The Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia ceased being used as a Mosque in the 1920s when Ataturk separated the church from the state.

Not to be outdone by this loss of Istanbul’s most famous landmark, the Moslems built their own mosque directly behind Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque is seen here through the gates that lead into Hagia Sophia. This new mosque was built to be “bigger and better” than the landmark architecture in whose shadow she stands.

It was a Friday when we visited the Blue Mosque, so the lanterns and candles were lit in preparation for the noon day service. Here we learned that the mosque and the synagogue have similar features. The men worship in the main part of the church, with women separated in sections that adjoin the main congregation.

In this view of the interior you can see where it gets the name the “Blue Mosque.” In addition to lots of blue glass in the windows, there is a predominance of blue mosaic tiles in the walls and ceilings. You may also note than despite the iconoclastic bent of the Muslim religion, the artists certainly found creative ways of decorating their church structures.

We ran into this street vendor outside the Chora church later that day. He was selling these traditional Turkish hats, and although we declined to buy one of his hats, he was very gracious to pose for our pictures. These are good people. They are kind and respectful. Due to its huge population, Istanbul is in some ways like New York. But there is little similarity between New Yorkers and the Turks who crowd the streets of Istanbul.

This is the Chora Church, or in correct political speak, the Chora Museum. You see, in 1934, Turkey's first president, Kemal Ataturk, secularized Hagia Sophia, which was being used as a mosque, turning it into a museum. ''This should be a monument for all civilization," he declared, much to the chagrin of his country’s Muslim Imams. By the same token, the Chora Church also became a museum.

How the mosaics of Chora survived the iconoclasm of the Moslem occupation, I frankly don’t know. I’m sure it must have been explained to us, but I was so thrilled to see some Christian images in this country that I missed the point on how they managed to survive. The mosaics of Chora are impressive. On the arched ceilings of the foyer or narthex of the church are depictions of various scenes in Our Lady’s life, some from scripture, others from tradition.

The annunciation takes place while Mary is drawing water from the well. The dormition of Mary is an Oriental feast devoted to Mary’s “falling asleep” which is a euphemism for her death. When Rome issued its decree on Mary’s assumption, the papal speech writers were careful to word it in such a way as not to offend the Eastern churches: “When the time came for her to pass from this earth,” is a clever way of not saying whether she died or not.

The interesting feature of this mosaic is the figure of Mary’s risen son holding his mother as an infant at her death bed.

The central nave of the church is more Spartan with two single mosaics flanking the sanctuary: John the Evangelist to the left and Our Lady to the right.

The side altars, however are full of paintings. These may be the three great Cappadocian fathers: Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Naziensen, and Basil. Cappadocia was one of the places we did not visit on our pilgrimage. I would have enjoyed finding anything there relating to Gregory Naziensen who in my opinion is one of the greatest of the church fathers.

The two saints who flank the entrance into the main nave of the church are Peter and Paul. Saint Peter can always be recognized because he’s the one holding the keys. Paul’s receding hairline indicates an older man, the prominent forehead a man of intelligence, and then there’s those teaching fingers.

The risen Lord is depicted in a traditional pose called “the harrowing of hell” where he grabs Adam with his right hand and Eve with his left to lift them up to heaven as Jesus rises from the place of the dead. Our first parents had to wait for Jesus to redeem them from their sins before they could enter heaven.

The mosaic in Hagia Sophia I most wanted to see was that of the Blessed Virgin which is upstairs where our tour guide did not go. The Smithsonian magazine had used this as the cover picture of its December article on the church.

When the Moslems took over the church in the 15th century, the Sultan allowed several mosaics to remain, including one of the Virgin Mary and some angels whom he regarded as guardians of the city.

One of the mosaics in the entrance hall shows Leo the wise on knees before Christ. I think Leo proved to be not so wise in his marriages and is probably begging Jesus for an annulment.

In the glory days of Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine emperors from the 7th to the 14th centuries were all crowned at this spot on the floor marked with a series of inlaid rings.

