The First Day or So

Breathtaking. That would be the one word to describe the past couple of days. Our first day in Istanbul allowed us to witness the architectural collision of two very distinct religious groups: Christianity and Islam. After seeing both the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque I was left with an utter sense of respect. Even though the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire ruled from Constantinople (now Istanbul), a once Christian stronghold and symbol of the fastest growing religion of its time, eventually fell to the Muslim-Ottoman Turks in the 15th Century.

The part that fascinated me the most was the preservation of the two cultures. Rather than to tear down the Hagia Sofia, one of the greatest architectural achievements of its time even though its roof collapsed a time or two, and rebuild a larger, more grandiose mosque the Ottoman Turks merely converted it. Though the Qu'ran explicitly respects Jesus and the Holy Family. Christianity and Islam fought many times with heavy amounts of bloodshed on both sides (i.e. The Crusades). Even with this tumultuous history, the Ottoman Turks respected the profound sense of history housed within this former church.

When we entered the Hagia Sofia I was impressed by the conversion and simple blending of the two cultures. Of course, turrets and other Islamic architectural structures were added to the Hagia Sofia, but it was still obvious that certain paintings and certain Christian symbols remained from the time of Justinian.

Nevertheless, that very same day I found myself more in awe of the Sultanahmet Camii also known as "The Blue Mosque." The Blue Mosque, which was designed and built by the architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Aga, incorporated, as I read in one book, both Byzantine and Ottoman elements. It was apparent that the mosque, though smaller, attempted to rival if not pass the grandeur of the Hagia Sofia located within sight and walking distance from the Blue Mosque. In many ways, the detailed usage of thousands of ceramic tiles awes each onlooker.

Furthermore, the fact that the Blue Mosque is a functioning mosque in Istanbul adds to the reverence one feels as they walk through its doors. No one wears their shoes. Women remained covered. Respect for the Islamic faith was expected in its place of worship. I greatly appreciated this. After having taught religion, namely a course entitle World Religions, in a Catholic school for five years now, I have tried to impart an unbiased approach to viewing all religions around the world. Each religion possesses its own innate beauty. Each religion commands and truly deserves the respect for its tradition. If someone of another faith were to interrupt a Catholic church traditions during a Mass, my students would be upset. This is why I felt such a sense of respect for a faith not that of my own, one that wants to share its faith with those who might not know much about it.

Ultimately, I felt that opening the Blue Mosque up to the public so that Muslims and non-Muslims could not only appreciate a monumental architectural triumph of the 15th century, was very welcoming. It also allowed me to openly observe Islamic faith practices, which I hope will provide beneficial in my future years teaching my World Religions course.

Side note: I overheard one Turkish man state that the architect of the blue mosque designed hundreds of mosques throughout his lifetime helped design many other mosques posthumously with a book he wrote detailing his endeavors constructing the Blue Mosque. I also heard that he worked in a small part on certain structures for the Hagia Sofia.

One of the other things that we did in those first few days was visit an underwater cistern across from the Hagia Sofia that was built during the time of Justinian's reign. Honestly, the eeriness and complacency that lingered just below the Sultanahmet Square was probably one of the highlights of my trip. It was not necessarily fascinating in its design, but it certainly was peaceful. One thing that was noticeable was the absence of the overwhelming number of tourists that pass through the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque each day. Though this cistern is no secret, it fortuitously did not have the heavy crowds I had quickly become accustomed to. It was a break. It was a chance to cool off from the hot day's sun and see yet another form of architecture I had never been privy to up until this point. I believe the most interesting things in the cistern were existence of two heads of Medusa at the bottoms of the pillars. Historians have not quite established how or why they ended up there. Most theorize that the heads came to Turkey during Greek rule of Turkey (hence their use at the bottom of the pillars in the cistern)