"Everything changes and nothing stands still." Heraclitus
This is the greatest masterpiece of construction, unique in its beauty and history.
For over a thousand years, St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople remained the largest church in Christendom, until the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In 1985 the church was first included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Built by the eastern Roman emperor Justinian I as the Christian cathedral of Constantinople for the state church of the Roman Empire between 532 and 537, the church was then the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome. (wiki)
The order given by Emperor Justinian to two famous engineers - a mathematician and an architect - seemed impossible, unfeasible. But they did not dare to refuse, because the bloody massacres in Constantinople just ended, during which the emperor almost lost his throne.
It seems that every corner of Haya Sophia has a historical fact or a legend dedicated to it. Pleasure for the eyes, ears and soul.
8 years have passed since I was last here. My husband and I were so greatly impressed with it. The church was unlike anything that we have seen before. It was so large and light from inside... probably like the heart of God himself. And it felt like there is enough space there for everyone.
But the wise Heraclitus knew that everything changes. Throughout its history, this amazing building passed into the hands of Muslims, then returned to Christians. In 1934 Kemal Ataturk made it a museum accessible to everyone.
Now, since June 2020, Haya Sophia is not a museum anymore, but a Mosque. Access to the upper floor is closed. Mosaics depicting the Hole Family are covered with a fabric screen.
Also, restoration is taking place inside. But two of us, both had the same feeling, that something very important has changed. I can't tell what is it, I don't know. I just feel like this piece of history is in the past for me. Let you view the photographs in silence.
