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Show I GL0RY OF TURKISH CAPITAL Croat Mosque of Santa Sofia a Marvel 1 In Beauty of Architecture and j Rich Decoration. I TIio great mosquo of Ennto Sofia towers mnjcstlcnlly over Constantinople Constantino-ple dominating ltn surroundings by fiheer thick-set ponderousncss. Its ' bulky ilomo and (ackod-on ralnarots ore, however, only tlio shell which fovers a vust cathedral Justly fnmod for j beauty of lino and rich ornament. From tho outer court you pass -through n heavy bronzo door and stand within a hall of such cavernous propor-, tlohs that It scorns Impossible that ' ven tho exterior, that seemed so mas-! '. slve, could contain It Above, tho domo irises In n sweeping curve. Once mosaic i Bgurcs of Christian saints adorned ! ,thc80 higher regions of tho hall, but j ,ho vandal Turks long ago coverad tho , enlnts with plaster through which In certain places thoy still can be aoiin ' .-smiling dimly but serenely. ' Tho mosquo has not always been a, .Mohammedan temple. The orlglnl ' finnla Sofia, a Christian cathedrou Hcrectcd by Constantino, wus destroyed! by fire. It was Justinian who rebuilt It iln tho sixth century, docoratlng It! t jwlth such lavish magntflcenco that hoi ,vvns himself surprised at tho result and I tried out: "Solomon, I hava surpassed) ! . thool" j In Justinian's day the new tumplo j iwas a vcrltablo Aladdin's cavo. ltd '. ' fivalls and columns wcro of marble brought from foreign quarries and from other temples. Famous shrines ofj , .plana, Apollo and oven tho Tcmplo of) : tho Sun at Dnulbok contributed their ' statues and Jewels, willingly or not, tcj I tho glory of Justinian's cathedral. Into this trcasuro vuult In 1-103 bursa j -tho conquering Turks, wrecking, plun-j 'j -doring and claiming possession. From) i that tlmo on Santu Sofia, Church of tha ' Dlvlno Wisdom, has been a Turkish ("- mosque, with minarets added and tha j crescent over nil. Chicago Dalljj 1 ' News. |