When it was turned into a mosque this pulpit was erected on the right side of the sanctuary. The interesting thing about the pulpit is that the mullah does not ascend to the top to preach, for the top of the pulpit is reserved for Allah. So the mullah preaches from the stairs leading to the top.

The Basilica looks different from each point of view. This is the main entrance, which faces west and the sea. It was easy enough for the Moslems to turn it into a Mosque since the sanctuary faces the east which happens to also be the direction of Mecca.

This is the north side. Excuse me for artificially coloring some areas to highlight the different architectural areas of the church. You can see from the massive buttresses in the middle one reason the basilica has withstood so many earthquakes.

This is the side of the basilica that faces the city. Four minarets were added during the Moslem occupation. Most mosques have only one, more important ones two. But Hagia Sophia was the ultimate place of worship. This view was taken from the park that separates Hagia Sophia from the Blue Mosque behind it. The Moslems just had to build their own on a equal scale to Hagia Sophia.

The emperor Constantine transferred the capital of his empire in 330 A.D. from Rome to Constantinople. Hagia Sophia was built by the Emperor Justinian. Construction began in 532 and was completed by 537. This great basilica was the crowning architectural achievement of his reign. It amazed me that all mosques in this Moslem country seem to have as their architectural inspiration, this great Christian Basilica. It was the Vatican of the Eastern Churches.

Until the 15th century, no building incorporated a floor space so vast under one roof. Sixth century historian Procopius marveled that it "does not appear to rest upon a solid foundation, but to cover the place beneath as though suspended from heaven by a golden chain."

I had thought that Hagia Sophia’s great Christian mosaics had been destroyed by the iconoclastic Moslems when they turned the church into a mosque in 1453, but historians now say that Justinian’s wife Theodora was iconoclastic, so the original building, in deference to her, probably contained none of its figurative mosaics until the 9th century when the Christian iconoclastic period ended.

At that time Christian artists were commissioned to adorn the church to make up for lost time. Medieval pilgrims were awed by the splendid mosaics of this basilica. Four acres of golden glass cubes --millions of them-- studded the interior to form a glittering canopy overhead, each one set at a subtly different angle to reflect the flicker of candles and oil lamps that illuminated nocturnal ceremonies. Forty thousand pounds of silver encrusted the sanctuary. [Smithsonian, Dec 2008, p. 58]

For more than 900 years, Hagia Sophia was the most important building in the Christian world. It was the cathedral of the Orthodox patriarch, counterpart to the pope in Rome, and the central church of the Byzantine emperors.

It was converted into a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453. The Turkish sultan’s armies broke through the great wood and bronze doors, bringing an end to an empire that had endured for over a thousand years. The Sultan's balcony shown here has been restored. with a fresh coat of paint. “For the Byzantines, when Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, in the 15th century, it was the end of the world… The story goes that the priests who were saying Mass on that day, disappeared into Hagia Sophia’s walls and would re-emerge someday in a glorious future to reappear, restored to life in a reborn empire. In the meantime, the church stands as a museum, awaiting its rebirth.

Now the main reason I violated my promise to never go as a chaplain on a pilgrimage, was the chance this one offered to see my favorite church in all the world, the great 6th century basilica of Istanbul. Just so you know I actually got to Hagia Sophia, here’s proof. This picture was taken from the terrace of a department store, which offers a beautiful view of the church behind us. From left: David and Phyllis Garcia from Houston, Hope & Antonio Lara from Lubbock, and me. More pictures of the actual basilica once when I get a handle on the many pictures from this trip.

It was a Thursday afternoon at 3:30 pm when we finally approached the bridge that led to Istanbul. This bridge spans the Bosphorus straights which join the Black Sea to the Marmara. This bridge spans two continents; it joins Asia to Europe. All traffic from the Black Sea passes through these straights. From the Marmara through the Dardanelles to the Aegean, and eventually to the Mediterranean.

This castle was built in 1452 with a fort at the narrows, and on either side of the Bosphorus stands the priciest real estate we have ever seen. Sultans built palaces along this choice waterway. Queen Mother’s erected Mosques, large and small depending on their wealth and devotion. This small Mosque dates from the 18^th century.

