Jordyns+Musil+Exhibit



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**Hagia Sophia** The Hagia Sophia was a place of worship and a building where ceremonies were held (i.e. baptisms). Since this was such a glorious structure, only the rich and powerful could afford to hold their ceremonies at the Hagia Sophia. The beautiful Hagia Sophia that we see today had not always been this way. The marvelous building had gone through a couple of fires, and even a few earthquakes. In 404, the Hagia Sophia burned to ruins because of the riots riveting through the empire; and again under Justinian’s rein. The Hagia Sophia also suffered damage from earthquakes that affected the stunning dome built into the structure. During the earthquakes in 869, 989 and 1346 the dome collapsed, shattering into millions of pieces. After each of these tragedies, the Hagia Sophia was built bigger and better than it had been before. The structure is 182 feet tall, which is as tall as an eighteen story building. It also was the tallest architectural building in the world for over a thousand years. __[]__.

**Current Event** At a hearing regarding the Qur'an, a rabbi had directed a question towards a single man out of two hundred people. The man replied with assurance and firmness. However, the hearing was alarming to some people. Muslims are concerned that the hearings that are only intended to open peoples minds, are actually arousing trouble. This has been of concern since the tragic day of 9/11, since then Muslims were unable to go about daily lives without seeing disgust, fear, and hatred in others eyes. This is because the terrorists that had attacked the // Twin Towers //, were of the Muslim religion, therefore giving the rest of their culture a bad name. As of today, Muslims are the first accused of terrorism, and other highly dangerous crimes all because of one accident, that was caused by men from one culture. []

** Culture ** Their culture was more modern then early civilizations. The Muslims had built large cities, beautiful temples, and strong religions. One of their biggest accomplishments was the // Hagia Sophia. // They also had strong armies that defended their empires, and their rulers were strong and highly respected. They also grew rich because of the trade they were taxing.