All of my later adult life I have dreamed of one day seeing the Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom in Istanbul, Turkey. Some of my longing had to do with the poetry of Thomas Merton, I’m sure, and a notion I have long had that the persona of Sophia is part of the Trinity. Yes, I know; I'm a heretic.
Known as Ayaysofya in Turkish, it is a former Byzantine church and former Ottoman mosque. It is now a museum and is universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world. If you click the thumbnails of the photos, they will enlarge.
I wrote a little about the Hagia Sophia at Sacred Ordinary on Nov. 12 after our visit, but now I’m beginning to revisit the entire trip. On my work table at home, I have made a series of piles of memorabilia for each day of the trip and jottings from my journals. During the holidays I hope to make a scrapbook before I lose my edge of memory.
It was raining on the day we visited the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Topkapi Palace, but we didn’t let that deter us.
And neither did it deter any tourists or school children on field trips. The children were utterly fascinated by Betty, my travel companion, and I as we all stood in line waiting for our turn at what is known as the Weeping Column. We communicated mostly by handsigns, but it was the first time in my whole life that I felt venerated, believe it or not. The little boy with his hand out in this photo simply could not take his eyes off me. What beautiful, curious and funny kids they were.
Unfortunately nothing remains of the original Hagia Sophia, which was built on this site in the fourth century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called "the New Rome." The Hagia Sophia was one of several great churches he built in important cities throughout his empire.
Following the destruction of Constantine's church, a second was built by his son Constantius and the emperor Theodosius the Great. This second church was burned down during the Nika riots of 532, though fragments of it have been excavated and can be seen today. Hagia Sophia was rebuilt in her present form between 532 and 537 under the personal supervision of Emperor Justinian I.
You can find detailed descriptions of the Hagia Sophia at Sacred Destinations or at Al Altan's Focus along with many spectacular photos. My own photos of this trip are not of the spectacular variety, but are meant to trigger my own memories of what was going on.
Most of the people in our group didn’t want to queue up at the Weeping Column which by serious pilgrimage folks is just a superstitious frivolity given the short period of time we were there and all the architecture and art to be seen and experienced. The Weeping Column has a worn copper facing pierced by a hole. Legend has it that the pillar is that of St. Gregory the Miracle Worker and that putting one's finger in the hole can lead to ailments being healed if the finger comes out moist.
My finger did not come out moist, but I actually did feel a jolt as I turned my thumb in the hole, but then I've often been told I have an active imagination. Be it the camera or sheer energy, the photo of my friend Betty’s thumb showed flashes of orange around it--and none of the other hands I photographed had these flashes.
At my age, it is unlikely that I will visit either Turkey or Greece again in this lifetime, but I do know that in a perfect world of time and resources, I would devote at least one full day to the Hagia Sophia if I could have. Fortunately, there are wonderful books, DVDs and websites that can fully enhance my hour spent in this holy place.
