Heritage with Related Tags
Historic Areas of Istanbul
Istanbul, strategically located on the Bosporus Peninsula, between the Balkans and Anatolia, bordering the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, has been a center of major political, religious and artistic activity for more than 2,000 years. Istanbul's masterpieces include the Hippodrome of Constantine, the 6th-century Hagia Sophia and the 16th-century Suleymaniye Mosque, but today these buildings are threatened by population pressure, industrial pollution and uncontrolled urbanization.
Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
Designed to rival the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople, the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev symbolizes the "New Constantinople," the capital of the Christian Principality of Kiev. The Principality of Kiev was founded in the 11th century in the region where St. Vladimir was baptized and evangelized in 988 AD. The ideas and influence of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra helped spread Orthodox thought and faith throughout the Russian world from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
Boyana Church
Boyana Church is located in the suburbs of Sofia and consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century and was expanded in the early 13th century by Sebastiano Kratos Kaloyan, who ordered the construction of a second two-story building next to it. The frescoes in the second church were painted in 1259 and are one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The third church was built in the early 19th century and completes the entire church complex. The site is one of the most complete and best-preserved monuments of medieval art in Eastern Europe.