Neil Gaiman writes in “American Gods” that humans do not know about the world’s magical places, only gods do. Humans keep building places of worship without understanding that this place of worship, this specific piece of land, is closer to their god. That was my first thought when I saw Ayasofya. The first church in this place was inaugurated in 357. Here we are in 2022 appreciating its beauty. She has been sitting there for 1,700 years watching humans convert it from church to cathedral, cathedral to mosque, mosque to museum, and museum to mosque as political situations change. Every time, humans reuse the signs from the previous use. Images of Christ remain around the mosque, and the four Archangels remain around the main dome, although after the conversion from a cathedral to a mosque, the Ottomans likely claimed that the depictions represent Michael, Gabriel, Rafael, and Azrael, instead of the original Michael, Gabriel, Rafael, and Uriel.
The entrance hall by itself is impressive but then you take your shoes off and enter the unbelievably large space of the mosque. Numerous chandeliers, which are almost at eye level, lighten the space. Some pray, some compulsively take selfies, some like me look at every corner for photos, and the majority look around in awe. The magic of this place eventually gets you and after 15 minutes of taking photos, I also sat down in awe. More than anything, I kept thinking about Mehmed the Conquerer during the fall of Constantinople. He walked into this place in 1453. He was only 21 years old at the time, and the entire world would be a completely different place because of what he had done. That by itself is enough for hours of contemplations.
There are multiple other attractions in the same area. Basilica Cistern was unfortunately closed for construction. The Blue Mosque was also under construction, particularly right under its dome so I could not take good photos, but it’s certainly a very beautiful structure.