Giorgia, many thanks for that comment, please don'...

2007-03-30T13:52:00.000+01:00

Giorgia, many thanks for that comment, please don't worry about the English, comments are welcome here in any language.

It is an interesting point you make. But Hagia Sophia (which we also visited) is certainly not a typical mosque. In fact we found it impressive as architecture, but vacuous as a sacred building - as you imply.

Your views are a valuable contribution to the debate which will continue next week when I will have a photo feature on the Church of St Saviour in Chora, Istanbul. This, like Hagia Sophia, was built as a church, and was later converted to a mosque while retaining the divine Byzantine decorations.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Uhm, I don't agree very much. I reckon is's not a ...

2007-03-30T13:34:00.000+01:00

Uhm, I don't agree very much. I reckon is's not a matter of Muslim and Christina architecture - think, for example, of byzantine architecture, in particular of Santa Sofia in Costantinople (sp? sorry, I know the names of these places in Italian, not in English): it was thought and built as a church, then converted into a mosque, and now is neither of both, just a "neutral" architecture masterpiece for tourists to visit and shoot pictures to (it is even forbidden to pray if one goes there).
You can find a lot of recurrencies between romanic architecture and "muslim" architecture, or I'd suggest even the similar chromatic use of black and white stone in romanic/gothic architecture in Florence and Siena and, again, muslim architecture.
Or even think of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen...
I don't know, really, I only seem to find more points in common rather than differences.

Comments on On An Overgrown Path: The art of the mosque

Giorgia, many thanks for that comment, please don'...

Uhm, I don't agree very much. I reckon is's not a ...