The Hagia Sophia, built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral in 537 CE, was a mosque under Ottoman rule after 1453. It became a museum after the founding of modern Turkey in 1935. Prior to the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520, Hagia Sophia was the largest church in the world for about 900 years. It attracts over 3 million tourists a year. It has been standing for over 1400 years.

It was converted to a museum by the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. Totally amazing is the fact that the church has been destroyed twice by riots. First built in Constantinople in 360 CE and dedicated by the Roman Emperor Constantius II (son of Constantine, the founder of Constantinople), the initial, wood-constructed Hagia Sophia burned during a series of riots in 404 CE. In 415 CE, Emperor Theodosius II ordered the church rebuilt, but the Nika Revolt in 532 CE caused widespread death and destruction in the city, and the church was wiped out a second time.
Located in the Eastern Roman Empire region known as Byzantium, Constantinople was ruled for 38 years by the Emperor Justinian, starting in 527 CE. Five years after the Nika Revolt and the church’s destruction, Justinian inaugurated the newly rebuilt Hagia Sophia, the most important religious structure in his empire, on December 27, 537 CE.

It has gone by several names: Initially called the Great Church (Megale Ekklesia in Greek, Magna Ecclesia in Latin) because of its immense size, the second incarnation of the church came to be known by the name Hagia Sophia around 430 CE. Its Greek meaning, “Holy Wisdom,” remained after the church was rebuilt a century later. After conquest by the Ottomans it was called Ayasofya, and today it is the Ayasofya Müzesi.

One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World was used in its construction. To fortify (and beautify) the interior of the church, columns from the long-abandoned and destroyed Temple of Artemis in Ephesus were used for the Hagia Sophia. Additional building materials may also have come from ancient sites in Baalbeck and Pergamom. Its creators were two of the most respected minds of their day: Anthemius of Tralles, an engineer and a mathematician and Isidorus of Miletus, an architect.

Sophia means wisdom in the Greek language. Fully translated, Hagia Sophia means Shrine of the Holy God. The alter, bells, and sacrificial vessels were all removed when it was converted into a mosque. Hagia Sophia has 40 windows in the area where worshipers sit and it’s known as famous reflecting mystical light. When the dome of Hagia Sophia was placed, walls began to lean outward because of the weight. Then walls to support to dome were built.

It’s dimensions of 82 meters long and 73 meters wide, sporting a dome 33 meters in diameter with a crown that rises 55 meters from the ground level is formidable at its time of construction. The massive dome is held up by spherical triangles that arise from four huge piers that carry the weight of the cupola. To create an air of sanctity, 40 windows beneath allow sunlight to suffuse the interior and irradiate the gold mosaics. It was built in a little over five years, whereas Notre Dame took a hundred! Those French workers!

Temples are not my thing, though I thoroughly enjoy places like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and St. Basil’s in Moscow. Once I a while, I just have to take a small step toward religion, and away from my preconceived notions of religious fervor and the fact that ma

ny of these places were built with slave labor (not the Aya).

Amen! Or is it assalamualaikum?

The Blue Mosque is blue because of the hand painted, blue tiles (over 20,000) on the interior walls.  Built in 1606 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmet I, this Ottoman mosque contains his tomb, a madrasa (educational institution), and a hospice.  Still used as a mosque, the Sultanahmet Camii (Turkish for Blue Mosque) is a popular tourist attraction here in Istanbul.  But it is closed in ninety minute segments during the five daily prayers for worshippers.  Mid morning is the best time to arrive.

One noticeable difference from the Hagia Sophia is the four “elephant foot’ pillars.  It has a central dome, flanked by four semi-domes, making it nearly square in shape.  The mosque was designed as an imperial show of strength to complement the Hagia Sophia across Sultanahmet Square.  It also has six minarets, where most mosques have two or four.  The controversy surrounds the fact that Prophet’s mosque in Mecca is the only other mosque with six minarets.  The Sultan solved this by adding a seventh minaret to the mosque in Mecca.

Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever set foot in a mosque before.  And I did not know it is free to visit.  Women, of course, must cover their heads when entering.  For men, pants must cover the knees.  No mention of what else needs to be covered.  Shoes are stored outside, in plastic bags, at no charge.  Donations are not required.

With a capacity of ten thousand, this place is more like a city than a mosque.  It is considered the most famous landmark in Istanbul.  And just my luck, the mosque is being renovated, to be completed by 2020.

The mosque’s interior has 20,000 blue tiles that line its high ceiling. The oldest of these tiles feature flowers, trees and abstract patterns that make them fine examples of sixteenth century Iznik design.  Many have been broken or stolen, the reason for the restoration.

The Blue Mosque’s interior is lit with two hundred and sixty windows which were once filled with stained glass of the seventeenth century. Unfortunately they have been lost and replaced with replicas far more inferior.

Two Popes have visited the Blue Mosque:  Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, and Pope Francis in 2014.  President Barack Obama toured the mosque in 2009.  BTW, the Turks do not call it the Blue Mosque.

