Hagia Sofia

Thursday, among other things, we did the Hagia Sofia. In a city of knock-out sights, the Hagia Sofia was for me the ultimate knock-out: it's age, sixth century, and its size (only St. Peter's, in Rome, a thousand years later, is larger). The Muslims took it over in 1453, but, happily for posterity, left much of it intact. They converted it to a mosque, added minarets, but what one sees today is still identifiably an early Byzantine Christian church, the capital of Christendom in these parts.

Hagia Sofia, from the Blue Mosque

The Hagia Sofia was the third Christian church to stand on

this site; Theodosius' 5th century church was destroyed in

the Nika ("just do it") revolts (religious revolts, in the 6th

century); pictured is a remnant of art from the 5th century

church

Minaret and humongous flying buttresses

Inside the narthex, the first of many huge, famous mosaics

The emperor's door

Inside; no camera can convey the enormity

of the place, the height and width of the great

dome

One of the famous ceiling features (religious
insight: this is an angel, not a feather dancer)

Another of the great mosaics

Interior arches

St. Gregory's column; you are supposed to place your thumb

in the hole and rotate your hand; cures infertility and eye

issues, they say; apparently they don't have one for joint
problems

The gallery is 30-40 feet above the main floor,

and you can walk all around it for more

spectacular views

An arch in the gallery



Another of the famous mosaics

Graffiti of Halvdan the Viking, who toured in the 9th century

Cut-away: arch-building 101

Restoration never really ends in places like

this

The Zoe mosaic; look in the upper left corner and you'll see
where the names of her first two husbands have been
replaced by that of her third



And another

Last view of one of the world's greatest buildings