Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
right, they seem out of place here, detracting from the austere magnificence of the build-
ing's interior.
The curious elevated kiosk screened from public view is the imperial loge
(hünkar
mahfili)
. Sultan Abdül Mecit I had this built in 1848 so he could enter, pray and leave un-
seen, preserving the imperial mystique. The ornate library behind the omphalion was built
by Sultan Mahmut I in 1739.
Looking up towards the northeast (to your left if you are facing the apse), you will see
three mosaics at the base of the northern tympanum (semicircle) beneath the dome. These
are 9th-century portraits of
St Ignatius the Younger
,
St John Chrysostom
and
St Igna-
tius Theodorus of Antioch
. To their right, on one of the pendentives (concave triangular
segments below the dome), is a 14th-century mosaic of the face of a
seraph
(six-winged
angel charged with the caretaking of God's throne).
In the side aisle to the northeast of the Imperial Door is a column with a worn copper
facing pierced by a hole. Known as the
Weeping Column
, legend has it that the pillar
was blessed by St Gregory the Miracle Worker and that putting one's finger into the hole
can lead to ailments being healed if the finger emerges moist.
