The Hagia Sophia ~ McC Ab Test

Today Sue had a break from the conference, so we both took the plunge and crossed from our current neighbourhood of Beyoglu over the waters of the Golden Horn into Sultanahmet. This is the area of Istanbul best-known to tourists; home to the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and many other famous sites. Tomorrow when the conference ends we will leave this hotel and move into one in Sultanahmet for the start of our group tour, so we have deliberately deferred exploring that area. Today we decided to make a start by visiting just the Hagia Sophia and learning our way there and home again on the tram. We have heard discouraging stories about the taxis drivers, so are also wondering if we could just make the move tomorrow using public transport!

We arrived outside Hagia Sophia ten minutes before opening time at nine am, keen to avoid the legendary queues. As it turned out the queue was very short and no problem at all. It did however start to rain this morning for the first time since we arrived, but not heavily. The Hagia Sophia is distinguished by its huge size, and long and interesting history. It was built about the year 537 as a cathedral, and served for about 1,000 years as the largest cathedral in the world. In 1453 it was converted to a mosque, and then in 1935 it was secularised and became a museum.

As you would expect it looks ancient, and much of the decoration inside is discoloured and damaged. At the moment a huge scaffolding covers one wall inside where restoration work is going on.

Inside Hagia Sophia

A marble water-jar from about 300 BC.

The Imperial Gate mosaic, from about 900 AD.

Deesis mosaic, 1260 AD.

Beside the Hagia Sophia are the tombs of various sultans, beautifully decorated and in excellent condition. Their sarcophagi are covered in neat green fabric, along with those of their families including small children who died.