Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern - and Destiny

An early start this morning meant we had to skip our breakfast reservations, so last night we picked up some yogurt and granola. Chris wanted Cocoa Puffs - but what I thought was milk he said tasted sour and salty. Oops, we bought ayran, a popular yogurt drink!

I spent several weekends figuring out and planning the details of our self-tour of Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace - the top attractions in Istanbul. But when Derya offered to take us, I couldn't pass her up on it. Admittedly I would have never agreed to a $600 tour while planning back at home. However, we had to pay the exorbitant entrance fees either way, and having her guide us took all the stress off me - and allowed us to skip the lines.

We started with Hagia Sophia. Knowing it opened in only 20 minutes at 9:00am, I doubted Derya when she said we would be the first ones in line. We were second. Everyone else was still in the ticket line. (Only guides can buy tickets in advance.) Right now the only constant at Hagia Sophia is change - something you wouldn't expect from a church that has been here for over 1,500 years. "They keep changing everything daily, we don't even know," Derya said. When the President came last Friday, they closed Hagia Sophia without warning.

Hagia Sophia is the most iconic structure in Istanbul and one of the most magnificent buildings on earth.

Serving originally as a cathedral, then a mosque (during Ottoman Empire), then a museum (after WWI), with Covid (2020) it suddenly became a mosque again. Newly as of January 2024, it is both a mosque and a museum - in other words, we have to pay €25 to get into the mosque now. Only devout Turkish Muslims can enter for free.

I didn't know whether or not to be happy or sad about the change to admittance for Hagia Sophia as of January 2024. As a mosque, we weren't allowed onto the gallery floor where all of the mosaics are, but as a ticketed mosque/museum we aren't allowed onto the main floor of Hagia Sophia, where it was designed to be viewed from.

Hagia Sophia re-opened its gallery level in 2024 and started charging admission

Instantly I was obsessed with the Hagia Sophia and its centuries of history. (And if you continue reading, I'll share my fascination.) Visiting Hagia Sophia is one of the best ways to witness hundreds of years of ancient Constantinople's history. Built under Justinian in 563 AD, the last great Roman emperor, it was regarded as the greatest and largest church in Christendom for a thousand years.

Hagia Sophia contained materials from all over the empire that highlighted the wealth and prosperity of the Byzantine kingdom. The interior was richly decorated with frescoes and mosaics.

The building was a feat of such power that when Justinian saw it for the first time, he is said to have uttered the phrase "Solomon, I have surpassed you." (Having now been to the site of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, I understand the significance of this reference.)

To completely appreciate the immense greatness and wealth of Hagia Sophia, and its walls covered with mosaics, you must realize that a frescoed wall (like the grandness of Florence's dome or Sistine Chapel's ceiling) was a cheaper substitute for a mosaic.

Now that I've visited my second massive mosque, I'm realizing that pictures just don't do them justice.

Marvel at the sheer size of Hagia Sophia. The building measures some 269 feet in length and 240 feet in width and, at its highest point, the domed roof stretches

some 180 feet into the air.

Hagia Sophia is best known for its magnificent and massive dome. A dome this size was not re-created until a thousand years later, when Filippo Brunelleschi created the Duomo in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The dome appears to be suspended from Heaven.

The dome's supporting arches were covered with 50-foot tall mosaics of six-winged angels called seraphim. From the level we are standing you cannot tell that two are mosaics amd two are frescoes. The seraphim were there to protect the Christ Pantocrator, the image in the center dome at that time - now covered with calligraphy. The faces of the angel figures were covered with star-shaped metal caps during the Ottoman period.  

One of the four seraphim angel's face was exposed during the mosaic repairs on the dome in 2009.

The eight 25-foot medallions, which were hung on the columns in the nave, feature the names of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, the first four Caliphs, and the Prophet's two grandsons. They are known to be the largest calligraphy roundels of the Islamic World.

As part of the conversion to a mosque, the Ottomans covered many of the original Orthodox-themed mosaics with plaster and Islamic calligraphy. Nowadays during prayer times they cover the mosaic images that are within the line of sight during prayer with large curtains.

Hagia Sophia's oldest surviving mosaic, the huge Theotokos (Mary and the Christ Child), is covered with curtains during prayer times.

This mosaic, called the Deësis, featured Christ Pantocrator, the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Baptist. Pay close attention to the the mosaic's realistic style and the emotion on the faces captured by the artist.

Don't miss the detailed carvings of the column capitals – and that none of the capitals are identical. The stone is deeply drilled, creating shadows behind the vegetative decoration. The capital surface appears thin. The capital is working and holding immense weight, but the carving makes it appear elegant, contradicting its actual task.

