Religious Icons

The beauty and brilliance of the religious icons in the Aya Sofya are being restored. When the church was converted to a mosque the icons were mostly plastered over, which covered, but did not destroy them. Now that the building is a museum, rather than a holy place, the local Muslims have allowed the restoration of the mosaic icons to enhance the historical independent ambiance and beauty of the building. When the icons were covered the inside of the building, despite the majesty and wonder of the architectural design, was quite plane and boring compared to the ornate insides of the mosques. The restoration of the icons makes the museum more comfortable and pleasure to visit and spend time in. When commenting upon the religious icons of the past Pope John Paul II said that the idols of modern society are pleasure, comfort and independence (because people have closed their hearts and become selfish.) Now the museum has the icons restored it is a wonderful place to visit to idle away part of any day.