Day 100 ~ Istanbul, Faith & Architecture

 April 19, 2022

44 degrees with rain showers. Throw in a little wind and the misery index shoots through the roof! 

For myself, I wouldn't mind. I'm not sweet enough to melt and I can take the cold, but my POC does not take kindly to getting wet. So my DH, my hero, my very own caped crusader, bundles both himself and Herkimer against the rain. 

Under that blue cape, Herkimer is puffing away to provide the O2 I need. And as an added bonus, the DH and I are attached by my 7 ft. canula. I never have to wonder where my husband is...

“We did not know where we were, on heaven or on earth.”
— Russian Ambassadors upon visiting Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia in 987 A.D.

Construction of the Hagia Sophia was finished in 537 AD. The minarets were added in the 15th & 16th centuries when it was converted to a mosque after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople.  

Today the highlight of our excursion was a visit to the Hagia Sophia, The Church of Holy Wisdom. The structure has served as a Byzantine church, a mosque, a museum, and now a functioning mosque again. To say that it is impressive is an understatement of great proportions. And yet, it is a shadow of what it once was.

 Almost all its Christian mosaics have been destroyed over the centuries to be replaced with Islamic art and script, but the vaulted dome itself retains the ability to lift a soul upward. 

The balcony that rings the central space is closed to the public, but that is where some Viking graffiti was carved, a sort of Middle Ages "Kilroy was here!" message. In my book Silk Dreams, I had my hero be the idiot who defaced this incredible worship space. He was a total pagan and just didn't know any better.  Still, I wished I'd been able to see that runic message from some unknown Norseman. 

This mosaic escaped destruction because it was on the outside rim of the worship space, a sort of narthex, which is now used as the place for the faithful to remove their shoes before entering. It features stylized representation of the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus on her lap. To the right, the Emperor Constantine (280-337AD) presents the city of Constantinople to Jesus while on the left the Emperor Justinian (born 482; reign 527–565 AD) offers the Hagia Sophia itself. Bear in mind when you look at this, that sometimes all that glitters IS gold.

The marble used is from many different quarries--red, green, beautiful variegated stone with ornate capitals.

Like all mosques, there are no pews or chairs for worshipers. The carpet on the floor was laid down so that the pattern indicates which way the petitioner should kneel in order to face Mecca.

As you can see, I'm wearing a head scarf under my visor. Any time we're going to visit a sacred site, whether it's muslim or Christian or Buddhist, I make sure to wear one of my long oval scarves. It works as a neck warmer when I'm cold and I can always raise it up to cover my head if necessary. 

Some people chafe at removing their shoes or wearing a scarf, but if that's the price of admission to a special place, it's a small one. It doesn't mean I agree with the tenants of the religion practiced there. It means I'm being a polite guest by honoring their customs. 

I've wanted to visit Istanbul since I placed a couple of my novels there. Of course, I didn't find the ancient place I wrote about, but I did enjoy the flavor of the city and recognized a few of the main landmarks I spent so much time with in my imagination.  

One last word. At several of our stops around the Med, notably the Greek ones, our guides have had nothing good to say about the Ottoman Empire. Doubtless, there were some horrific things done in the past, but after reading Crowly's Empires of the Sea, I know barbarism existed on both sides. 

Our experience with the Turkish people has been lovely. Very warm. Very welcoming and ever so glad to see Americans again. It was a nice change from say...our guide in Dubrovnik who spent a good portion of the time telling us how over-toured Croatia is becoming and UNESCO doesn't think so many tourists should be allowed inside the Old Town made so popular by Game of Thrones. 

However, as lovely as their new cruise port is, it's maze-like in its construction and we had to pass through multiple checkpoints each time we ventured on and off the ship. It added a lot of walking to already walk intensive days.

I know, I know. I should have been in better shape before this cruise started. Agreed. I guess I never really believed it was going to happen until the day we pulled away from the dock in LA!