A complete digital image of Hagia Sophia has been completed as part of a “holistic inventory” of the monument by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, according to the state-run TRT Haber network.
As reported by ERT, the project, which was carried out by the General Directorate of Vaqufs (Public Benefit Institutions) in 2022, scanned Hagia Sophia in high resolution, created a digital twin of the building and archived it.
Even if Hagia Sophia completely collapses in a possible Istanbul earthquake, it can be rebuilt in the same way, according to the TRT Haber report.
Sengyul Konjagul, head of the Art and Construction Works Department of the General Directorate of Vaqufs, said: “We have created a digital twin using the latest scanning techniques. A project has been created that will enable accurate construction in the event of any damage to the structure or in the event of a possible earthquake, fire or disaster”.
As part of the same project, various papers, dissertations and books on Hagia Sophia were also collected and added to the database created.
“With this information, we will be able to know the structure. When a patient goes to the doctor, X-rays are taken and analyses are made. Think of it like a patient, we have information about all the features of the building. We have information from the gaps in the walls, the crack in the dome, the condition of the mosaics in the crack in the dome, down to the floor below, and with this information we work on the smallest details in order to protect, in a way that is appropriate for a historic building, its condition from the time it was built until today, without disturbing its historic texture, its qualities, without destroying its extraordinary structure,” she concluded. Conjagul concluded.
