My dad is on a business trip to Turkey and Armenia. He took some pictures of the Hagia Sophia for me since he knew I would like to see them.

I have uploaded 2 pictures taken yesterday of the outside and I will upload some more pictures of the inside when I get them. If you are interested they are on geocities which has a bandwidth limitation so its "first come first serve".

http://www.geocities.com/aeasternritecatholic/IMAG0004.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/aeasternritecatholic/IMAG0021.JPG

Enjoy!

Thanks! They're great pictures.

Now, on the serious side, HOW can we reclaim that Church back? The Muslims stole it from Christians.

BTW, WHEN was it taken away from us? Was it the SAME building that was taken from us or was it just on the spot where the first Basilica of Constantinople (Hagia Sophia)?

Thanks,

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Yes Sancta Sophia is the same as its always been. Nonetheless, we'll never get it back. With the way the Turk treat the Ecumenical Patriarchate I doubt they'd return the Church of Holy Wisdom.

Thanks, Ray, for posting those..brought back memories...

Gaudior, who still feels that sense of awe felt inside Aghia Sophia

Great photos Ray! Thank you!

Gaudior--I was 15 when I visited Haghia Sophia (...just a few years ago, LOL! ), and I can remember the sense of awe at the size and grandeur and history--and--outrage at the Islamic medallions hanging from the ceiling.

SPDundas-- it is EXACTLY the original church, and that is what makes it SO awesome...because unlike St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, it is not a church built on the same spot at a later date.

My emotions will have to hang on to the Greek Orthodox saying/prophecy: "Pali me chronia kai kairous, i poli tha einai dikia mas"..."Through years and ages, Constantinople will one day be ours again"...

and as I told our visiting Turkish friend on this forum, as a realist, I would even rejoice if that meant us living side by side, with EQUAL respect for the religious and historic treasures we both have,and with each operating his respective religious houses of worship and schools.

In Christ,
Alice

Until then, let us, Orthodox and Catholics, TREASURE the fact that we still have the historic Christian city of Rome!

The first picture especially made me gasp a little when it opened. Thank you for sharing its beauty.

Maybe it is like they say down here, "the south will rise again." According to a number of articles I have read the Catholic Church is doing just that in the south. That leads me to agree with the statement Alice made My emotions will have to hang on to the Greek Orthodox saying/prophecy: "Pali me chronia kai kairous, i poli tha einai dikia mas"..."Through years and ages, Constantinople will one day be ours again"...It must be true also! As Christains of the true faith, we will reign once again in the Hagi Sophia.

Alice and others,

Thanks for the answers. But, I'm still wanting to know more about this building...

When was it built? How was it taken from us (when did that happen?)?

Thanks,

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Nice pictures. Looks like it needs to come back to us, at least we would take care of it!!

The least the Turks could do is allow Pascha Liturgy to be celebrated there. It would be astounding to attend!!

With all due respect, while it is the building the invading Mehmet would have laid eyes on, it has had additions. The minarets were obviously added. Also, the dome collapsed at least once before The Fall and it was rebuilt. The link below offers some detail.

Tony

Check out this link

Indeed, thank Heavens we won the battle of Lepanto. The Sultan had promised that he would turn St Peter's basilica into a mosque if he managed to triumph in the war. Its amazing to think they got to the gates of Vienna...

Dear Tony:

Thanks for confirming my suspicions: those minarets, upon opening the link provided by RayS, instantaneously struck me as "misplaced," to say the least.

Is it considered a desecration of Christianity?Minarets properly belong to (Muslim) mosques.

Amado

Amado,

The Great Church was converted into a mosque after The City was taken by the conquering Mehmet. The minarets are simply a part of the mosque it was turned into. Ataturk made it a museum.

I would think that the process of turning it into a mosque was a desecration of sorts unless there was ample time given to remove the holy things, etc. I don't know the details but there are probably accounts preserved somewhere.

T

Dear Tony:

Thanks for your clarification.

One other thing I noted in the linked write-up, the Hagia Sophia was the largest Church in all of Christendom at the time it was last rebuilt!

Now, that distinction belongs to St. Peter's Basilica, after it was last rebuilt and rededicated in 1626. If one can visualize these comparative measurements:

St. Peter's Basilica:

Dome's diameter is 42 meters and rises 138 meters high measured from the floor. The nave is 218 meters wide.

Hagia Sophia:

Dome's diameter is 33 meters and rises 62 meters above the floor. The nave measures 38.07 meters.

Amado