AN ARCHITECTURAL FEAT: The Aya Sofya transcends TIME and exalts the SPIRIT!

TIMELESSNESS EXPRESSED IN ARCHITECTURE. Some times we can experience how small we are in the vastness of time and space. Yet, at the same time, we might feel part of this infinity of BEING. Here I am (right front dressed in white), looking up at the light coming in from the windows and at the construction maintaining this ancient holy place that now functions as a museum. (photo by Tony Martin)

Hallelujah for monuments that exalt the SPIRIT and withstand TIME! Hallelujah for the Aya Sofya in Instanbul, Turkey! Dear FELLOW PILGRIMS, I am writing you from the Ibis Hotel in Amsterdam, overnighting on a layover before returning home to Atlanta from Constantinople!

Architecture can tell you so much about a culture! I find myself amused at being in this mega Dutch complex, only an airport hotel, but more like a tiny city. Ibis houses two restaurants, a bar, cafe, and shops. The desk from which I'm sitting and looking out the window at rabbits on the manicured lawn, is modular, just like the bed, closest, and bathroom--all snapped into place. This is transitory housing for the roving hoards. The check-in clerk is more like an activity adviser consulting travelers about their "consumer" interests before "placing" them into a room for the night! In July 2013, we have constructed TEMPORARY architectural structures!

SUMMER NIGHT IN FRONT OF AYA SOFYA. Architectural feats like the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya are magnets, attracting everyone visiting Istanbul to their interiors and exteriors. It is fascinating to sit on one of the numerous benches on a summer night in front of the Blue Mosque and watch all the visitors lingering in the presence of these awesome structures. (photo by Tony Martin)

And the Aya Sofya? It endures! Can you believe that this magnificent structure was completed in 537 and has endured in various forms until now, more than 14 centuries later! How? The sublime marriage of SPIRIT and ART! 

When I studied about the Aya Sofya as a primary school student in the 1960's, we learned the Greek name of the church, "Haghia Sofia," and that it meant "Church of Divine Wisdom" in English. And the DIVINITY that has been worshiped here has changed over the centuries.

Aya Sofya was built as a Christian church in the 6th century and according to my trusty Lonely Planet travel guide, it was the "greatest church in Christendom" until the middle of the 15th century.

CENTURIES OF CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT. Built as an architectural wonder in the 6th century to worship Christ, Aya Sofya became a Muslim mosque after the Conquest in 1453. An ecstatic dissonance occurs when viewing the merging of these two religions in this architectural space. (photo by Tony Martin)

ALWAYS BEING RENOVATED. Ancient structures require constant upkeep. TIME is present in the Aya Sofya. And I felt how EPHEMERAL our human life is. (photo by Tony Martin)

The Aya Sofya underwent a significant transformation after the conquest. Mehmet the Conqueror turned the Christian church into a place to worship Islam. The Aya Sofya was a mosque until Ataturk made it a museum, which it remains today. 

ANGEL

MOSAICS, ARCHES, AND ANGELS

LUMINOUS LIGHT

UNCOVERED CHRISTIAN MURALS. During the time that Aya Sofya was a mosque, the Christian imagery was plastered over. Restorations have uncovered some of them.

As with many ancient buildings in Istanbul, Aya Sofya has gone through many incarnations. If I understood it correctly, the Aya Sofya has burned down twice in its history. In addition to the scaffolding and ongoing structural repairs, my geologist husband, Tony Martin, alerted me to the "faux" building stones. Because of the splendor of the mosaics, light, Arabic prayers, and throngs of visitors, recognizing that these "building stones" were in fact artificial would not be something the average person would notice.

FAUX BUILDING STONES.  Notice the regularity of the patterning on the slabs of "stones" in this photo? They are paintings.

FAUX WINDOWS.

REPAIR TO FAUX BUILDING STONE.

