Hiya...Hagia Sophia

The sight for which, above all others, we've come to Istanbul, does not disappoint. Our morning started with a two hour visit to the Hagia Sophia, originally an Eastern Christian church, then a Muslim Mosque, now deconsecrated and merely a tourist sight. The co-mingling of early Christian images in the mosaics made of gold pieces and semi-precious stones, together with the Islamic calligraphy of names important to the faith (Islam does not permit icons) is fascinating. At the eastern end, or front of the church, a mosaic remains of Mary and an infant Jesus. On either side are large leather medallions with the names of Allah and Mohamed, and that in a nutshell, tells the story of this building. (Pictured below)

Monday we saw the Blue Mosque, still an active place of worship. While the Blue Mosque is vast and grand and artfully decorated in blue and while tiles and blue glass, I find the Hagia Sophia far more beautiful and awe-inspiring. The history as first a Christian church and then the Mosque of the Sultans is rich and the several mosaics of Jesus and Mary, as well as of Ottoman Monarchs, are far more interesting than the pretty tiles in the Blue Mosque.

This afternoon we walked along the ancient city walls and then took a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait-marvelous sights on both the European and the Asian sides, from a medieval fortress to 200 year old palaces to very ritzy contemporary residences on the water's edge.