Declination

The pillars in the photograph above were originally erected 2,500 years ago at the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Heliopolis, Greece. They were subsequently looted and moved to modern-day Istanbul as part of the Hagia Sophia.

Unsurprisingly, most of the imagery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Virgin Mary, and Christ’s Apostles and disciples has been long-erased from the walls of the Hagia Sophia. Much to my surprise, however, there is one particular depiction of Mary with the baby Jesus that had been left untouched throughout the centuries. Perhaps more surprisingly, the fresco is located between and above two, large wooden panels with the names of Allah and Muhammad (in Arabic).