.....and on our two free days, everybody kind of did their own things.
The day after the race we moved to another hotel--cheaper rates--that was still located in the Old City. The night before, I walked up and wandered around the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia and tried to take some night pictures. Unfortunately, my phone camera doesn't do real well at night.
The antiquity here is astounding. Although Egypt was much, much older, I find the history here more interesting. The obelisk in the foreground is from the Column of Constantine dated around the 10th century. The obelisk in the background is much older, around 390 AD. It is an Egyptian relic brought here during the Byzantine period. Another exhibit in the hippodrome is remains of the serpent column--once an eight-headed snake. One of the heads is in the local archaeological museum here. It is a 4th century relic.
Like I said, we kind of split up on our free days and Devin and I revisited the Hagia Sophia. It is one of the most amazing buildings I've ever visited. Construction started in the year 532 AD and the first structure was a wooden building which burned down. It was replaced by a second building of marble which was burned during rioting. Some remains of that second building have been excavated.
One of the frescoes is of twelve sheep, thought to have represented the twelve apostles.
The third, and current, building was then constructed. The name Hagia Sophia means "temple of holy knowledge," and this building commands awe. Thought to still be the fourth largest church in the world, it has served as an Eastern Orthodox basilica, a temporary Latin Roman cathedral, a Muslim mosque, and today is a Turkish national museum. The history here is just incredible, starting with the worn entrances through the doorways. How many feet have worn this marble down over the centuries?
The first thing that hits you inside is the massive dome.
While it is not the largest free-standing dome in the world, it was one of the first of this magnitude. It is constructed much like an archway with a keystone at the top applying pressure to keep the arch intact. Only here, in a dome, the top stones hold the entire arch in place with no standing columns to hold it up. This engineering marvel was constructed 1600 years ago! The unsupported weight of the dome applies downward pressure on the walls, which are reinforced with what are called "flying buttresses"--a common construction technique in European cathedrals.
This is actually the third dome on the building--earthquakes have destroyed the first two. It's still a concern here as evidenced by the "seismic sensors" in the walls.
The ugly square carved into the wall in the upper part of the photo held a pane of glass. In the event of seismic activity, the glass would crack and they could search for structural damage throughout the building Today they use the sheets of paper on the lower part of the picture with two black squares. These are located throughout the museum and while they are ugly, they are reference points for laser readings for earthquake activity.
The doors, while not originals, are also massive.
Doors to the Hagia Sophia have been key to events here several times over the centuries. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade diverted from it's journey to free Jerusalem and, instead, sacked and nearly destroyed the Hagia Sophia. Devin seems far more knowledgeable about ancient history than I, but I learned a lot about this period on this trip. The Fourth Crusade was formed by an alliance with the Roman church and the Venetian churches and it is thought now the crusade was focused entirely on capturing riches and precious artifacts. It was led by a 90-year-old blind Venetian named Enrique Dandolo, whose remains were interred here.
Hagia Sophia was under the direction of the Eastern Orthodox Church which was, and is, in direct opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1202-1204, Hagia Sophia represented the crown jewel of religious basilicas. Hagia Sophia was literally loaded with golden imagery and wealth that even the Vatican couldn't match. So the Fourth Crusade, organized by Rome and Venice, set out for Jerusalem loaded with European military mercenaries. On the way, however, they decided to detour and sack Constantinople for the wealth in Hagia Sophia. The crusade never made it to Jerusalem, but instead, sacked Hagia Sophia and stole all the wealth here. Precious manuscripts were destroyed, the basilica was stripped and everything of value was taken. Two huge bronze horses at the Hippodrome were shipped to Venice where they remain today on the steps of the cathedral there. Most of the rich history of Hagia Sophia remains today in the churches and cathedrals of Europe--a festering issue with the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 2004, Pope John Paul XXIII issued an apology for the behavior of the Fourth Crusaders but none of the wealth has been returned. The Fourth Crusade was, shamefully, a war of "Christian on Christian." It never made it to Jerusalem.
Things got worse in 1453 with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The Eastern Orthodox population here had been dwindling for decades and the Hagia Sophia was in disrepair. From the hill where we observed the start of the Istanbul Marathon earlier this week, the Ottoman invaders stormed across the Golden Horn, breached the massive walls of the city, and attacked the Hagia Sophia.
As the remaining Eastern Orthodox Christians knelt praying beneath the dome, the Muslims battered in the doors and slaughtered the elderly with axes and swords, raped the women in front of the altar to Christ, and enslaved the younger males.
