Thanks for the Hagia Sophia links, it is a fabulous place. It is nice to see all religious relics preserved. They all deserve the respect with which they were built.
In my rather brief (over 10 years) trips overseas, mostly along the Mediterranean, although occasionally, over the Pacific to Mexico way -
I've seen lots of things that have opened my eyes and fueled my understanding of history better.
Certainly, the Ottomon rule for its overwhelming lands, is one we can examine. In Israel for example, the first thing everyone sees in Jerusalem, because its so huge and so beautiful, the architecture of the Wall.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jerusalem-architecture-in-the-late-ottoman-period
Arab Building in Jerusalem
Natural Arab construction was characterized by the fact that it blended harmoniously into the landscape, by its arches and domes and different finishes of stone. Leaving fertile valleys for agricultural development, houses were generally built on the slopes and the hilltops. Certain dictates of Muslim law determine some features: windows were placed in a way that occupants (especially women) cannot be seen by neighbors, and a wall common to two buildings is the property of the owner of the house which stands on higher ground.
http://www.theottomans.org/english/art_culture/arc_turkey.asp
When the Ottoman Turks defected the Mameluke forces in 1517, Palestine came under the rule of a new empire that was to dominate the entire Near East for the next 400 years. At the outset, particularly during the reign of Sultan Suleiman, known in Arabic as "the Law maker," but better known as Suleiman the Magnificent, Jerusalem flourished. Walls and gates, which had lain in ruins since the Ayyubid period, were rebuilt.
http://www.theottomans.org/english/art_culture/arc_turkey.asp
The Wall and the Damascus Gate
The Wall and the Damascus The wall that encloses the present-day Old City of Jerusalem was built in the sixteenth century by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent. Originally it had seven gates; an eighth, aptly named New Gate, was added in the late nineteenth century in the wall's northwest sector.
The largest and most splendid of the portals is Damascus Gate. Located on the wall's northern side, it is adjacent to ruins attesting that this has been the site of the city's main entrance since ancient times. The gate's defenses include slits for firing at attackers, thick doors, and an opening
The most heartsick I had in 10 years as for culture, was to see first hand the damage done by the new Christians who went to Egypt. They would chisel the faces of what THEY themselves considered to be heretical gods i.e. the various myths of Egyptians and even faces of their Pharoahs. Thank god their hatred didn't manage to For many decades, the Romans and the Greeks under the Ptolemys "enhanced" the Temples, even adding on to them so that we have the original Egyptian ancient temples, (many built on top of other ruins of further back in time we don't even record)....and then The Greeks so admired them, they "blended" into the society rather then tried to overcome the society they now lived in through newer Phaorahnic rule (Cleopatra, her ancestors and descendents and the like who were Ptolemies)
I'm thinking specifically of the Temple of Isis, on a small island by itself; the Temple of Dendera (the so-called Zodiac Temple) - even the huge complex of Karnak (we might remember the late comedian Johnny Carson use to play up Karnak
....
These are just a few, then there is the Crocodile Temple and the slanted temple of
dedicated to the goddess Hathor but was never finished. The temple at one time was hidden by sand but was cleared during the 1800s. It also sits among other monuments but most of those are from the Greco-Roman Period. Unlike other typical Egyptian temples, this temple was a Greco-Roman Temple. This meant that much of the temple had influences by Greece and Rome. It now sits on the edge of the desert and has managed to stay intact. In fact, this temple is probably one of the best preserved temples in Egypt.
The construction of the temple can be mainly attributed to one of the Ptolemaic kings. It’s believed this temple was rebuilt over an existing temple that dated back to the Middle Kingdom. It was then continually modified under the Ptolemaic kings, and finally completed during the Roman times.
An example of roman influences would be the sunken relief carvings of Cleopatra VII. They date back to the Ptolemaic Period. On the western side of the temple and on the south wall, Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion can be seen. There Cleopatra VII stands in customary Egyptian rankings with her co-regent by her side (Caesarion). Though the temple had lots of influences from the Romans, its architecture was Egyptian. For example, the pylon had slanted walls and corners that were curved. The outward-curing cavetto, a bracket around the walls, was done in classic design. It also had two birth houses, a Coptic Basilica, sanitarium, a sacred lake, and a temple to Isis.
I'll post some of the damage done by early Christians to another's culture next - It saddens me to know this and SEEING it especially - that I'm almost glad I didn't opt to go to that side trip to Syria, after knowing what ISIS did to the gorgeous site - of Aleppo. I could have gone there when it Turkey, but opted not to as it was an "extension tour" for 4 days.
Now it shall never be again on earth available to anyone
Those are the two bad memories, Aleppo & seeing the damage done in Egypt.
In all fairness, the Egyptian Pharoah after Akhenatun, (who moved the capitol to the middle of the country, i.e. Thebes during his reign), also created a new religion for his people, that of the "Sun God" i.e. the 1st fully understood monotheistic god.
Because of this after his death the next Pharoah tried to obliterate all things dedicated to him but of course there were too many throughout the country.
Same with Hatshepsut, the woman Pharaoh who wore the beard afterwards.
BUT the difference is, its not one culture saying "my religion and culture" is superior to yours and to prove it, while a guest in YOUR land, I'll carve it up and try & destroy it.
Thats rather "sick" imo.
Remember, the Taliban did this too to the huge Buddha Statute on the side of the mountain, when they first gained our attention all those years ago.
Such hatred as this, saddens me greatly and should for everyone, imo.
The videotaped destruction of Buddha in 2001 by Taliban : (need to fast forward to see the dynamiting of this ancient relic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=JI4ozg4iEEw&feature=emb_logo
The videotaped destruction of Palmyra (Syria) Temples by Isis in 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzkxM4VWv5o
ISIS extremists - Christian extremists, all Extremists create havoc and destruction in the world. - As do I'm sure in every culture's religions where extremists thrive.
Using jackhammers, etc: destroying as much of ancient Mesoptomia art as possible -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmrPxy-K7W4
