NOVA
NOVA
Hagia Sophia: Istanbulโs Ancient Mystery 42 Season 16 Episode
Whether serving as Christian church, Islamic mosque, or secular museum, Hagia Sophia and its saring dome have inspired reverence and awe. For 800 years, it was the largest enclosed building in the worldโthe Statue of Liberty can fit beneath its dome with room to spare. How has it survived its location on one of the worldโs most active seismic faults, which has inflicted a dozen devastating earthquakes since it was built in 537? As Istanbul braces for the next big quake, a team of architects and engineers is urgently investigating Hagia Sophiaโs seismic secrets. Follow engineers as they build a massive 8-ton model of the buildingโs core structure, place it on a motorized shake table, and hit it with a series of simulated quakes, pushing it collapseโa fate that the team is determined to avoid with the real building.
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