Native American to Hagia Sophia

 

    On our journey from Native American culture to Byzantine Hagia Sophia there have been many revolutionary advancements along the way. Starting off with the Native Americans, they were and are very in touch with nature. It is a sacred thing to them because they believe that everything has a spirit and in return these spirits guide them and provide them with materials that they need to survive. Living off of the land like this allowed them to build shelters with the materials that they found around where they would be settling. Teepees were made of branches and brush and covered with animal hides. When they went hunting, they would use every part of the animal as to not waste materials and these parts were often used for not just food, but weapons, shelter and clothing.  

    Moving on to Greece and Rome, they had solid structures for shelter but what really made them stand out, where the structures they would build to house entertainment. One of if not the most famous of these structures is the Colosseum in Rome. Built between 70-80 AD, the Colosseum was built to host gladiator shows and other events. It is estimated that the Colosseum could hold around 50,000-80,000 spectators at a time. Now it is considered to be one of the new seven wonders of the world and has proved that it can withstand the tests of time. 

    Lastly we are at the Hagia Sophia. Built in 537 AD, the Hagia Sophia was built as the largest Christian church of the Byzantine Empire and is located in Istanbul. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. All of the Christian alters, relics and mosaics depicting Jesus, Mary, saints and angels were destroyed and turned into a minbar, minarets and beautiful stained glass windows. I personally think that the most striking features that the Hagia Sophia has are the stained glass windows because they are absolutely gorgeous.