kariye church : mosiacs

in the kariye museum the first impression is of ghostly whiteblue, plaster under dark turquoise frescos and mortar under sparkley gold mosaics all done with tiles the size of peas.

signs repeatedly warn you not to take pictures using camera flashes because the dyes in the frescos are sensitive to intense light, but close and bright spotlights shine on each one. security guards patrol with batons and handcuffs on their belts.







the nave (main hall) is a square configuration done in proportions of four, with sixteen windows in the arch overhead, four cut-in panels of coloured marble in each wall, square and rectangle panels in the floor, and two mosaics that frame the space. it is all done in cool marble, grey and white with coloured ornamental panels framed in pink marble scrollwork.




tile mosaics would have once covered the entire inside of the church, though they are mostly crumbled away now.


impossibly gold tiles.


very neat. got me thinking about letting things fall from use into disuse and what it must have been like to stand in this church when it was new, and things i have no use for now. more to follow.