Istanbul
is an ancient city that has played the role of host to many differnet cultures over the last several thousand years. Nowhere else in the world can you find such an amazingly diverse concentration of historical architecture and living culture playing themselves out in such a beautiful location.
But among all the cool old stuff Istanbul has to offer, the Aya Sofia (Hagia Sofia) is surely the most magnificent, and maybe even the coolest building in the world.
It was first built in the year 537 as a basilica; and was used as such for almost a thousand years until Istanbul was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453 and the Aya Sofia was converted into a mosque.
All the iconography was covered up by islamic-style mosaics and paintings, and the Aya Sofia remained a mosque until 1931, when under Ata Turk and his Turkish secularization policies, the structure was turned into a museum.
The main dome is 182ft high in the middle, but from inside it seems like way more than that.
Unlike a lot of these old structures, *most* of the Aya Sofia is original. Parts of it have been destroyed and rebuilt over the years and the minarets visible on the outside were obviously added after the Ottomans took over,but by and large the original structure is intact.
And I was there amongst the throngs of other tourists, snapping away.
Some of the original Christian mosaics have been uncovered by archaeologists in recent years and can now be seen.
There are incredible stained-glass windows throughout.
Some of the Islamic design elements.
Look at this floor; imagine how many people's feet have shuffled across it over the centuries.
What are these things called? Where the patriarch or sultan or whoever would hang out?
And finally, the exterior is not so impressive; it looks more like a building that you'd expect to see on the desert planet of Tatooine. It's kind of squat and dull from the outside. But inside it's as if you've been transported to a different world.
is an ancient city that has played the role of host to many differnet cultures over the last several thousand years. Nowhere else in the world can you find such an amazingly diverse concentration of historical architecture and living culture playing themselves out in such a beautiful location.
But among all the cool old stuff Istanbul has to offer, the Aya Sofia (Hagia Sofia) is surely the most magnificent, and maybe even the coolest building in the world.
It was first built in the year 537 as a basilica; and was used as such for almost a thousand years until Istanbul was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453 and the Aya Sofia was converted into a mosque.
All the iconography was covered up by islamic-style mosaics and paintings, and the Aya Sofia remained a mosque until 1931, when under Ata Turk and his Turkish secularization policies, the structure was turned into a museum.
The main dome is 182ft high in the middle, but from inside it seems like way more than that.
And I was there amongst the throngs of other tourists, snapping away.
