The UNESCO should consider strongly the idea of giving ‘aid’ to this marvelous piece of cultural heritage, in which melt the art styles and histories of both great empires and religions in peace, harmony, and beauty. This construction is also important simply because it has affected the evolution of differently purposed buildings. There are several reasons behind the need for this monument to be under the protected by UNESCO. Essentially, the merge of different architectural features makes the cathedral truly “stick out” as a very important monument. An example to this may not only be the particularly specific supports of the massive dome- the pendentives, the intricate and colorful mosaics , but also the wooden minaret and minbars – which show the transition in the church’s purpose during the Turkish empire times, but simultaneously give it a charm like no other building in the world holds. Secondly, the monument is one of the few monuments that on a grand scale have had an influence on the art styles and features of a large majority of constructions- from military to religious.
For instance, the monument gave the standard for domes in Islamic architecture, as in the progress “…Muslim architects developed enormous and varied types of domes…” (http://iieng.
org/images/proceedings_pdf/E0516006.pdf) – an example for such Muslim construction includes the Umayyad Masjid. Additionally, the church- museum should be protected by the organization because of its historical importance- as it was the main cathedral and mosque during Byzantine and Ottoman rule. Today, this precious building is a museum, giving the people a chance to witness the historic beauty of the early Middle Ages. To conclude, I think that the “museum” should be under the international organization’s seal of protection because of a few reasons- the cathedral is very unique and “one-of-a-kind”, its architectural features are historically vital, as well as the sole idea that the cathedral represents the harmony between the two dominant world beliefs and the beauty through the variety.