This is where today’s billionaries live. Prime real estate, like perhaps nowhere in the world. Our hotel was not here. This is Ritz Carlton territory. A popular section of Istanbul is Takism Square. The tall building to the right is part of Takism where our hotel was located. This is where the workers gathered on Mayday to protest. Tanks and tear gas were used.

A guy named Byzan established the city of Istanbul at a location given by an Oracle. The oracle said it should be built “in the land of the blind.” When Byzan saw the Bosphorus, he said, “These people must be blind to not see this is perfect place to build a city.

When Constantine moved the capital from Rome, he built Constantinople on seven hills. This is the playground for the rich and the famous. It’s architecture tells you these are people with more money than they know what to do with. One can only stand in awe of each palace with its frills and fancy portals opening out to the sea.

Here a couple have found a romantic spot by a fancy gate. It’s not quite a secluded place, for huge tankers from Russia pass through here along with commercial vessels from the various countries bordering the Black Sea, yachts, sail boats, and tourist excursions such as ours.

We rented a boat to take us through the Bosphorus. Here is our tour guide Mehmet with our tour leader Margarita Dufilho who waited till we got to Istanbul to wear her turban. Our captain stands to the right.

Here’s a couple more pictures taken from the Bosphorus straights. First is the Queen Mother’s Mosque. Now we in America think of the Queen Mother as the mother of the queen of England. This Queen Mum, however, was the mother of one of the Sultans. There are a number of Queen Mother Mosques here in Istanbul. This one is the grandest of them all. Our final picture from the straights shows the gates of one of the palaces leading into its gardens behind which stand more modern structures.

On the following day we traveled to Nicea. When Moslems took over this area around the time of the Ottoman Empire the name of the town and lake over which it presides was changed to Iznik. The streets of the city are cobble stone, with varying colors marking the traffic lanes.

Nicaea was constructed in 316 B.C. by Antigonius, a General of Alexander the Great. He named the town Antigonia. Six years after its construction, General Lysimahos, defeated Antigonius and named the city after his wife Nicaea. The Romans took over in 64 A.D. and surrounded the city with a wall. When the Roman Empire split in 395, Byzantines developed Nicaea, building churches, cisterns and water canals. Turks conquered Nicaea in the 11th century and made it their first capital. The city returned to Byzantine Domination in 1147. The Ottoman Sultans established their capital there in 1331, but the city lost its importance after the High Society of the Ottoman Empire moved to the newly conquered city of Istanbul in 1453.

“In the 4th century this Basilica was erected. Architectural modifications were made after an 11th century earthquake. The church was converted into a Mosque in Ottoman period and extensive modifications were made to the building. Some floor mosaics have been excavated.

The council of Nicaea was convoked by Emperor Constantine in May or June of 324 and lasted to August 25, 325. The bishops of the church were summoned to deal with divisions in the church caused by Arian and to set a uniform date for the celebration of Easter. This great council convened with 300 bishops in attendance, including Ambrose of Milan, Hilary of Poitiers, and the deacon Athanasius who would succeed his bishop in Alexandria. Hosius of Cordoba came with delegates from Pope Sylvester in Rome.

Here I am imitating Athanasius presenting his creed (found in my missalette) to the assembly. Notice the assembly seats for the bishops behind me in the sanctuary. After the bishops rejected Arian’s formula of faith, Eusebius of Caesarea proposed the baptismal creed used in his church. This gained general approval, but the majority of bishops insisted on certain additions to more clearly and explicitly counter the Arian errors: that the Son was genuinely begotten, proceeding from the very nature or essence of the Father; that the Son is by nature, not “made” by the Father; and the third most significant addition was the use of the non-biblical word “homoousion”, (consubstantial) translated in the Nicene creed as “one in Being with the Father.” This one word became a “sword of division” for decades after the Council.

