ISTANBUL: HAGIA SOPHIA

Hagia Sophia (532-537) was initially built as a church and remained the largest cathedral for almost 1000 years until the Seville Cathedral was completed in 1507. Following the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, when the Ottomans captured Constantinople, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. This transformation involved removing bells and altars and concealing images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints and angels. Large wooden black discs with Arabic calligraphy were placed in the rotunda to cover the Christian figures. However, glimpses of the hidden mosaics can still be seen.

During our visit to Istanbul, we also visited another church that had been converted into a mosque, the Kariye Mosque. Here, the Byzantine mosaics remained intact, depicting many of the religious stories and figures. Hagia Sophia served as a mosque until 1931, after which it was converted into a museum in 1935, remaining so until 2019 when it was reclassified as a mosque once again in 2020. The vastness of the space beneath the dome is impressive, and although different in style, it reminded me of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, constructed between 785 and 1607. I admire its Moorish arches, visible in every direction as far as the eye can see. The mosque in Cordoba isn't as tall as the Hagia Sophia, but it offers more floor space for worshipers.