The Hagia Sophia Started As a Christian Holy Place
The Christian Church Became a Mosque
Riding our
bikes into Istanbul and finding our hostel was an experience! Before we even
entered Istanbul we had to decide in what part of the city we wanted to stay
for a few days. Istanbul is HUGE. Most people (Tourists) want to see the
Sultanahmet area; the area around the Hagia Sophiaand the Blue Mosque. And since we were tourists we
were headed to that district, too. Sultanahmet is a large area, a whole
district of Istanbul and it takes weeks to walk most of it. We only had a few days
in town before we had to head back to Germany. Not that I felt rushed but I
know I have to come back to Istanbul to see ‘other’ things. So we did not rush
through, we meandered. Our ‘hotel’ was a hostel, the Sultan Hostel.
This Hostel
is centrally located, rated above 8.0 on most websites and a good place to stay
when in Istanbul. It is not a posh place, it is a Hostel. We picked it because
of its central location and the ease of getting to anything made it a good
place to stay. I am sure there are other places, even better places, but we had
a spot to park our bikes, received breakfast, had our own room with bath and
the room was quiet. What else do we want? The price was OK, too.
The ride into
Istanbul was difficult on a motorcycle. Cars veered in front of us to take an
exit without signaling, tailgating seems to be a sport, signage is only for the
initiated and there are just too many cars on the road, most of them sharing
the lane we were in. It was tough on the nerves, clutch hand, brakes and eyes.
You have to be totally awake to ride through Istanbul; there is not much room
for error. Carol is a good rider, I can tell you that, she was a trooper and we
made it to the Hostel alright. It helped a lot that I have been to Istanbul
before; I had a pretty good grasp of the city and knew somewhat the direction
we had to go. Still, because of road closures for construction, we got lost a
few times despite the GPS and my knowledge of having been there, etc. If you go
to Istanbul, study, I mean really study the maps. Once checked into the Hostel
we never rode the bikes until we left Istanbul. Like NYC, there is no need for
personal transport in Istanbul; you walk a lot, take trolleys, and hire taxis.
The sounds
of the city are highlighted several times a day by the muezzins calling
for prayer. Around the Blue Mosque are many other mosques and the calls are
‘timed’ so that when one call finishes, the other starts. It is quite pleasant
to hear the muezzin call, very melodic and a bit romantic even. When it was
prayer time, we did
not go to the mosques however, we just found a bench or chair or table and sat
for 10 minutes, giving the religious people their respect or due. We noticed
that most people just kept on going on with their daily lives. Yes, this is an
Islamic Country like Italy is a Christian Country but it is very, very secular.
Here and there I saw women with a hijab, but most wore western clothing. I only
saw one burka in the few days we were in Istanbul.
Hagia Sophia
Islamic Details Are Amazingly Delicate
After we had
settled into the Sultan Hostel, we walked over to the Hagia Sophia. Entering
the museum (formerly a Christian patriarchal Basilica and later an Imperial Mosque) I was overwhelmed by the huge space. What a
building! To come to Istanbul and just visit the Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy
Wisdom) would be understandable. This is a one of a kind spot on earth. The building
is so large, so huge, so spread out that you could study the details for years and
probably find yourself not knowing much. There is hidden history around every
corner. Humanity has passed through its doors. From the earliest years in 537
AD until today many, many souls have visited this space. Never mind that this ‘Holy
Wisdom’ place took almost 1000 years to build. It was and is a ‘holy’ place and
a must visit destination.
This Is a Mosaic Made From Very Small Tiles
This Is An Islamic Mosaic With Absolutely Wonderful Detail
The Whole Of This Wall and Door Are Made Of Marble
We spent
about 3 hours or more just gawking in awe, straining our necks to look up and
about. We could see Christian symbols interspersed with Muslim symbols. I even
sat down on one of the few benches along the wall and just watched people. We took too
many pictures, but I could not help myself. Carol was in her glory, this is her
kind of place, full of history and beautiful mosaics. On an upper level we
found the wall-to-wall Marble Gate used by the Synod when entering/leaving
their meeting rooms. On the upper level walls were beautiful glittering,
gold-tiled mosaics of Biblical scenes or Imperial portraits. There are just too
many details to mention, this is a place you have to visit yourself and while
here, take your time to see a lot of it.
I could go
back to Istanbul just to visit the Hagia Sophia again and maybe I will do that
in the future.
For dinner
we ate at a ‘rooftop’ restaurant. We climbed rickety stairs, narrow and old to finally
land at a terrace with a view of the Blue Mosque. It was twilight. We watched
the lights being turned on to highlight the minarets, we heard the muezzin
calling the believers to prayers.
I looked at Carol, smiled and pinched myself. We are in Turkey! We are in ISTANBUL!
The Blue Mosque At Sunset From Our Table In A Rooftop Restaurant
