Today I went to visit the Hagia Sophia, arriving early in the morning right when they open to avoid the crowds. On my way across the square I met another friendly, but persistent, “come to my shop and have tea” guy, who apparently has a somewhat under the radar carpet business in the U.S. I ended up having quite a lengthy conversation with him and was informed that Americans are great because we have a “shopping culture” and that his second biggest sale was to a guy who lived in Florida who bought 18 rugs, one for each of his grandchildren. His biggest sale was to a guy from Moldavia who had 20 houses all over the world, although he commented that the money was probably “black” (I’ll let you figure that one out….).  I reiterated that I was not interested in buying, perhaps making me an atypical American (it’s always fun to destroy stereotypes!), and turned down the inevitable invitation to get together later and entered the line for Hagia Sophia.

As Hagia Sophia is an active mosque they have strict dress codes as well as a separate entrance for those coming to pray, so I pulled out the scarf I have with me always and put it on.  There was no line—Yay! My ticket included an audio tour, which I had already downloaded so I was ready to go.  Entering the building you climb a ramp with many twists and turns to get to the second floor— tourists are not allowed on the first floor, where people pray. Apparently cats ARE allowed on the first floor (as I mentioned in yesterday’s post) as one was hanging out, lounging, in the middle of the floor for part of the time I was there.

Hagia Sophia started out as a Byzantine church, completed in the early 500s AD on the order of Emperor Justinian, and represents classic Byzantine architecture. There were at least two churches on the site before the Hagia Sophia, but they were destroyed.  The Hagia Sophia that Justinian built, and that exists today, was turned into a mosque in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. Until then, it was the world’s largest cathedral, as the seat of the patriarch of Constantinople. As a matter of fact, most Eastern Orthodox churches and mosques are modeled after the Hagia Sophia, so the architecture should be familiar to many.  It was even a Roman Catholic Church for a short period in the 1200s when the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople and took over. So suffice it to say that the building has been at the center of worship for many people from many places, for a long, long time. If you come to Istanbul, this is a MUST see place.  Of course it has decayed and been restored at various levels of the course of time, but the original structure endures. It oozes history, some of it recent, as the building had been a museum for over 80 years before the Turkish government reinstated it as a mosque in 2016.

What you see when you first enter the mezzanine- grandeur!.

I emerged from the ramp on the second floor, which wrapped like a mezzanine around the building. Numerous columns were stationed across the floor, no doubt helping to hold the load of the many domes. I stopped for a second just to take it all in— the bright yellow colors, the faded, intricate designs on the ceilings, the carvings in the lintels and on the columns, the marble floor.  It was beautiful.  Eventually I wandered over to the railing to look down at the first floor.  Like the Blue Mosque, modern electrical lights had been installed with supports that were mounted all the way at the top of the dome.  A green carpet covered the floor providing a nice backdrop to the lights. The scale of the building is amazing!

I meandered down the gallery and made the left turn to look straight down the axis of the building into what would have been the nave in the original church.  The Ottomans had added a small structure near the nave that had served as a library, although no books were stored there now.  In addition, I noticed several large white sheets streaming from the ceiling down to the bottom of the area above the nave.  I did not think anything of it until I walked to that end of the building and noticed that behind the white streamers were paintings of Mary and Jesus.  As Islam forbids icons, the white streamers hide the paintings from the congregation, a better solution than destroying art history!

View of the first floor from the west side of the mezzanine. Note the very long light supports!

On the mezzanine at the railing, on the west side of the building opposite the nave, there is a green circle on the floor. Apparently, this spot is where the Empress stood and attended mass; the second floor being known as the “women’s gallery”.  The Ottomans also used the second floor space as a worship place for women. Ironic that the Byzantines and the Ottomans had something in common…. There were a few paintings on the walls but as they depicted various Emperors and Empresses, they were not considered icons and had not been disturbed.  A large set of marble doors split the mezzanine into two sections, no doubt to keep the women isolated.

Close up of the east side of the building, in what would have been the nave when it was a church. Note the white streaming fabric at the top.

A peek behind the curtain reveals some paintings that Islam would consider icons, so they are covered up.

It would be easy to sweep through the Hagia Sophia in 30 minutes, admiring the art and the beauty of the building, but I lingered a bit, simply trying to take in the atmosphere of the place; a place where people had been habituating and worshipping in for 1500(!) years in some form or another. Absolutely amazing! It would have been very special to have been able to visit the first floor, but current policies do not allow it.

Another view of part of the artistry on the ceilings and columns.

Close up…

Exiting the Hagia Sophia I headed for the nearby Archeology Museum where I spent several hours perusing the collection.  They had an excellent exposition and discussion on Troy as well as some sarcophagi from a find in Sidon. There were a lot of statuary and some great discussions on the evolution of ceramics and coins.  Of note too, was the display of one of the serpent heads that adorned the column sitting in front of the Blue Mosque (see Blue Mosque post).  What struck me most while reading the material in the museum was the sheer amount of history and archeological potential in Turkey.  I don’t understand how anyone digging anywhere, not only in Istanbul, but any other settlement in the country, can fail to find something of historical significance.  That is both exciting and painful— how do you balance the needs of modern progress against the needs of trying to preserve and learn from the past as much as possible.  Definitely a tricky proposition!

One of the serpent heads from the “serpent head column” that sits in front of the Blue Mosque and was part of the Roman Hippodrome.

There are large angles painted in the “corners” of the building. This one was allowed to retain its face, but the others have their faces blocked out (icons).

….and with no face…