We wake up early in the morning and enjoy the views from the balcony. We especially like the Laughing Doves, a new lifer for us, enjoying the opposite building. Then it is time for breakfast and on we go, today we will visit first the Blue Mosque and then Hagia Sophia.
WE return to Sultanahmet Square which we visited last night and of course there are more people here during the day. It is the former location of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople. All that remains of it are the columns that marked it like the Walled Obelisk built by the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus at one end of the Hippodrome. It was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but they were sacked by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade.
Another major obelisk was placed by Theodosius the Great who brought it in 390 AD from Egypt and erected it inside the racing track. It is carved from pink granite and it stands today where Theodosius placed it, on a marble pedestal.
First place we want to visit today is the Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque. It has a whole panel on how to dress but luckily that is not an issue for us so in we go.
Unfortunately while impressive outside the mosque is in renovation inside and you cannot see a lot so after a short walk inside we are back outside and hope that Hagia Sophia is more impressive.
In fact the walk between these two huge houses of worship is quite interesting and we really enjoy the views both in front and when looking backwards.
In fact we stop and take a 3D photo from the middle to remember the impressive views before continuing on towards Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia is the masterpiece of the Byzantines and is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. The site was an Orthodox church from AD 360 to 1453 and then after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 served as a mosque until 1935. After that it became a museum, until being controversially redesignated as a mosque in 2020. At least there are still some signs that it was a church and museum some time ago with religious decorations still visible at the entrance.
An advantage of it being a mosque again is that there is no entrance fee, again. So in we go into the huge church, it is really impressive and a good indication of what olden architects were capable of.
There are lots of tourists here but the church is so vast that you can find a secluded spot easily to enjoy the cavernous building. You can see the signs from when it was a church and the more recent signs from when it was changed back into a mosque.
We stand for some time just gawking at the beautiful building and trying to take it all in, we are happy that we were able to make it inside.
Another major attraction in the Hagia Sophia is the Omphalion which supposedly is the coronation spot of the Byzantine emperors.
We then go exploring and there are many other small details throughout the church including the used entrance stones into the church, how many people had to step there to make that depression.
The last stop is in the cemetery outside which has both Christian and Muslim tombstones. We walk a bit especially enjoying the Lamb tombstone before moving on, now it is time to visit the Topkapi museum.
