Hagia Sophia restoration continues with dome work
Installation of the steelwork platform provides access to the inner surface of the eastern semi-dome.
The building is undergoing the most comprehensive restoration project in the history of the republic, with structural strengthening to be followed by extensive restoration and conservation of mosaics, decorative paintings and marble surfaces.
Architect Hasan Fırat Diker, a member of the Scientific Committee overseeing the project, said the eastern semi-dome was the most vulnerable part of Hagia Sophia and the point where a potential collapse could first begin in the event of an earthquake.
Diker said scaffolding would be installed inside the building for the work on the eastern semi-dome without preventing worship or visits.
