| In spite of the passages in Exodus
forbidding the use of 'graven images' the Iconoclasts were ignored. The
walls of the upper gallery, where women went to pray being covered with
spectacular mosaics depicting Christ, the saints and various Emperors and
their wives. The Koran leaves no doubt on the question of idolatry
which is why the murals were plastered over in the 15th century.
Of the remaining images the
most beautiful and most famous it the early 14th century, Deesis
Mosaic in the South gallery. This is a detail of the head of
Christ the Pantocrator. Only the head and torso remain. He is
flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
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