Hagia Sophia (handover your bandwith)

Today was big, bigger than big, it was so big it had an interior dome 70 meters high involved in it. I can't begin to express how amazing this building is. The acoustics are incredible too, heck, they'd better be since the thing is made of marble. So enough jabber and let's get to the pictures.

As always, I have absurdly high resolution versions of these pictures (and others) available to anyone. Just let me know and I'll send them your way.



Here is the entrance, as you walk up to it it just feels bigger and bigger.



This is a picture through one of the two smaller interior doors flanking a larger central door. The main door I couldn't get in frame also right now there is restoration work being done and the center is filled with scaffolding on one side that reaches the dome. I really hope by the time I leave the scaffolding will be gone, but really it didn't detract from the amazing experience.



This is the Sultan's personal spot in the church (after it had been converted to a mosque of corse)







Okay, this is the best place to pray I have ever seen. I was on my knees to take some of these shots, but I don't think that really counted. Well maybe it did. Then it was up the ramp (which felt like walking uphill in a cave) to the second level where the really amazing photography took place.









One place in the upper gallery had such perfect lighting I wanted to cry, but I didn't! I just took pictures instead.







There was one aspect that was very disheartening to see... the defacing that had gone on. Besides the graffiti scratched into the walls in places all the crosses embosed on the bases of columns and just about anywhere except the ceiling had been broken off or otherwise defaced.



The mosaics were amazing, I have some others photographed but the beauty of these two stood out to me.





Some small windows were open and I snapped a few pictures of the outside world.





This railing was too cool not to get a picture of. This is stone and I have to say, "they don't make things like the used to"



And as the sun began to head towards setting, amazing things happened with the light inside.







The Emperor who commissioned Hagia Sophia to be constructed apparently said the equivalent of, "Solomon, take your temple and step, coz I've hit the scene like a freight train!" And I agree with him.

And what trip of mine would be complete without a cute kitty? Everyone meet the kitty of the holy wisdom.



Sorry for breaking your internet connections with the pictures, but you had to see them. Hope you enjoyed.