Hagia Sophia was then converted into a "victory mosque." Christian imagery was painted and plastered over--some of which is being restored today. This 12th century mosaic of Christ seated between John the Baptist and Mary is one example.
The building was then converted into a Mosque. Four minarets were added.
And a Muslim prayer chancellery.
And the obligatory monument directing to Mecca was added.
Christians tend to lament the loss of Hagia Sophia to Islam, but our guide pointed out a really good observation--Hagia Sophia was deteriorating and would have collapsed and been destroyed had not the Muslim Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Only because of their assumption of control did the magnificent structure survive.
Personally, I appreciate that. I've seen too many examples of religious extremism destroying treasures and heritage irregardless of the religion. In Egypt I walked the underground tunnels in the Valley of the Kings where Coptic Christians had gone in and chiseled off the genitals of the 4,500 year old hieroglyphics and in Angkor Wat I saw where Hindu extremists had chiseled beards on the ancient Buddhas--a direct affront to Buddhism. I'm firmly convinced religion has caused more misery than redemption for the human race over the eons.
Not all images of Christ were covered over. As I said earlier in a post, Christ was considered a prophet--even an important prophet--and some images were left intact.
The history here is just incredible. Of all the places I've been fortunate to visit, few have affected me like the Hagia Sophia.
Outside the grounds, Devin and I found another unusual marker--the Milion marker designating the origin of the ancient Roman road system. It was from here, that all measurements were made with regards to transporting troops, goods, trade materials and anything else within the Roman Empire.
That evening we all got together again for dinner and met up with a monkey man.
The food here was great. As a vegan vegetarian, Devin had no problem eating in the restaurants here with the Mediterranean food. I ate vegetarian a lot on this trip, but when I was in the mood for meat, I loved the lamb--especially the kebabs.
On the last day here, we free-lanced it. Alida and Genevieve went shopping while Devin and I explored the Old City. In the afternoon we all hiked across the Golden Horn Bridge and checked out the oldest standing Medieval tower anywhere--the Galatia Tower.
After that, it was back to the hotel, another great dinner, and the flight back was 13 hours but went as well as could be hoped for. This was a great vacation and trip.
I'm off to Dubai in February.
The day after the race we moved to another hotel--cheaper rates--that was still located in the Old City. The night before, I walked up and wandered around the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia and tried to take some night pictures. Unfortunately, my phone camera doesn't do real well at night.
The antiquity here is astounding. Although Egypt was much, much older, I find the history here more interesting. The obelisk in the foreground is from the Column of Constantine dated around the 10th century. The obelisk in the background is much older, around 390 AD. It is an Egyptian relic brought here during the Byzantine period. Another exhibit in the hippodrome is remains of the serpent column--once an eight-headed snake. One of the heads is in the local archaeological museum here. It is a 4th century relic.
Like I said, we kind of split up on our free days and Devin and I revisited the Hagia Sophia. It is one of the most amazing buildings I've ever visited. Construction started in the year 532 AD and the first structure was a wooden building which burned down. It was replaced by a second building of marble which was burned during rioting. Some remains of that second building have been excavated.
One of the frescoes is of twelve sheep, thought to have represented the twelve apostles.
The third, and current, building was then constructed. The name Hagia Sophia means "temple of holy knowledge," and this building commands awe. Thought to still be the fourth largest church in the world, it has served as an Eastern Orthodox basilica, a temporary Latin Roman cathedral, a Muslim mosque, and today is a Turkish national museum. The history here is just incredible, starting with the worn entrances through the doorways. How many feet have worn this marble down over the centuries?
The first thing that hits you inside is the massive dome.
While it is not the largest free-standing dome in the world, it was one of the first of this magnitude. It is constructed much like an archway with a keystone at the top applying pressure to keep the arch intact. Only here, in a dome, the top stones hold the entire arch in place with no standing columns to hold it up. This engineering marvel was constructed 1600 years ago! The unsupported weight of the dome applies downward pressure on the walls, which are reinforced with what are called "flying buttresses"--a common construction technique in European cathedrals.
This is actually the third dome on the building--earthquakes have destroyed the first two. It's still a concern here as evidenced by the "seismic sensors" in the walls.
The ugly square carved into the wall in the upper part of the photo held a pane of glass. In the event of seismic activity, the glass would crack and they could search for structural damage throughout the building Today they use the sheets of paper on the lower part of the picture with two black squares. These are located throughout the museum and while they are ugly, they are reference points for laser readings for earthquake activity.
