Comparing the Hagia Sophia to Angkor Wat by Zander

Out side Angkor Wat with the family.

                Great structures have been built in Cambodia and Turkey. On this world tour,  I have seen a lot of them.  The Hagia Sophia and Angkor Wat are two of the great structures that I have seen. Angkor Wat was built over 1000 years ago and the Hagia Sophia was too.  Even though they have gone through a lot, they are still great structures. Angkor Wat and the Hagia Sophia have architectural and symmetrical patterns. They are really old and have gone through 1000 years of wear and tear, and they have been used by different religious groups.

Cambodian domes that are at all their temples.

                The Hagia Sophia and Angkor Wat are really old buildings and have survived through religious changings to survive to the present day. The Hagia Sophia is over 1,000 years old and is located near tectonic plates and it has survived earth quakes. Angkor Wat was built around the same time the Hagia Sophia but it didn’t have any natural disasters that were near it. It was just forgotten for a few hundred years and survived Genocide and wars. On the walls of the entrance, there are bullet marks on the carved sandstone. It was also used as a military base over the years. Only recently has it been fixed up. The Hygeia Sophia had and still has some serious settling problems. The floor is uneven. The columns are leaning. But what really surprises me is that if there are so many earthquakes, then how come it hasn’t collapsed yet? Angkor Wat and the Hygeia Sophia are both great structures that have lasted through earthquakes and wars.



Hagia Sophia's dome the biggest for 1,000 years after it was built.



                Angkor Wat and the Hagia Sophia have been used for diffrent religions. The Hagia Sophia was switched from Christian church  to a Muslim mosque. Angkor Wat was comverted from Hindu temple to Buddhist temple. When the Hagia Sophia changed from Christian to Muslim, it had to plaster over all the murals of Jesus and Mother Mary. So now, it has plaster falling down showing the murals below. Angkor Wat was converted from Hinduism to Buddhism. So there are some statues of Hindu gods and  carvings in the temple. You can see that the Hagia Sophia was Christian and how it has been covered up. There are murals of Jesus and other saints that are Christian. But what is also apparent is that there are no crosses what so ever. They have all been covered up or taken down. I think that it is really cool that two great structures have had similer historyes and have not been destroyed.



Inside the Hagia Sophia looking up at the 2nd story. 



Flying buttresses in the upper right and middle of the picture.



The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkey and Angkor Wat in Cambodia have some architectural features that you can see though out all the other temples and mosques of their time. Angkor Wat in Cambodia has a very prominent dome type thing that can be found  at all of their temples. Also, they have a pattern that they have repeated. They organized their temple in tears. They make it in layers for different classes of people to pray at. For instance ,the king has the top tear to himself. Then, the rich people or high ranking religious people get the second tear. The first tear is for everyone.  The Hagia Sophia, on the other hand, looks a lot like all the other mosques that are in Istanbul except that it is about 2 times their height and width. The pattern that they have is that they have a dome in the middle with 4 to 6 supporting pillars. Then around that, they have a second row of pillars and flying buttresses to support the main columns. They also have half domes that are on all sides of the main dome that support the outward thrust of the dome. On the exteriors of the mosques, they have 1 to 6 towers around the mosques. The number of towers depends on how big the mosque is. I have noteced that the Arcatects didnt try anything new with their designs of their mosques. The Hagia Sophia is different because it has the largest dome built in its time. Angkor Wat is famous for being the biggest religious complex ever made. But they always follow the guidelines of their time.             

                Angkor Wat and the Hagia Sophia are great structures and have some mutual history. They have gone through many hardships. They have switched religions over time. The Hagia Sophia is a  really great structure. In its time, it was even greater. It had the biggest dome of its time and held it for 1,000 years. Angkor Wat is also a great structure but for a different reason.It is the biggest religious complex that has ever been built. Being 1,000 years old, they have gone through wars and earthquakes, but they are still as great as they were when they were built.