An Islamic numerical interpretation of Hagia Sophia at Constantinople

Abstract

Ideas regarding aesthetical thinking on architecture developed through history a number of interpretations addressing its cultural and social importance. These interpretations appear as formations of possible worlds of meanings, structured through human power of imagination and reaching impressive levels of creative comprehension what architectural structure can reflect by its meaningful essence.

The paper explores one of such possible world of meanings, given in a form of numerical interpretation of the architectural structure of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Beside its complex and hermeneutic nature, the analyzed document reveals highly sophisticated level of interactions of various cultural elements. They are composed into a whole which idealistic and poetic nature seems to be based on cosmopolitan approach to philosophy, religion, and human capability to comprehend the divine essence of creativity. It reminds us on the very nature of the intercultural nature of philosophic interpretation of architecture as a living condition of aesthetic thinking. Moreover, the document discussed in this paper, shows that such a fascination with architecture is not exclusive to the contemporary aesthetic thought, but represents one of the historical fundaments of that what social and cultural comunication in architecture is.