WHAT IS REAL? WHAT IS ILLUSION? And how does ART play a role in creating a NEW reality through ILLUSION? In the image directly below, you can observe "real" building stones. I marvel at the attention that was given to designing the walls with alternating patterns from authentic stone slabs. It is difficult to fathom the minds of the ARTISTS who constructed these intricately patterned walls!

HALLELUJAH FOR PATTERNED STONE!

AWESOMENESS! There I am, Hallelujah Truth, dwarfed by the immensity of the ARCHITECTURE! To my left is a faux arch and more faux stone. Who would notice it in this MARVELOUS structure?

That's Coffee With Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what you think of these images from the Aya Sofya! Of TIMELESSNESS and INFINITY. How ART can MAGNIFY us all as individuals and humanity. Have you been there? If not! What then?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Deep thanks to my husband, who I fondly call Chiboogamoo. He is a superior and loving travel companion. If possible find one like him to take with you everywhere. I feel loved and supported by this man whether it be in the Aya Sofya, on a field trip in Canakkale looking at trace fossils, or in an airport hotel in Amsterdam. Chiboogamoo, aka Tony Martin, is pictured above. Many thanks to the kindness and generosity of the Turkish people we met on our journey. We felt welcomed by the people of Turkey and will want to return in the future. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

VISITING THE BLUE MOSQUE: A moment of transcendent light!

COURTYARD OF THE BLUE MOSQUE. This is the courtyard of the Blue Mosque and it is as large as the mosque's interior. We tourists have just been escorted out of the mosque as Muslims were called to prayer. Only those who have come to prayer are admitted through the main door. (photo by Tony Martin)

Hallelujah for the Blue Mosque! Hallelujah for seizing the day and traveling to Turkey to one of the most magnificent cities in the world—Istanbul!

 

DAZZLING INTERIOR OF THE BLUE MOSQUE.  The prayerful men are separated from us tourists but we may respectful look on and around the interior of the Blue Mosque without disturbing them. If you notice, I am wearing a head scarf. All women are asked to cover their heads when entering the mosque. I brought my own scarf. For those who didn't the Blue Mosque provides them.(photo by Tony Martin)

To step into the dazzling light streaming through windows in the Blue Mosque in the ancient part of Istanbul was the fulfillment of a dream of mine that begin in my ESL classroom almost twenty years ago.  Turkish students inevitably write papers or give presentations about this architectural holy wonder that was built by architect Mehmet Aga to compete with the awesome Aya Sofya located close by.

Better yet, although the Blue Mosque is open and free to visiting tourists, it is still an active place where Muslims pray five times a day. One of the most thrilling aural experiences is hearing the call to prayer, which is played on microphones and projected out over the entire city. At this time of prayer, tourists are escorted out hurriedly, and the courtesy scarves and wrap around skirts lent to women to politely cover themselves are collected.

 

WOMEN'S PLACE OF PRAYER. In Islam, women and men prayer separately. Here in this photo, women are emerging from a private shelter in the back of the Blue Mosque. Men pray in the open space (See above where I am wearing a head scarf. You can see the praying men.) (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

The crowd’s hustle and bustle combined with its genuine respect for this sacred space is overwhelming! I am reminded of how much the spirit of creativity and the sophisticated execution of human imagination can elevate us to something transcendent.

 

TRANSCENDENT LIGHT. (photo by Tony Martin)

This exquisite mosque was constructed a thousand years after the Aya Sofya between 1606 and 1616 and has 260 windows and thousands of blue tiles that give the Blue Mosque its name.

Being there was like experiencing an explosion of transcendent light!

Hallelujah for the Blue Mosque! Have you dear pilgrims visited this LIGHT HOUSE TO THE SPIRIT? Or a similar place (if one exists)? SOUL BLOG with me at Coffee with Hallelujah and tell me about it!

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Thanks to my Chiboogamoo, who is my steadfast companion and world traveler. I love you! What a wonderful life we have visiting these amazing places in the world! Here we are in Turkey in front of the Blue Mosque facing the Hippodrome! (photo by fellow tourist)