Conclusion: Intentional Commemorative to Age-Value, Together Forming a Lieu de Mémoire

Through the different events in its history, the Little Hagia Sophia’s value has evolved from being purely intentional commemorative to including age-value as well. Initially, the site was developed as a church – a site of purposeful worship. This deliberate development continued even when the church was transformed into a mosque. As both a church and a mosque, the site fulfilled the ritual functions of a lieu de mémoire, while also materializing the immaterial as described by Pierre Nora. Moreover, the site served as a place where people were able to exercise control over the state of the world, as described in Nora’s description of a lieu de mémoire: “to stop time, to block the work of forgetting, to establish a state of things, to immortalize death, to materialize the immaterial” (19).

Later, as the site was ravaged by repeated earthquakes and restorations, it began to also hold age-value. The age-value of the site was derived from its many layers of history. It held imprints of time both in its physical form as well as its spiritual existence. The different earthquakes – and later the occupation of the site by Balkan War refugees – shaped the site, leaving fissures in the structure as well as indentations and other notes on the walls and decorations. Moreover, the different events that had taken place in and around the structure left silent echoes, resonating with the development of the building. The eerie connections between the past and the future brought to life Nora’s notion of “moments of history torn away from the movement of history, then returned” (12).