I took the occasion to lead our pilgrims in praying the creed. The breakthrough of the Council of Nicaea came in the realization that in order to define the meaning of sacred scripture, the church had to venture outside the literal words of scripture. The homoousion teaching of Nicaea was that the Son is of the same substance or nature as the Father. This refuted the fundamental notion that the begotten son is somewhat inferior to the Father who begot him. The Nicene creed became the first dogmatic definition of the Christian Church.

An interesting fresco in this church was found over a grave, showing Christ flanked by two disciples. As we prayed the Sunday creed in this church dedicated to Holy Wisdom, it occurred to me that what we have come to know as the Nicene creed is actually the Nicene-Chalcedon creed, for the formula worked out in Nicaea ended short with a simple sentence that we also believe in the Holy Spirit. The Council of Constantinople, 56 years later, restated the Nicene creed amended by liturgical useage. When this was presented to the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the fathers of the church decided to extend to the Holy Spirit the same privileges that Nicaea had extended to the Son. So at Chalcedon we finally arrived at the present formula used in our Sunday worship: “who proceeds from the Father and the Son [and] with the Father and the Son is [equally] worshiped and glorified.”

I have photshopped this very faded fresco to bring out Jesus’ hand to the left. Notice first two fingers joined to the thumb with the remaining two fingers upright as Jesus gives his blessing. This symbolizes the teaching of the Nicene creed: two natures and three persons.
An interesting development in the hierarchical structure of the Christian church took place at the Council of Nicaea. The fathers issued a number of disciplinary decrees, one of which was extending the authority of the bishop of Alexandria over the regions of Libya and all of Egypt, thus setting up Metropolitan sees to govern various dioceses within their territorial jurisdiction. We see here the inception of the five great patriarchates of Constantinople, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. What continues to irk the Eastern Orthodox churches is that the Patriarch of Rome claimed precedence over the other Patriarchs. So to this day our pope can only meet the Eastern Patriarchs with success, as a brother, not as a superior.

This photo was taken of Suzanne Treis OCDS from Washington DC who took most of the pictures I have posted. She is joined by our Turkish Guide Mehmet Cuhadar in front of the Holy Wisdom basilica in Nicaea.

Pergamon

One of Alexander the Great’s generals established this city on the top of a hill (arcropolis). The city grew up around an ancient temple to Zeus, whose foundations can be seen under these three trees.

The name of the city is related to our word “parchment’ which means “Pergamon paper.” It’s place in history is related to it’s library. The great library of Pergamon contained 20,000 books and was second only to the library in Alexandria. Our tour guide is pointing out the reading room of the ancient library and to the right is Suzanne who has taken most the the pictures I have posted from our trip.

When John wrote his Apocalypse letter to Pergamon, he referred to “the seat of Satan” which referred to either that pagan temple to Zeus or to the more prominent monument the Romans set up there to honor their emperor as a divine being.

Today Pergamon is famous for its hand woven rugs. We visited a carpet factory there to see young girls weaving the Persian carpets. It is a labor intensive project which requires three months to complete one medium size carpet. The woolen rugs are the less expensive as they contain fewer knots per square inch of material, next is cotton, and the most expensive are the silk carpets which contain hundreds of tiny knots per square centimeter of fabric and make take years to weave. Because each knot of material is cut off at an angle, the coloring of the hand woven carpets changes depending on the angle from which it is viewed. The brightest colors appear when the carpet is viewed from the angle of the cut.

The Red Courtyard of Pergamon is a square surrounded by the town at the base of its acropolis. It was built as a temple for Egyptian gods, but later was used as a Christian Church. The present day town is full of shops displaying their local carpets and weavings. At the factory we were shown how silk is extracted from the cocoon and spun into rolls of thread on the spinning wheel. Images used by St. Teresa immediately came to mind.

After Pergamon, we drove to Thiratira, our last pilgrimage to the seven of John’s Apocalyptic churches to which he writes in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the book of Revelation.
We spent the night in Bursa. Excuse me, the call for evening prayer just rang out of the minarets. We are constantly reminded that we are in a Moslem country. The next morning we visited the famous green Mosque in Bursa. It is surrounded by the oldest Sycamore trees I’ve ever seen. They must be centuries old, some perhaps as old as the mosque itself.