On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Winter Wren
The Blue Mosque was built by one of the Sultans to surpass the famed Hagia Sophia. Originally a Byzantine church, after the fall of Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was repurposed as a mosque and it is now officially the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia. Entry is allowed to an upper balcony for 50 Euros (an additional 50 Euros provides access to an interesting immersive exhibit of the history of the site at a museum across from the Blue Mosque).

One can walk across the Hippodrome area from the Blue Mosque to the Hagia Sophia. There is a large fountain in front and a Sultan’s tomb to the side here.

A closer perspective of the exterior of the Hagia Sophia. Certainly grand and impressive. The minarets were added after the original church (as one might guess). Buttresses and dome repairs were also carried out over the years as detailed in the museum exhibit that we saw.

The interior of the mosque from the balcony. Most of the original famed mosaics remain plastered over.

The seraphs in 2 upper corners are one of the few images visible from the bottom floor of the interior.

Constantinople was sacked in the 4th Crusade by a crusader army led by the Doge of Venice. The Doge had himself buried within the Church – the only person buried in the building. Near here, there is also some runic Viking graffiti that can be seen (“Eric was here”), perhaps carved by members of the Varangian guard.

A few of the original mosaics are uncovered on the upper balcony in such a way that they are not visible to praying Muslims on the bottom floor.

Nearby to the Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern. For a separate entry fee, you can descend and see the graceful columns attractively lit. There are walkways above the water (which seemed to be about 6 inches or so deep). We didn’t see any fish, but supposedly the Cistern was re-discovered after investigations of locals fishing through aboveground entry points.

The columns and the lighting create a dramatic and pleasing effect.

The specially carved base of one of the columns.

Outside in the daylight, cats were again trying to assert their mastery over the city. This cat was soon joined by another in trying to catch (or harass at least) what I think are Alexandrine parrots (or possibly Rose-ringed parrots – both were possibilities according to my Merlin app). The hub-bub captured a bit of a crowd to watch the theatrics and record on their cameras and phones.
Baud
Gorgeous photos.
sab
Yes. Gorgeous, and informative.
sab
Reading Dorothy Dunnett Lymond Chronicles where they go into the Basilica Cisterns. Interesring to actually be able to see them, with lighting.
J.
You make me want to go to Istanbul!
Winter Wren
@sab: Yes, it was fun to match that scene up with the real thing. The lighting really makes it though! I found this site which also has photos of other scenes from the book: https://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/visits-istanbul.php
eclare
Beautiful! My cats are def being lazy.
Geminid
The Hagia Sophia was completed in AD 537, so it is 1488 years old. Emperor Justinian I commissioned the work and hired “Geometers” Isidore of Miletus and Anthemus of Tralles to design the structure. Isidore of Miletus studied the works of Archimedes and his collection of Archimedes’ writings survives.
After Constantinople fell to Ottoman leader Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, Hagia Sophia became a mosque. It remained so until the Republic of Turkiye’s secularist government decared it an interfaith museum in 1935. The decision in 2020 to reclassify Hagia Sophia as a mosque was controversial both abroad and within Turkiye itself.
Adrian Lesher
As noted in Wikipedia “[t]he majority of the columns in the cistern appear to have been recycled from the ruins of older buildings (a process called ‘spoliation’), likely brought to Constantinople from various parts of the empire, together with those that were used in the construction of Hagia Sophia. They are carved out of different types of marble and granite.”
Sourmash
The Hagia Sophia, since it was the Church of “Holy Wisdom” didn’t even need to have its name changed after it became a mosque. Until the reconstruction of St. Peter’s by Michaelangelo, it was the largest inhabitable building on earth, both in covered volume and footprint for a thousand years. (Or so a guide told me when we visited. I’ve never looked it up since it is such a charming factoid!) And you absolutely MUST go to Istanbul. A megacity like no other…
Betty
@Geminid: And the sad part about declaring it a mosque again means those gorgeous mosaics will remain plastered over.
WendyBinFL
Once again, Winter Wren, your photos are stunning, and bring me a happy cascade of memories. Thomas Merton, the late Trappist Monk perhaps best known for his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, also wrote a poem to Hagia Sophia, invoking her as the feminine aspect of Divinity. He kept a painting he identified as Hagia Sophia in his hermitage. (The painting, of a veiled woman holding an infant, looks like a Madonna and Child.) The two Medusa heads used as column bases in the Basilica Cistern were positioned upside down to strip them of their power. Some men honor strong women, others are consumed by fear and loathing!
Geminid
@Betty: I wonder when the mosaics were plastered over, and when the ones pictured above were uncovered.
There are some stunning floor mosaics being uncovered in Turkiye. A lot of them are in Hellenistic era cities and villas. The well known cities are on the Aegean coast, but there are some on the Black Sea coast and others in interior Anatolia.
I think someone could spend a year visiting Turkish archeological sites and not see half of them.
PJ
The Latin Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204 and ruled it for another 57 years. In addition to greatly weakening the Empire and hastening its conquest later by the Ottoman Turks, the Crusaders stole and destroyed countless works of art dating back as far as the Hellenistic era (1500 years). The bronze horses now in Venice originally adorned the Hippodrome.
Trivia Man
@Sourmash: those are fascinating!
I remember in St Peters a mark on the floor showing how big the Firenze church is – obvious flex of WE ARE BIGGER. I wonder if they had a mark for Hagia Sophia also
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Thank you for sharing. We love Istanbul and it’s great you’re sharing what everybody should get a chance to see before they kick off.
WaterGirl
@Winter Wren: So beautiful!
I will be sad when the series ends tomorrow!
Winter Wren
Reading the various contextual historical comments from the BJ community. Amazing amount of knowledge and expertise in this group!
me
Looks like the main change from when I was there 2012, before it was remosqued, is the large rug on the floor.
me
@Geminid: Our guide said, as i recall, that they were plastered over first when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans although allegedly they were uncovered at times for maintenance. Then they were uncovered when Ataturk made it a museum.
Torrey
Nothing to add, except appreciation for the pictures and descriptions. Amazing! (Gad, I hate the damn Crusaders! I recall hearing a podcast [BBC History Extra] in which the historian pointed out that the Crusades weren’t the simple “go invade the Middle East and fight Muslims” forays that we simplistically think of them as, but actually part of a series of violent actions, including many in western Europe, by the Latin/Roman church against all kinds of “others.”
Miss Bianca
Unbelievable! Both the photos and the history of the Hagia Sophia. I had no idea I needed to visit it when I finally make it to Istanbul.
The Red Pen
[‘splaining voice] Um, aktually, the columns in the cistern were not carved for the cistern. They were carved for other buildings and recycled when the cistern was built.
BTW, if anyone visits Istanbul, it’s well worth hiring a professional guide. You actually have to get a degree to be licensed for this position, so the guides know a lot about the history of whatever you’re looking at.
It’s hard to capture how immense Hagia Sofia is in pictures. I just found myself thinking “this was built when?” Also cool is the Viking graffito on the banister of an upper balcony (you can find the image online). It’s in runic script and says something like “Halfdan was here” (only the name Halfdan was fully legible). It’s from the 1100s they think.
Maybe I should submit my pictures of the cave churches in Cappadocia. So much stuff to see in Turkey…
Winter Wren
@The Red Pen: Would love to see those Cappadocia pictures you mention in an On the Road post. We definitely plan to visit Turkey again and not confine ourselves to Istanbul.