I have mixed thoughts about visiting Turkey.  Not just the current political turmoil, but their past history with the genocide of the Armenians.  We grew up with so many Armenian families and friends in the area.  They are among my best friends.  And the greater Fresno area is home to a large number of Armenian Americans.  But I have been anxious to visit, despite all of the issues, even the danger.  Last year, as you may remember, I had one of the last visas issued to an American, and was told by the State Department NOT to go!

This time, unless another war breaks out, or open hostility to tourists, namely Americans, becomes unbearable, I am going.  I plan to pick and choose my spots, and most likely avoid tour groups, which seem to be an easy target for anti-American trouble makers.

What is it about Turkey that draws one to Istanbul and other major points of interest?  For one, I think the Grand Bazaar has always been a draw.  And the famous Bosphorus, where the Sea of Marmara meets the Black Sea, and by extension, the Dardanelles, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean.  I distinctly remember hearing and learning those names in World History as a sophomore in high school.

But since I should not find today’s Turks responsible for the terrible genocide, I should not find modern day Belgians responsible for Leopold II, or my own modern day Japanese homeland responsible for World War 2.  The country has a strong culture, and as part of the Ottoman Empire, led the way of the world for a long time.

For one, Turkey lies in a unique place, partly in Europe, and partly in Asia.  Throughout history, it has served as both a barrier and a bridge between the two great continents.

Turkey is also at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, as well as the eastern Mediterranean.  It has the largest land area of any European country, with nearly all of it in Asia.  It stretches about a thousand miles wide, and from 300 to 400 miles top to bottom.  To the north, is the Black Sea, with Georgia and Armenia to the northeast, on the east by Azerbaijan and Iran, to the southeast by Iraq and Syria (that worries me), and on the northwest by Greece, and Bulgaria.

Ankara is the capital, and the largest city and seaport is Istanbul, where I will start this adventure.  The Turkish narrows are a major factor in its relationship with their neighbors.  These include:  the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, collectively known as the Turkish Straits.  Turkey’s control of the Straits, the only outlet from the Black Sea, is a major factor in its relations with other countries.

The modern Turkish republic was founded in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.  It is a parliamentary democracy, and have multi party elections since the 1950s.

The highest point in Turkey is Mount Ararat, at 16,945 feet.  The lowlands are located on the coast, while the majority of the country is mountainous.  The climate can be described as a dry semi continental Mediterranean variant, with colder winters than most of their Mediterranean neighbors, due to the mountainous areas.

Turkish is the mother tongue, with the remainder speaking Kurdish (about 1/5 of the population), and a few Arabic. More than 90% of the country is Muslim, but Turkey remains a secular country.  Islam was removed as the official state religion back in 1928.

The population hovers around 80 million, though immigrants arrive daily from war torn neighboring states.  Turkey has a mixed economy, having transformed from agriculture (now 25%) to industry (now 25%) and services (now 50%).  Turkey has a wealth of natural resources, including coal, oil (limited), iron and other metallic ores.  Turkey is the Middle East’s largest steel producer, while textiles are second.

That is a lot to digest for now.  More on life here, the culture, the people, and some more interesting things.

Istanbul has been Constantinople, and Byzantium long before becoming Istanbul.  There is even a song about it:

So, Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can’t go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Oh Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.

According to Pliny, the Elder, the first name of Byzantium was Lygos, a Thracian settlement.  Byzantium was founded by the Greeks from Megara in 667 BC.  Greek legend says it I the name of a Greek king who led the Megarean colonists, who founded the city.

Briefly in the third century AD, the city was called Augusta Antonina by the Roman Emperor, Septimius Severus (193-211) in honor of his son, Antoninus.  I did not know this.

Before the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great made the city the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, he rebuilt the city and modeled it after Rome.  The city was often referred to as New Rome.

In honor of Constantine, Emperor Theodosius II (408-450) made the official name, Constantinople.  And I think that is the coolest name of the three that we often refer to.  It is also the formal official name during the Ottoman Empire.

They may have used other Byzantine names periodically, and informally, through the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923.  The modern Turkish name, Istanbul means “in the city”.  It is based on the common Greek usage of referring to Constantinople as “The City, as we do now for San Francisco.

Istanbul was the common name for the city, even before the 1453 conquest, by regular citizens.  Names other than Istanbul became obsolete in the Turkish language about the time of the Ottoman Empires demise.  Most modern western languages adopted the modern name, Istanbul during the 20th century.

So, take your pick.  Istanbul sounds exotic, but Constantinople sounds other worldly.  Cool.  And it has a great song with its name in it.

Some famous Turks:  Eliza Kazan, Mary Magdalene, Pliny the Younger, St. Paul, Suleiman the Magnificent, Mustafa Ataturk, St. Nicholas, Osman I, Zaza Pachulia, Hedo Turkoglu, and Enes Kanter.