Magnum Opus- The building of the Hagia Sophia

[Kyriakos]

Ihave created models of the Hagia Sophia, twice, in the past. But now they are lost, and i need to make a new one as the crowning jewel of my Byzantine city set

I was wondering if people know any architectural secrets and peculiarities of the church of holy wisdom, which would help me make a more true to the original model.

Currently i am mostly using concept art from the excellent site byzantium1200.

And thisis the byz set up to now (the metro is not shown) :

This work will definitely be my most massive and intricate model ever, and i plan to also create a Civ3 Wonder Splash of it, if it looks good enough in large scale

 

[Kyriakos]

After a couple of hours work i have this:

It is not entirely finished, and the model is not 100% accurate, but it is a start...

 

[attackfighter]

I think the walled one looks coolest.

 

[Kyriakos]

It is the theodosian walls, altered a bit

And this is the metro atm, i modeled part of the palace of Blachernae, and also a castle.

Edit:

 

[bombshoo]

The castle looks a heck of a lot like the Near-Eastern culture group's castle in Age of Kings. Did you borrow the design or are both based off a real castle, or just chance?

Spoiler :

Hagia Sophia looks great btw. How did you pick the colors for it? Do they know the color scheme before the Ottomans converted it into a Mosque?

 

[Kyriakos]

Thank you

Nice catch, i did model the castle after the very pic you posted

 

[Kyriakos]

And to conclude this project, here is the final version of the Byzantine set:

 

[bombshoo]

Oh. You got rid of the castle. I actually kind of liked it. You should use it in a different set sometime.

 

[Kyriakos]

I will

And, do you like this too?

 

[Glassfan]

Thanks for not including the add-on Islamic Minarets. I've never understood why the Civilization graphic designers never got it right. Taj Mahal yes, Hagia Sophia no.