The Blue Mosque, Research Paper Example

Presentation and description         

One of the visible objects on the Istanbul sites is the Haiga Sophia Museum. Within the museum, there is a blue Mosque. In addition, within the very Haiga Sophia Museum, there is the Germany foundation and the Hippodrome of Constantinople. The object location of the art in Istanbul in Turkey. Part of the oldest architectural designs exists. It was built and completed in the 17th century. The architectural plans were in the form of a mosque formerly constructed to reassert the Ottoman power. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque also incorporates the Haiga Sophia with a traditional Islamic architecture construction.

The Hagia Sophia is one the last great mosque that is regarded to belong to the classical period. The design used the ideas of the former master architect. He was skilled and of great importance to the erection of the current monuments and objects (Lafferty 67). The primary aim of the architect was to construct a wonderful, overwhelming and an object full of splendor.

Meaning and function of the art

The original reason for the construction of the object was for the purposes of the church functions of the Christians. Originally, Christians used the Byzantine Church for worship. Later on with time, the church became a mosque and served the Istanbul Muslim community. The fact above can be attributed to the increased influence and spread of Islamic culture across the country. (Aran and Tankut 61). The Muslims gained and took control of the city and then changed the church into a mosque.

The inside of the mosque has well guided pointers of beautiful mosaics. The mosaics are from the Christian periods. There are also the fascinating examples of Byzantine architecture and the associated relics from the Ottoman Empire and rule. The presence if the mosaics are a clear evidence of the law that the Jews were to follow and abide. Therefore, the original inhabitants of the area were the Jews. The existence of the Muslims currently denotes that there must have been religious fights. The widespread of Muslim at an area formerly occupied by the Jews show that the non-existent group that was formerly there must have undergone extinction. History has it that her spread of Muslim during that era was radical. Religious extremism from the Muslims dominated the religion (Levine 56).

The Haiga Sophia Museum has not changed location as other artefacts have done. The original site is still existent. Inasmuch as it is a religious place for the Muslims, it is also used as a tourist attraction center. The area generates revenue from both the domestic and international tourists who visit the place as scenery and an attraction site. The beautiful tall mosque form architecture is an attraction site. The figure must have changed when the Muslims took over. Over time, they added a few sculptures to make the design fully conformable to the standards of Islam. However, if there was any change, it was insignificant and close to negligible because the Muslims copied a greater form and the sculpture of the temple by then.

Furthermore, there are also other attraction sites within and close to the Haiga Sophia Museum. One of them is the German Foundation in Sultanahmet Square. The water feature award was given to the city as a gift from Emperor Wilhelm (Goodwin 56). There is also the Istanbul Hippodrome of the Constantinople. It has a history of with tales such as the existence of the rowdy chariot races, the riots that took place and rebellions. The tale signifies the heart of civil activity in the city during the regimes.

Context

Originally, the artwork was for the Jews. It was a sacred place for the worship of God. The place must have been inhabited by the Jews who practiced the religion, Christianity. The fact is that the country during then had both Christians and Muslims. It happens coincidentally that Muslims started to sprout at this time at a rate higher than the rate at which Christians were increasing. The Haiga Sophia Museum was imperative by then because, it was used for the worship of the holiest God. Geographically, the area was used to hide from the influence of the Roman Empire that mistreated the Christians.

Personal reflection

Personally, the choice of this technique was to associate my views and understanding on what I have already learned on the Muslim culture and how it spread. Formerly, the place was inhabited, and the current mosque was being used by the Christians for worship. Time has it that the ownership changed to the mosque for the Muslims (Wheeler 89). The main reason as to why Muslims cover mist parts of Turkey is that the religion spread in a very radical way. However, the artwork is very architectural and skillfully designed. The ancient people had many skills and expertise that even makes the artwork relevant today.

Works Cited

Aran, Lale S, Rick Steves, and Tankut Aran. Rick Steves’ Istanbul. , 2014. Internet resources.

Goodwin, Godfrey., “A History of Ottoman Architecture”; Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, 2003. Print

Lafferty, S. Istanbul & surroundings. Edison, NJ: Hunter Pub, 2009.

Levine, Emma. Istanbul  by Day. Chichester: John Wiley, 2012. Print.

Wheeler, Tony. Across Asia on the Cheap. South Yarra, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2013. Internet resources.