Day 3: Hagia Sophia and the Istanbul Museums of Turkish Arts and Archeology, Kelsey Golden

For our third day in Istanbul, we departed the hotel early at 7 am as we attempted to beat the long lines at the Hagia Sophia. We were successful and were able to enter around the time of the morning prayer. There were few tourists other than us, and we only stayed a few minutes in respect to the worshippers.

While inside, we learned about the history of the building's construction, which was rebuilt following two previously destroyed versions from 523-537 under Emperor Justinian.

Hagia Sophia was a Christian church from its construction until 1453 when the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople and established Islam as the official religion of their empire and the newly renamed city of Istanbul. It remained a mosque until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire when the new Turkish State was established as a secular state in 1944, and the Hagia Sophia became a museum in 1944. However, in 2020 President Erdogan ordered the museum to be converted back into a mosque, as it is today.

Remnants of the space's Christian history remain through Mosaics like the one above their door, which features the Virgin Mary with Emperors Constantine and Justinian.

A little bit later, we ventured over to the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, which is housed in an old palace built in 1520. Here, we saw many artifacts from ancient Anatolian tribes which the current Turkish peoples claim as ancestors. We also viewed Holy Relics from the Prophet Muhammad, including a footprint in stone and beard hairs!

Finally, we visited a hall of Turkish carpets from as far back as the 13th century and learned about the unique double knotting style used by Turkish weavers. This technique tightens the carpet strands as it is walked on, making it stronger over time and allowing it to last twice as long as other styles.

After this museum, we headed to our last stop together as a group, the Turkish Archeological Museum. This museum is part of the Topkapi Palace grounds and is split into three buildings in order to display their large collections of over 1 million artifacts. Here, we viewed many sarcophagi with intricate marble carvings, as well as Greek and Roman statues. 

One sarcophagus, named the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great (which did not actually belong to Alexander the Great, but a fan of his) still has remnants of the paint which once covered the monument. This gives an example of how most Roman and Greek marble art used to be painted, but have since worn off into their iconic white color. 

After first going through parts of the museum as a group, we were able to explore on our own before heading back to the hotel for a class meeting to discuss our experiences so far, and then spending the evening on our own.