Our exploration of Istanbul begins today after the lovely evening yesterday, on the Bosphorus. Over breakfast, Neeti and I had a good laugh about the interesting conversation we had with the Pakistani lady on the way back from the Bosphorus cruise. And both of us realised that there is so much more to appreciate and learn about yourself, your nation and the world - they only way you can figure that out is by seeing the world for yourself...
After breakfast - a typical Turkish breakfast of fruit, olives, eggs, breads and traditional cheese, we chose to walk down to the historical centre of Istanbul and see Aya Sofia and Sultan Ahmet Mosque.
As we walked some distance from our hotel, we realised how bright, hot and humid it was. And this is classic Mediterranean weather, though it gets quite cold here in winter. We passed by numerous souvenir shops, restaurants and traditional Turkish cafes as we headed to Aya Sofia. This is a city with attitudes tailor-made for tourists - not once were we heckled by shopkeepers, as we explored our way through. That is amazing!
After walking about 20 minutes, we reached Aya Sofya...
Hagia Sophia derives its name from Greek, Ἁγία Σοφία, meaning Holy Wisdom. Today the Turks call it Aya Sofya or Hagia Sophia, which is a westernised version of the name...
The Türk Bayrağı, the Turkish national flag, which has been derived from the Ottoman flag of the 1800s, flies at the grounds outside the Aya Sofya...
The first church that was built here in 360 AD, was known as the Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία (Megálē Ekklēsíā or the "Great Church") because of its sheer size in comparison to the churches of that era. Together with the nearby Hagia Eirene (or Holy Peace), these two churches were the main churches of the Byzantine Empire. It is claimed that the Hagia Eirene was one of the most outstanding monuments of its times. Sadly, nothing remains of that church today, after it was burnt down in a riot in 404 AD.
A second church was built here by the Byzantine Emperor, Theodosius II. The church was opened in October 415. The had a wooden roof. This church too was shortlived - a fire during a riot in 532 AD burned the second church to the ground...
The ruins are all that remain of the second church - several marble blocks - reliefs depicting 12 lambs representing the 12 apostles. These are believed to be originally part of the church's front entrance. The remains were discovered in 1935 beneath the courtyard by a German archaeologist, A. M. Schneider. Further digging had to be abandoned, as there were fears that this would impact the Aya Sofya's structural integrity...
Impressions of how the second church looked like...
It would have been an architectural wonder...
One of the minarets of Aya Sofya...
In 532 AD, just a few weeks after the destruction of the second church, Emperor Justinian I decided to build a third and entirely different basilica, which was to become larger and more majestic than its predecessors.
Justinian I brought material brought from all over the Byzantine Empire. Artefacts and materials such as Hellenistic columns from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, large stones from quarries in Egypt, green marble from Thessaly, black stone from the Bosphorus region and yellow stone from Syria were transported to Constantinople. With over ten thousand people engaged in the construction, the new basilica was completed in 5 years and 10 months, on December 27, 537. The mosaics inside the church were completed much later, during the reign of Emperor Justin II.
Aya Sofya became the seat of the orthodox church of Constantinople and was a principal setting for Byzantine coronations and other imperial ceremonies.
The Aya Sofya suffered damage during the earthquakes 553 and 557, cracking the main dome and eastern dome. The earthquake of 558 destroyed the main dome completely.
An immediate restoration was taken up, this time around, in a more scientific fashion. Under Justinian's orders, eight Corinthian columns were disassembled from Baalbek, Lebanon, and shipped to Constantinople around 560 and the basilica reopened in 562 AD.
Thereafter, the basilica saw a lot - destruction of images and statues by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian in 726 AD, fire in 859 and earthquakes in 869 and 989. In the aftermath of the earthquake of 989, 6 years of repair and reconstruction activities were carried out by an Armenian architect Trdat.
During the Fourth Crusade, Constantinople was occupied by Latin Christians who ransacked and desecrated the basilica. During this time, the occupants converted the Orthodox Basilica to a Roman Catholic cathedral.
By 1261, when the Byzantines recaptured the city, the church was in a dilapidated state. In 1317, Emperor Andronicus II ordered another round of repairs and renovations which were financed by his deceased wife, Eirene's fortune. Her sarcophagus is placed in the basilica.
The sarcophagus of Empress Eirene...
11th century Greek inscriptions...
Traditional Turkish music on sale in the Aya Sofya gift shop...
The decisions of the Synod Assembly of 1166...
The assembly held here in the Aya Sofya served to interpret and codify certain legends of Christianity. Those who refused to agree with this official interpretation had their properties confiscated...
That was indeed a draconian way of coercing people to believe the official version. That proves that rulers or clergy or those in power will go to any extent to prove they are right, so that their version of history, from which they derive their authority lives on.
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