The most difficult step to do when you plan a travel is to take the decision about the departure.
Istanbul was my dream since many years. I haven't been on a proper holiday since a long time and Istanbul was always on the first place on my traveling list.
Or better.. I wanted to go to Constantinople...
So this year I decided to go no matter what was happening around. I was lucky because also one of my Guggie-friends, Ruth, had the same dream.
We took the tickets and we met in Istanbul.
Istanbul is a fever. To arrive there in the evening meant to go through the city that was just waking up; lights, neons, people everywhere, all shops were open, people were wondering around, laughing and talking.
When we entered to the hard of the old part of Istanbul I felt like in Paris. The streets became narrow and hilly. Down there, in front of us, we could glimpse the Golden Horn.
It all seemed quite magical.
We felt this magic atmosphere when we were walking for the first time through the streets of Istanbul, so desired and expected with anxiety.
The day after it didn't take us a lot to decide what we were suppose to do.
There was only one place we could go: Hagia Sophia.
The dream of every art historian, the myth, the heart of Constantinople.
Our hostel was very close to the Sultanahmet and all the most important monuments. We arrived to the church after five minutes walk, we joined the queue and soon after we could admire the interior of the monument.
We entered and we immediately saw the space, vast and open, with thousands of veils, arches and columns, dividing and opening it at the same time. I think this space organization of the church was the reason why Muslims decided to adapt it into a mosque. The idea of was very similar to the Muslim habit of veiling, hiding, looking through.
Once entered you wonder around and slowly get familiar with the place.
And then you start to understand how strong the Muslim imprint on the entire church is, how many things did not survive to our time, how many mosaics we can't see. Walls, once covered with shiny tesseras are all painted in a strange ochre colour.
There is no trace of the altars or other decorations. The church seems to be rather a shadow of the great Hagia Sophia.
The mosaics that survived are incredibly beautiful. The angel above the presbytery shows so many traces of the Roman painting. The mosaic with Christ, Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist is just indescribably touching. I simply couldn't stop looking in Christ eyes.
We spent more then two hours in the church, walking, observing, breathing, experiencing the space because Hagia Sophia is an experience.
Hagia Sophia, August 2012
