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Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sofya)
The name of the building is from the Greek, meaning "Holy Wisdom." You won't miss the Aya Sofia if you are in the Sultanahmet area because it is the centerpiece of everyone's focus in the area. Thus said, it is also very crowded, like the Topkapi Museum, and is one of Turkey's most visited sites. You can either wander about on your own, or join one of the countless tour groups that drift around in a daze of numbers, architectural facts, and historical dates. This is also one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and one with an incredible history as well. It was constructed somewhere between 532-537 AD (again, you'll hear all of these dates multiple times on your tours) by the emperor Justinian and was used as a church for almost a thousand years until Mehmet the Conqueror came into the picture on May 29, 1453. When he took the city, he was undoubtedly struck by the building's beauty, size, and symbolic value and so he turned the Sofia into a mosque, and, owing to Muslim tradition (images of religious scenes are not allowed - you can't recreate them in pictorial form, only in script) covered or took down the artistic and religious images and mosaics inside. Minarets were added to the outside, as were large calligraphic plaques with Muslim sayings. The mosque was converted into a museum in 1934 by the Turkish political hero Ataturk, and many of the mosaics were uncovered and on display for the first time in hundreds of years. This museum is an apt example of Turkey's own identity, as well as the world's own obsession between "East" and "West." That religious mosaics and Western architecture and coexist with Muslim scripts and minarets should be an example to us all. Hagia Sophia Museum ( 9:15-4:30, entrance fee around 10$ ) <---back to Sultanahmet District for Visitors for inquiries and comments (non-commercial only please): go.mideast @ yahoo.comCopyright ©2003-2008 gomideast.com unless otherwise credited |
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