Editing Hagia Sophia (section)

===Emperor Alexander mosaic===
The Emperor Alexander mosaic is not easy to find for the first-time visitor, located on the second floor in a dark corner of the ceiling. It depicts the emperor [[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]] in full regalia, holding a scroll in his right hand and a [[globus cruciger]] in his left. A drawing by the Fossatis showed that the mosaic survived until 1849 and that [[Thomas Whittemore]], founder of the [[Byzantine Institute of America]] who was granted permission to preserve the mosaics, assumed that it had been destroyed in the earthquake of 1894. Eight years after his death, the mosaic was discovered in 1958 largely through the researches of [[Robert Van Nice]]. Unlike most of the other mosaics in Hagia Sophia, which had been covered over by ordinary plaster, the Alexander mosaic was simply painted over and reflected the surrounding mosaic patterns and thus was well hidden. It was duly cleaned by the Byzantine Institute's successor to Whittemore, [[Paul A. Underwood]].<ref>[[Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross|Lord Kinross]]. "Hagia Sophia: A History of Constantinople." ''[[Newsweek]]'', 1972, pp. 132–33.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=14 |title=Emperor Alexander |author=Hagia Sophia |work=hagiasophia.com |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220125559/http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=14 |archive-date=20 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>