Introduction:
First, the dome of the Aya Sofya (Greek: Hagia Sophia) from outside:
The stand where I bought toast and kahve (coffee):
The Aya Sofya from outside:
The Aya Sofya when it lights up at night:
Door to the Aya Sofya:
Walking into the main hall:
Standing amidst it all:
Looking up at the dome, which is coated in gold leaf. When you gaze upon the dome, it appears to float:
Arabic calligraphy added when the Aya Sofya was converted from a Orthodox church to a mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmet II (The Conquerer):
A massive chandelier illuminates the richness of the ornamentation:
Stained glass at the head of the cathedral/mosque:
The beautiful mihrab at the head of the mosque:
In front of the mihrab:
The corners of the dome have just very recently been restored. Because they depict Christian iconography, they were covered during the Ottoman reign:
Entrance to the Upper Gallery:
To get to the Upper Gallery, you must walk up a winding ramp of stone and brick:
Here is a video of the ascent up the cavern-like pathway:
In the Upper Gallery:
Back on the lower level looking up:
In Roman times, people wrote on wax tablets that could be smoothed over and reused, called palimpsests. It was not always possible to completely smooth over the wax every time, and so sometimes a new writing would still contain traces of the old, leading to an amalgamation. The old writing, then, inevitably added something to the new, and vice versa. I like to think of the Aya Sofya as a metaphorical cultural and religious palimpsest, because as this next video reveals, the structures contains the remnants of its Christian past hidden beneath its Ottoman facade:
An additional Madonna and Child I found:
The new enterprise of the Aya Sofya is neither Christian nor Muslim, but intellectual; the structure’s conversion to a museum by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the early 20th Century embodies Turkey’s commitment to secularism; a new story on a wax tablet.
Having finished visiting the Aya Sofya, we next went to the Blue Mosque, which directly faces the Aya Sofya. Unlike the Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque continues to function as a place of worship:
Calligraphy under the mihrab outside of the mosque courtyard:
Now, a video of the courtyard to the mosque:
Staring up at the mosque:
The dome of the Blue Mosque, inside:
Inside the Blue Mosque:
A video from inside of the Blue Mosque:
Peering up a minaret of the Blue Mosque:
Next, we moved on to the 6th century underground Basilica Cistern, built by the Emperor Justinian I:
Here is a video of our descent into the cistern:
You may recognize this location from a James Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963):
The ceiling of the cistern:
There are two heads of Medusa in the cistern, intentionally placed upside down and sideways so that onlookers avoid direct eye contact:
Next, it was onto the Grand Bazaar, the oldest shopping mall in the world:
Here is video from inside of the Bazaar:
Here are some picture of the various items sold inside of the Bazaar:
Carpet shop:
Here is an excellent video from walking around the Grand Bazaar. If you listen closely, you can hear the call to prayer from a nearby mosque:
Cobblestone street outside of the Bazaar:
With friends Amit and Larissa in front of the Aya Sofya:
Getting my shoes shined outside of the Aya Sofya:
Finally, it was onto Ortaköy for walking, tea, and great views:
In this shot, I am standing in Europe, looking across the Bosphorous to Asia, and the bridge that connects the two:
A mosque on the water at sunset:
With Amit, Asia and sunset in background:
Endless shops with fresh food:
Absurdly delicious dessert we at a waterfront cafe:
And finally, an Istanbul sunset:
That was my day. More tomorrow.
Istanbul looks absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the pictures and the mini-lessons. Take care Garth.
quite a day!
You’ve had quite quite a week “assimilating”. The photos/videos of the shops remind me so much of the travelogue we watched the other week.
Have a good week.
Hi Garth,
What an amazing day you had! I just watched the Anthony Bourdain show on Istambul last night which was even more interesting since you are there and sending pictures and comments. Enjoy your learning experience!
Love, Aunt Becky