The historical photograph shows the interior of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, highlighting its grand dome and Ottoman-era calligraphy panels, 1875... The image taken by Pascal Sébah or Sebah and Joaillier in the 1870s.
Completed in 537 AD during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, the Hagia Sophia stood as the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1000 years. Its massive central dome, spanning about 31m (102ft), was an engineering achievement that influenced religious architecture across Europe and the Middle East for centuries.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 AD, Sultan Mehmed II converted the building into a mosque. Christian mosaics were plastered over rather than destroyed, allowing many to survive into the modern era. Large roundels bearing the names of Allah, Muhammad, and the first Caliphs were added during 19th Century restorations.
The structure has endured earthquakes, fires, political upheaval, and nearly 1500 years of continuous use. In 1935 it became a museum under the Republic of Turkey, before being reconverted into a mosque in 2020.
The Hagia Sophia's dome rises about 55.6m (182ft) above the floor. When it was completed in the 6th century, contemporaries described it as appearing to float in the air because of the ring of windows at its base, an effect that still impresses visitors today.
#archaeohistories
Over the years, the Holy Kaaba’s kiswa has been crafted by skilled artisans who shaped its artistic character. The late calligrapher Abdul Rahim Amin Bukhari is among the most notable for his work in Arabic calligraphy. Read more: https://t.co/HfYVhWd28B
🚨A Modern Epigraphic Discovery unveils an Inscription where Zayd Bin Hassan (The Grandson of the Prophet) Writes the following:
"I, Zaid bin Al-Hasan, believe in God alone with no partner, and I bear witness that there is no god but God alone, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Upon this I live as long as I live, and upon it I die when I die. And I ask God to bring me close to Muhammad in the Hereafter as He brought me close to him in this world, and to make me one of his beloved ones, his chosen ones, and his elite. O God, bless us in this abode of ours and ward off from us its evil and the evil of every evildoer."
🇸🇦 A remarkable archaeological discovery by the Saudi Heritage Commission has revealed a rare early Islamic inscription reading:
"Allah is the guardian of Umar ibn al-Khattab in this world and the Hereafter, and there is no god but Allah. Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah."
Written in the ancient Hijazi script—one of the earliest known Arabic scripts used in the Islamic era—the inscription was found in Al Mahd, where every stone preserves a chapter of history.
The discovery provides valuable new evidence documenting the earliest stages of Islamic civilization and the foundations of the Islamic state.
From documenting the 1948 Nakba village by village to building one of the most influential research institutions on Palestine, his work reshaped how the world records and remembers loss, displacement and identity.
📷 Ottoman Prince Mehmed Abid Efendi (the youngest son of Sultan Abdulhamid II), playing with wooden blocks in a room at Beylerbeyi Palace, Istanbul, 1917
I’ve been banned from the UK. I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will not attend an annual parade honoring Israel, breaking with a decades-long political custom.
“I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” Mamdani said at a news conference.
The Ottoman train famously ambushed by Lawrence of Arabia during World War I on the Hejaz Railway still remains abandoned in the desert of Saudi Arabia today.
The Hejaz Railway was one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the Ottoman Empire. Constructed in the early 1900s, the railway was meant to link Damascus with Medina, making the pilgrimage journey to Islam’s holy cities faster, safer, and easier for the empire to control.
When World War I erupted, however, the railway became far more than a transportation route. It turned into a critical military lifeline, carrying Ottoman troops, weapons, supplies, and communications across the desert. That importance also made it one of the primary targets during the Arab Revolt.
Lawrence of Arabia worked alongside Arab forces to organize repeated attacks against the railway. Their strategy was not to destroy the entire system outright, but to constantly disrupt it. Blown tracks, sabotaged bridges, and derailed trains forced the Ottomans into a draining cycle of repairs, consuming time, manpower, and resources on the very line meant to hold the region together.
That is why the abandoned wreckage scattered across the desert still feels so haunting today. It is more than a rusting train left behind in the sand. It is a preserved fragment of a war fought through railways, deserts, collapsing empires, and rebellion.
The Hejaz Railway was originally intended to extend all the way to Mecca, but the outbreak of World War I halted construction before the line could move beyond Medina.
@I_amMukhtar So is he
1 Only racist when it suits him to whip up hatred
2 A full time racist that will make his son & daughter in laws’s life hell
3 Not racist which will lose him most of his racist following?
Perhaps it was all “banter”?
Who knows, but he’s obviously a massive cunt
He brought this on himself .. and he's not going to hear the end of this until they get confirmation of her religious background..
The comments get worse.
* Changing your name to 'rupee' lowe?
* N****, how is you gonna kick out brown invaders when your kid is breeding with them?
Next I suppose you're gonna say "isreal is our greatest ally"
"Allegedly.. halal meat option was available to guests at Rupert Lowe son's wedding reception dinner."
* "Dude this is terrible. You are supposed to be the great White hope, for the native people of this country who are being replaced and bred out of existence. How can we have faith in you to stand up for us as a people when you celebrate our genetic erasure?"
* Yasmin is Libyan.
Aren't you supposed to be sending her home?
*Now I know why Rupert was really labouring the point about foreigners marrying into English families is the ultimate form of integration and really the only one that exists.
* People keep saying he is marrying a Muslim women. Can you clear this matter up please
@ RupertLowe10
?
Rupert Lowe posted a picture of his son marrying a Libyan woman, and his supporters are not happy.
I've read them so you don't have to:
"What the fuck dude. Encouraging your english child to marry a fucking foreigner? Rupert"
"You're proud that he married a brown foreign invader? What a joke and obvious anti-British party Restore Britain is. You're not going to restore it if the natives keep marrying the foreigners & having mixed-race kids. "
"she is an Arab jew. This party is done"
"Their kids won't be English. This is not restoring Britain. "
"Party masquerading as wanting to bring back Christian roots. Party leaders' children don’t even get married in a Christian ceremony."
There are loads of racist replies like this from his own supporters about his daughter-in-law.
I know he says that he doesn't care, but his fans will never accept his grandchildren.
@Eve_Barlow@Emilyaustin@CochavElkayam@theCC07@Tafsikorg Hmm. Israel is committing a genocide and ethnic cleansing for a 100 years. All supported for by our countries in US and Europe. That’s the difference with Thailand!
Israel is a settler colonial state. It’s not complicated.