The dome of Hagia Sophia will be dismantled for restoration, Turkish media reports, noting that work will begin in March-April without disturbing visitors.
According to the Anadolu news agency, the restoration of the dome is part of the restoration and maintenance work carried out by the General Directorate of Institutions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Hagia Sophia.
In his statements, in Anatolia, Professor Ahmet Güleç, a member of the Scientific Committee for the restoration of the monument, stated that "the underside of the dome is covered with mosaics, which creates great difficulties for structural intervention. Therefore, the operations will be done from the outside of the dome which will be restored, with the related designs being in the finalization stage".
“Once approved, consideration is being given to placing a roof structure on top to protect the dome. Detailed calculations are currently being made so that when we open the canopy, interventions can be carried out without being affected by environmental conditions, rain, snow and water with a start schedule around March or April,” he added.
The Turkish professor pointed out that all maintenance and repair work will be carried out "without disturbing the visitors and believers who enter Hagia Sophia".
According to Anadolu, in the meetings held in the Scientific Committee, the procedures of the second stage were holistically discussed and the further course of the work program was drawn up.
Professor Ahmet Güleç said that studies are continuing to examine the properties of the materials of the northern and eastern walls of Hagia Sophia. "We have started analyzes for this purpose. It is understood that some of the materials used in the repair were cement based. It was already known, but it was confirmed by the analyzes and the removal of these parts began. During the placement process of the scaffolds, samples were taken for analysis. Architects and art historians had made an analysis of the period according to the information they had from living or from written texts and sources. We are trying to confirm it and we have made a lot of progress in this regard. It takes a long time as many analyzes are done in the central laboratory of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. We evaluate the results together and try to uncover what is unknown about where and when anything was built, during the various historical periods," he said.
Intervention on two fronts
Professor Güleç also gave information about the mortar and plaster to be used on the facade regarding the repair. "The analyzes of the materials to be used in the sections to be grouted are continuing. The General Directorate of Institutions coordinates well the course of work without haste, in order to avoid their repetition and not to double their time. Currently, the intervention phase is to be completed on two fronts. For each period we tried to use the appropriate materials. We now know that 'cementitious materials hurt', something that was not known during restoration work in the past. We try to act according to today's conditions, our knowledge and our principles," he said.
"Based on the evidence we have and the tests on the surface of the wall of Hagia Sophia, we have decided that it is not plastered but grouted. In general, we will try to use whatever mortar is used as a grout. But when we talk about plaster, we are referring to that plaster used by the Ottomans, and we want to use it in a way that will make it more durable in today's conditions," he added.
"We start from the dome"
"Regarding the work program at Hagia Sophia, it is planned to start work from the upper part of the monument, i.e. the main dome with a path to its lower parts," said the professor.
In this context, he continued, “detection studies were carried out of the lead covering of the main dome and its substrates. As a result of the irregularities observed in the texture of the lead, it is foreseen to remove the entire lead cover by decision of the Scientific Committee, to determine the current situation on the surface of the dome and to carry out reinforcement work, if necessary, in the context of static analyses. The applications of special plasters will then be repeated, where required, and the lead cover will be repaired.'
The facades of the building, he added, "have both plastered areas and brick and stone facade surfaces. It was decided to scrape off the plasters on the facades and minarets of the monument, which have been characterized by analyzes as non-authentic. In this direction, work has started and scraping has been completed on the northern facade while it continues on the eastern facade. It has been decided to document the findings after scraping and cleaning the joints. Digital measurements are being taken on all facades and reports are being prepared on the findings."
