Aya Sofya

A couple of weekends ago we went to the local farmer's market on Sunday evening. Everything smelled really good and looked super fresh. I guess unlike in the States, the farmer's market is cheaper than grocery stores! We tasted some tangerines and apples- yummy.

Last Wednesday, I headed over to the European side again to check things out. I easily found a dolmuş near the apartment. I figured out from the ticket sales guy the building I was in last time didn't go to Eminönü but it was the next one over so now I know and made it over to where I actaully wanted to go! It's more crowded with people, small food stands, and vendors over by this ferry building. I was able to get a window seat on this sunny day!

I passed the train station and saw a ton of men hanging out in front of it- wonder what they were doing; saw them again on my way back later that day too. I followed the tram line uphill and passed some cool shops to this nice park area in between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya. I sat to catch my breath and take it all in and took out my Turkey guide book to check on times things are open when this shoe shine guy came to talk to me in English. He wanted to show me around but I declined and just wanted to enjoy the nice day and beautiful scenery. He was pretty annoying because he wouldn't leave or shut up! His other shoe shine friend and tea guy came up too to chat. Finally they left and I did too but this guy selling guidebooks wanted to talk to me and I declined, then this random guy who had seen me earlier with the shoe shine guys laughed about how much attention I was getting (which I was aware of coming in but I guess wasn't prepared for). He wasn't selling anything thank god and was on his way to work. I was debating to go to Aya Sofya or Topkapı Palace and he informed me Aya Sofya would take less than an hour while the palace would take at least a few hours so I decided on the former since I had to be back by 4:30pm to get Mert from his bus stop (across the street from the apartment).

On my way to the Aya Sofa entrance I ran into more guys trying to get me to go here or buy this or look at this. I politely ignored them; definitely grateful where we live on the Asian side is not like this! Entering the courtyard area there were hardly any people which was nice. There was a tour guide who asked if I wanted a tour; I declined but he said he wasn't busy and wouldn't mind telling me a few things in the entrance to help me appreciate my visit more. He ended up walking around with me and telling me more for free and took a bunch of pictures for me which was really nice. He pointed out that the purple marble was from Egypt and that the marble panels were cut from one block and placed to be mirror images- totally would not have noticed that.

Aya Sofya was first a Christian church and then a mosque, with all the mosaics painted over. The alter had to be slightly altered as well during its mosque time to point to Mecca but not by much. Only in the 1930s did it become a museum with both Christian and Muslim aspects side by side.

I saw the Imperial Gate where only royalty could enter (above 2), where the Sultan would sit (downstairs), the Lodge of the Empress where the empress' throne resided (upstairs as were all the other women- left), and the famous weeping column where people stick their thumbs in and make a wish (right). The walk upstairs to the womens designated area was on a bumpy, unpaved, uphill path- no fair!

I saw a lot of the mosaics- surprisingly most were in decent shape considering how old they are. Believed to be the finest in Aya Sofya, Mary and John the Baptist plead with Jesus for humankind on Judgement Day and another of Emperor Justinian (who commissioned the Aya Sofya) and Emperor Constantine presenting Mary and baby Jesus with a model of Aya Sofya and a model of the city of Constantinople. The building itself is in considerably good shape too; however there is an ugly scaffold in the middle of the floor up to the ceiling for repair purposes. Good thing they don't have many earthquakes in Turkey though because the dome seemingly is unsupported. It was nice to wander around slowly without a crowd and take in the awesomeness. I found myself wondering about the people over time that walked and stood in the same spots as I did. The acoustics were good too!

I high tailed it back to the ferry and just caught the 3:30pm one whew. Got a toasted grilled cheese sandwich (tost karşali) on the ferry and enjoyed it on the outside deck with the sun still out! I was having trouble finding a dolmuş back (it seems in that area they only stop at designated dolmuş stops) so I ended up walking back home, but it didn't take too long- maybe 30 minutes since I stopped a couple of times. I passed the famous bull statue in Kadiköy, crossed a bridge with some small boats, and walked right past the local stadium where rival fans were out and about dressed up already for the game that night. We went to the dad's parents for dinner so I didn't get to witness an actual game yet.