Every monument in Istanbul hides many stories in its bricks, stones, and marble.
The Hagia Sophia is an iconic example. It is one of the main mosques in Istanbul. From afar, it looks impressive with its massive domes. From up close, to be honest, it looks like a giant pile of bricks. Originally it was covered in marble and the dome in gold, but the exterior has been stripped of its precious materials centuries ago. The inside is quite dark, the most conspicuous elements being four gigantic ovals with Arabic calligraphy in gold and some boring Byzantine paintings of long-deceased emperors on the walls.
Standing there, looking up at the ceiling, I felt indifferent. When some famous monument or piece of art doesn’t touch me, I feel insensitive and inadequate, as if there is something wrong with me (which there is, but for many other reasons).
Still, this giant pile of bricks contains the history of Istanbul.
First, some general history. There has been a city on the site of Istanbul for millennia. After all, its location is of strategic importance, as it is situated at the entry of a small canal between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. He who controls this location controls the strait and thus the passage of ships and trade between the two seas.
It was founded in the 7th century BC and named Byzantion by its Greek inhabitants. Greece and Asia Minor were conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. and in AD 324, being in a modest mood, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great named the city Constantinople after himself. After his death, two of his sons divided the empire among themselves, and Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern part.
After the fall of Rome in the West, Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 537, the emperor Justinian built the Hagia Sophia. At the time, it was the biggest church ever built, and it only lost this honor almost 1,000 years later. Its central dome was 33 meters wide and 53 meters high, as high as an apartment building with seven stories. When it was consecrated, the emperor exclaimed:” Salomon, I have surpassed thee."
In 1453 the city was conquered by the Turks (an event called the fall of Constantinople by Christians). After their victory, one of the first things sultan Mehmed II did was convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, which it remained for almost 500 years.
Until Atatürk came along.
Atatürk became the authoritarian leader of Turkey after World War I and wanted to Westernize his country. Because he regarded Islam as an impediment to this effort, he tried to diminish its influence and power. That’s why, in 1934, the Hagia Sophia was converted again, this time from mosque to museum.
Almost 80 years later, In 2013, Recep Erdogan became president of Turkey. He wanted to transform the country into an Islamist state. That’s why, in 2020, he changed the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. A political ally of Erdogan’s said on the occasion:”...a longing in the heart of our nation has ended.”
Again, the marble mosaics on the floor are covered with a carpet. Again, worshippers kneel and bow toward Mecca while reciting their prayers. Again, the muezzin sings from the mosque's minaret, urging the believers to come and pray.
Echoing the ruling ideology of Istanbul at each moment in time, the Hagia Sophia was built as a church, became a mosque, became a museum, then a mosque again. The story of a city, reflected in one building.
Minaret: the tower of a mosque
Muezzin: the singer singing from the minaret. Nowadays, his voice is always amplified. When you hear him sing, one wonders if there are any decent Muslim sound engineers, because the sound quality is always terrible