Istanbul's Hagia Sophia

Some of the sites in Istanbul are just too amazing to lump into a single post, and the Hagia Sophia (also known as the Ayasofya in Turkish) definitely was one of those. It literally took our breath away, but not at first. Sure the building from the outside was cool, and old, but the facade did not prepare us for what we would find inside. 

The Hagia Sophia was dedicated in 360 AD. The current structure was re-built in 532 and for 900 years served as the center for Orthodox Christianity until 1453 when the Ottomans took over the city and turned it into a mosque. Notice the minaret, the slender tower in the back. A muezzin, or Islamic religious leader, would call followers to prayer from that minaret.  The Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum in 1943.

 This originally had 12 sheep on it, representing the 12 apostles.

We walked into an enormous vestibule and were greeted by these doors. Notice how worn the marble foot plate is? We wondered how many thousands of people have walked across this threshold.

 Standing in front of the doorway. The room behind us is epic in size.

Main area. Byzantine Emperors were coronated in this very room.

view from the second floor

Christian mosaics plastered the walls and ceilings except where they had been literally covered over by a thick layer of plaster when the Islamic Ottomans took over the region. This is a sample of several of the mosaics that were created between the 10th and 12th centuries.

 Dixie standing near the mosaics on the second floor.

Melanie walking up the stair well's sloping floor to the second floor.

Josh found this little gem almost by accident. The rest of us had walked right by and out the doors  without noticing the art on the ceiling.