The floor under the dome is a shadow of what it used to be. Travelers in the nineteenth century remarked on the quality of the floor, 'perhaps the finest in existence.' It was used as a hospital during the Russian occupation and then as a mosque. During it mosque years, a wooden floor was laid over it. The floor has suffered so much abuse but today it is roped off and we were not allowed to step over it. The design is intricate but that's not the whole story of its beauty. The use of different color marble is so exquisite. I never knew so many different kinds of marble is available, white, black, green, purplish-red, chestnut-red, these were mined from all over the Byzantine empire. It is truly amazing.
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