Marble revetments - the decorative marble paneling that clads the walls of  Hagia Sophia. 

I know I've seen marble revetments before but I've never appreciated their architectural importance and great expense until now. The most rare and exotic marble of the time - which was assembled from all over the Roman world - was considered the greatest glory of the Hagia Sophia's decoration. You learn in Rome how rare and valuable imperial porphyry marble is - and here it used all over the first floor (mostly out of our view from the gallery). By the time Hagia Sophia was built, Egypt's porphyry quarry had already been closed for a long time … Rome was dismantled to build Constantinople, and the monuments of Constantine dismantled to build those of Justinian. 104 of the columns were imported from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the original Wonders of the World.

Our visit to Hagia Sophia lasted for just over an hour and it flew by. It is so majestic, I just wanted to absorb every bit of it.

After seeing Hagia Sophia, it is convenient to go to Topkapi Palace next door. The Topkapı Palace, serving nearly 400 years as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and residence of the mighty Ottoman sultans since 1478 - following the conquest of Constantinople, until the mid-19th century when it was replaced by more modern Dolmabahçe Palace. Its massive 173 acres (two times the size of Disneyland) make it one of the largest palace complexes in the world - second to Beijing's Forbidden City.

Entrance to the second courtyard and the ticketed section of Topkapi Palace

Over 4,000 people lived in the palace. Of those, the ones I was most fascinated with were the ones that lived in the harem - the mysterious and intriguing section of the Topkapi Palace that was the private residence of the sultan's family and concubines. Its primary role was to provide future heirs to the Ottoman throne. The harem is also where the most beautiful architecture and intricate tile work are. While their sultan ruled, the occupants were not allowed to leave. This was their entire world.

The sultan had four "favorites" (kadin) and could sleep with as many concubines as he desired. It made for a contentious and competitive life amongst the harem women.

All possible successors to the throne were kept in the kafes ("cage") under a form of house-arrest and constant surveillance by the palace guards until the sultan died. As tortuous as that sounds, it was the more civilized approach to protecting the sultan. In the early history of the Ottoman Empire, the law of fratricide made it common for a new sultan to have his brothers killed, including uncles and cousins, to remove the possibility of a future rebellion and civil war and their threat as legitimate heirs.

Other highlights of the palace are the treasury - containing the Topkaki dagger and Spoonmaker's Diamond.  You might want to go there first to avoid the line that forms.  

Weighing in at 86 carats, the Spoonmaker's Diamond is the world's fourth-largest diamond.

In the area containing the Holy Relics, a man is chanting the Quran 24/7. (This area requires women to cover their head.) The relics are mostly significant to Islam, but they also claim to have a piece of St. John the Baptist's skull.

Standing with St. John the Baptist in the Holy Relics area

I had to laugh when Derya said, "Those hats belong to some religious guy." You can't spend less than 3 hours in the palace. I knew she could give us the details and was grateful she spared us.

Our day tour also included the Basilica Cistern. While an incredibly strategic location, Constantinople lacked access to fresh water. Thus, aqueducts were built to bring the city water which was then stored in the underground cisterns. Constructed in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian I, the Basilica Cistern was the city's biggest reservoir – roughly the size of two football fields – with a capacity to store enough water to fill 27 olympic-size swimming pools.

The massive Basilica Cistern

The cistern's vaults are supported by 336 ancient columns. "Can you believe how old it is?" Derya asked me. Not wanting to think about its age and stability while I was underneath it, I responded that I'd think about it when we get out of here. She told me they believe in "kader" (fate/destiny) - what was meant to happen would happen.

Last up was the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest markets in the world. Home to over 4,000 stalls, the bazaar contains all sorts of lamps, carpets, jewelry, leather goods, ceramics, and souvenirs. Having worked there for eight years, Derya knew the ropes and shielded us from the obnoxious shopkeepers. We looked around out of curiosity - and left. Definitely skippable.

Now we actually said our goodbyes to Derya. From here on out, we are on our own to survive. (I think we will manage.)

Walking back to our apartment, we heard, "I remember you!" Looking over where it came from, we saw the carpet dealer from yesterday who wanted to buy Kate to marry his son. "Tell me where to send the 500 camels!" Hmmm, we misheard him yesterday… camels, a common dowry, are worth a lot! I texted Derya that she would never guess who we ran into. When I told her who, her reply was: kader. I sure hope that doesn't mean Kate is moving to Turkey!

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