Christian and Islamic fusion

Both the Byzantines and the Ottomans removed Christian mosaics at different times and replaced them with non representation al art like calligraphy and geometric shapes. The Islamic calligraphy inside the dome probably covers an original Byzantine mosaic. A surviving mosaic of a Christ Pantocrator, the so-called Deësis mosaic, probably dates from the 13th century and is considered one of the finest examples of late Byzantine mosaics.