Hagia Sophia

On Thursday I took a little time to see the Hagia Sophia. I think this was my favorite "sight" that I saw. When you go to see Hagia Sophia, you are too close to it to take a good picture of the outside. It's just that big. So these are all interior shots of the magnificent building!



All the mosques I visited had beautiful chandeliers. They're usually hung low, as they used to utilize oil lamps that weren't so bright and required a lot of tending. You can see them here in this shot of the interior through the Imperial Gates.



This was the largest cathedral in the world for almost a thousand years, built by Emperor Justinian. It was converted into a mosque in the 1400's. The original architectural decorations were already fairly geometric in nature, as they were in a Byzantine style. You can see some of the conversion decorations in the background here, including the giant calligraphic shields with names of prophets. You can see the incredible patterned marbles on the floor too.



Empress Zoe mosaic was neat. These are leftovers from the Christian era, I believe they were plastered over while it was a mosque.



Overall, I was really impressed with Hagia Sophia. I followed the tour in the Rick Steves guidebook I borrowed from Esther and it led me all around the building, describing the obvious stuff, and pointing out the slightly off track stuff, like the pillar of St. Gregory, with the miracles and all that. If you go to Istanbul, don't miss this place!