The East Architecture Faith Heritage Society

Since 2024 tourists in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul are admitted only to the upper gallery

A visit to the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has turned into a rather melancholy affair.

In 1934, by decree of Atatürk, the cathedral became a museum open to all, and in July 2020 the Turkish government restored the building's status as a working mosque, yet for several years tourists were still allowed to enter the main hall freely.

From 15 January 2024 the rules changed. Foreign tourists pay 25 euros for admission and enter through a separate entrance on the north-eastern side, and their route leads only to the upper gallery. Tourists are not admitted to the ground floor. From the gallery one can still see the famous Deësis mosaic, but the mosaics on the lower level are no longer accessible to tourists.

Visitors are now kept on the balcony, the railings have been fenced off with ropes, the images in the centre of the temple have been covered, and the attendants do not let anyone linger and hurry everyone along

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Salon with moulded wall panels, gilded decoration, an arched mirror, a floral screen, a chest of drawers and a games table.

Interiors of Marie Antoinette's apartments at Fontainebleau, designed by Pierre Rousseau in 1785–1786

Marie Antoinette's apartments at Fontainebleau and the design for their decoration by Pierre Rousseau, 1785-86.

Chinese scientists use proteins to identify fossil bones from Xujiayao as Denisovan

Chinese scientists have established that fossil bones from the Xujiayao site in northern China belonged to Denisovans. The work was carried out by a team led by Fu Qiaomei of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences The Denisovans interbred with the ancestors of

Protesters break into the Colosseum in Rome after an antiwar march on 24 October

On 24 October, at about 17:40, a crowd of demonstrators forced its way into the Colosseum in Rome. According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, the monument was not damaged and nobody was injured. That day Rome saw an authorised march, "Fuori l'Italia dalla guerra"

Exhibition “Nicholas II: Family and Throne” from the Hermitage collection opens in Kazan

The Hermitage-Kazan Centre in the Kazan Kremlin has opened an exhibition, "Nicholas II: Family and Throne". It was prepared by the State Hermitage Museum and the Kazan Kremlin Museum-Reserve, and will run until 5 September 2027. According to Ilnur Rakhimov, director of the museum-reserve, this

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Interiors of Marie Antoinette's apartments at Fontainebleau, designed by Pierre Rousseau in 1785–1786

Chinese scientists use proteins to identify fossil bones from Xujiayao as Denisovan

Protesters break into the Colosseum in Rome after an antiwar march on 24 October

Exhibition “Nicholas II: Family and Throne” from the Hermitage collection opens in Kazan