A patchwork of bronze can be found on the Beautiful Door.
Exquisite detailing,
is made all the more remarkable as it is said to have originated from the Temple of Tarsus, in eastern Turkey, in the second century BC. Monumental bronze over 2000 years old, wrapped around a wooden core.
It is said to have been moved to Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, by Emperor Theophilos in the 9th century AD. Even now, over 1000 years later, it is a significant threshold, a last exist to the tourist. So long has the Beautiful Door stood here that subsequent floors have been built around it, the lower portion sealed beneath the ground, now unable to close.
heritagelandscapecreativity 