlier one you will see both slide shows. I hope you enjoy the show.
Hagia Sophia: A Short Video
I posted some of the photographs I took in, around, and from the dome of Hagia Sophia earlier. I wanted to provide an interpretation that evoked The Great Church in use; so I created a short video that is set to Byzantine Chant. I watched it a few times with great awe of the structure that remained the largest church in the world for over a millennium.
Here is the video, move your mouse over it, click on the start at the center of the image, and enjoy the music and one of the monuments of humanity.
Anemon Hotel and Grifin Fish Restaurant
Ergun, my brother-in-law and good friend, scouts the most interesting places to visit. On June 29 we visited the Covered Bazaar for some last minute shopping then went to the Tunel district in old Pera. The first stop was an interesting bookstore which seemed to specialize in historical publications. We saw some interesting books, Ergun purchased a few and we started walking down towards the Galata Tower. It was built by the Genoese in mid 14th century. Its walls are about 10 feet thick, no wonder it still stands tall.
The tower is very impressive from the ground level with a height of 220 feet. There is a hotel directly across from the tower, Hotel Anemon which serves food and drinks at its roof. We took the elevator there and the imposing tower looked even more so and felt almost touchably close. I could see the tourists on its circular walk taking pictures with the flash firing! As we enjoyed some drinks, I looked down to see a group of a cappella musicians singing to an audience. Also interesting was to see the darting swallows around the tower. Read more
Hagia Sophia, III: View from the roof
From a small trap door they made under one of the large windows between the ribs of the great dome of Hagia Sophia we stepped out to face a magnificent view of the area. As I stepped out, I was looking at the Blue Mosque at the level of its minarets and I could see the Sultanahmet district, the hippodrome, the Marmara Sea, and beyond. The view was breathtaking. You will see a panoramic view that will give you an idea of what hit me. I felt like creating a section of it in the style of gravure printing and hand coloring as a a tribute to the artists who might have painted from this angle centuries ago.
Looking around, you will see many domes extending from Hagia Sophia, its minarets, ornaments that adorn the tops of domes and minarets glittering in the sun. The weather was great, sunny but with a decent cloud cover so soften the light. Without the clouds, most of the photographs would have been far too contrasty as we stepped outside probably around 1:30-2:00 pm in June. Now, that’s strong sun. Read more
Hagia Sophia, II: Inside
In the previous post you saw photographs of me and Reha in and around Hagia Sophia. In this, and the next post, I will share with you some photographs that I took from the remarkable vantage point I enjoyed of this magnificent structure.
The restoration scaffolding is immense as you can see. It stands 55 meters, over 180-feet, tall. Our host, Erdinc told us that a crew who knows how to assemble it can move it to the next quadrant in 45 days. Once, it took an inexperienced crew over 3 months. The elevator took us to the 55 meter platform where I was able to touch the very center of the dome. The gold foiled medallion that hides the hanging gear of the immense center chandelier is made of wood and nailed to the ceiling. The calligraphy on the ceiling covers the original mosaic art.
Looking down and around makes it very clear that this is Read more
Hagia Sophia, I
I had a very remarkable experience that I would like to share very briefly here. My good friend Reha Gunay arranged for us to visit Hagia Sophia and go up to its dome. His student Erdinc was a great host as he took us on the elevator to the top, 55 meters from the ground. The actual ceiling of the dome is 56 meters tall and I touched the very center of the dome. It was a truly exhilarating feeling. After we photographed the dome ceiling, we photographed the various parts of the lower levels.
Later on we walked outside and saw the most magnificent view of Sultanahmet and Topkapi Palace. I will post more photographs of the experience when I go back home. Here are some of the highlights of the memorable experience.
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