The doors, while not originals, are also massive.
Doors to the Hagia Sophia have been key to events here several times over the centuries. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade diverted from it's journey to free Jerusalem and, instead, sacked and nearly destroyed the Hagia Sophia. Devin seems far more knowledgeable about ancient history than I, but I learned a lot about this period on this trip. The Fourth Crusade was formed by an alliance with the Roman church and the Venetian churches and it is thought now the crusade was focused entirely on capturing riches and precious artifacts. It was led by a 90-year-old blind Venetian named Enrique Dandolo, whose remains were interred here.
Hagia Sophia was under the direction of the Eastern Orthodox Church which was, and is, in direct opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1202-1204, Hagia Sophia represented the crown jewel of religious basilicas. Hagia Sophia was literally loaded with golden imagery and wealth that even the Vatican couldn't match. So the Fourth Crusade, organized by Rome and Venice, set out for Jerusalem loaded with European military mercenaries. On the way, however, they decided to detour and sack Constantinople for the wealth in Hagia Sophia. The crusade never made it to Jerusalem, but instead, sacked Hagia Sophia and stole all the wealth here. Precious manuscripts were destroyed, the basilica was stripped and everything of value was taken. Two huge bronze horses at the Hippodrome were shipped to Venice where they remain today on the steps of the cathedral there. Most of the rich history of Hagia Sophia remains today in the churches and cathedrals of Europe--a festering issue with the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 2004, Pope John Paul XXIII issued an apology for the behavior of the Fourth Crusaders but none of the wealth has been returned. The Fourth Crusade was, shamefully, a war of "Christian on Christian." It never made it to Jerusalem.
Things got worse in 1453 with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The Eastern Orthodox population here had been dwindling for decades and the Hagia Sophia was in disrepair. From the hill where we observed the start of the Istanbul Marathon earlier this week, the Ottoman invaders stormed across the Golden Horn, breached the massive walls of the city, and attacked the Hagia Sophia.
As the remaining Eastern Orthodox Christians knelt praying beneath the dome, the Muslims battered in the doors and slaughtered the elderly with axes and swords, raped the women in front of the altar to Christ, and enslaved the younger males.
Hagia Sophia was then converted into a "victory mosque." Christian imagery was painted and plastered over--some of which is being restored today. This 12th century mosaic of Christ seated between John the Baptist and Mary is one example.
The building was then converted into a Mosque. Four minarets were added.
And a Muslim prayer chancellery.
And the obligatory monument directing to Mecca was added.
Christians tend to lament the loss of Hagia Sophia to Islam, but our guide pointed out a really good observation--Hagia Sophia was deteriorating and would have collapsed and been destroyed had not the Muslim Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Only because of their assumption of control did the magnificent structure survive.
Personally, I appreciate that. I've seen too many examples of religious extremism destroying treasures and heritage irregardless of the religion. In Egypt I walked the underground tunnels in the Valley of the Kings where Coptic Christians had gone in and chiseled off the genitals of the 4,500 year old hieroglyphics and in Angkor Wat I saw where Hindu extremists had chiseled beards on the ancient Buddhas--a direct affront to Buddhism. I'm firmly convinced religion has caused more misery than redemption for the human race over the eons.
Not all images of Christ were covered over. As I said earlier in a post, Christ was considered a prophet--even an important prophet--and some images were left intact.
The history here is just incredible. Of all the places I've been fortunate to visit, few have affected me like the Hagia Sophia.
Outside the grounds, Devin and I found another unusual marker--the Milion marker designating the origin of the ancient Roman road system. It was from here, that all measurements were made with regards to transporting troops, goods, trade materials and anything else within the Roman Empire.
That evening we all got together again for dinner and met up with a monkey man.
The food here was great. As a vegan vegetarian, Devin had no problem eating in the restaurants here with the Mediterranean food. I ate vegetarian a lot on this trip, but when I was in the mood for meat, I loved the lamb--especially the kebabs.
On the last day here, we free-lanced it. Alida and Genevieve went shopping while Devin and I explored the Old City. In the afternoon we all hiked across the Golden Horn Bridge and checked out the oldest standing Medieval tower anywhere--the Galatia Tower.
After that, it was back to the hotel, another great dinner, and the flight back was 13 hours but went as well as could be hoped for. This was a great vacation and trip.
I'm off to Dubai in February.
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