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Agia Sophia, Istanbul

Agia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom was a Byzantine church built in the 6th Century.

In the 15th Century the Ottomans converted it into a mosque.

It is now preserved as a museum.

It is fascinating to see the two religions of Christianity and Islam sitting comfortably together

These wonderful Byzantine paintings exist alongside the wonderful Islamic calligraphy

Here is a link to another recent tabblo of Aya Sophia http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/1631345/
COMMENTS
YorkJodi said at 10:15 a.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
WOW... Awesome photos... what a beautiful place... I love the last photo... and envy you your travels
Rdneg10 said at 10:29 a.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Great images! I really like your night shots! Fantastic work!
Wildthing said at 11:01 a.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Lovely photographs. And thanks for the information. Couldn't help but notice that shots 3,4 & 5 together form a big smiley face:)
Ira said at 11:50 a.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Beautiful and interesting photos. Great city. Connects set of different cultures and religions.
Lifequest22 said at 12:04 p.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Celia--thanks for the tour of this historical structure. Interesting history. Your images really show off the details well.
Matty32 said at 12:06 p.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Really nice photos - so interesting to see the Christian and Islamic parts side by side
Chilla said at 12:24 p.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Thank you so much Jodi, Kelly, Mike, Ira Linda and Matt, I really appreciate all your interest and kind words.
Debdog said at 1:39 p.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
nice seeing this by day and night! I was there LONG ago, and no pics allowed!
Moabjeeper said at 9:23 p.m. on Oct 18, 2008:
Superb photography.
Leftofcenter said at 11:08 a.m. on Oct 19, 2008:
same here, I really enjoy your travel series, it's always colourful and interesting. the real question here though... is... did you have "döner kebab"??? :)
Chilla said at 11:31 a.m. on Oct 19, 2008:
Deb, there were some restrictions about photographs in some plces and flash was forbidden in others and in one place I had to buy a permit (made me feel really good!!!).
Bob, thank you
Annelies, thank you are very kind and...........................yes!! In the Grand Bazaar and it was delicious!!
Loes said at 5:26 p.m. on Oct 19, 2008:
Beautiful and very impressive Celia.
Dromoman said at 10:55 p.m. on Oct 19, 2008:
Hi Chilla, OOPS ... i had made a hagia sofia tabblo too before I saw YOURS. Hope you don't mind I link my tabblo to yours. Personally, I tot hagia is a little messy - the most impressive part for me was the high domes at the ceiling which seems to hang there in mid air....

I also like your blue mosque tabblo....
ISTANBUL is my fav city ... its the ONLY city that inspired me to write a poem! :)
Chilla said at 5:56 a.m. on Oct 20, 2008:
Thank you Loes.
Lawrence, I rather agree with your view of Agia Sophia. It is too busy in the sense of so many different influences all adding to one another over so many centuries, giving a rather muddled effect. None the less it is an extremely impressive place to visit. Thanks for the link and I have linked back to yours.

We were completely captivated by Instanbul. It is a remarkable city and one we expect to return to!
Chiloedream said at 4:42 a.m. on Oct 21, 2008:
L'art byzantin est époustouflant. Bravo.
Hhwind said at 9:35 a.m. on Oct 21, 2008:
Splendid shots thanks for the lovely tour
EMA said at 6:57 p.m. on Oct 25, 2008:
Wonderful shots! Thank you for sharing them with us!
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