We began our day with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church in Taksim Square. The church was packed with people, as there was a visiting Bishop as well as local Orthodox children gathered for a memorial in honor of their school’s founders. After a quick lunch and Starbucks at Taksim, we moved on to the magnificent mosaics and frescos of the Church of the Holy Savior of Chora. This is no longer a functioning church, but rather a museum of extensive Byzantine art. This is also one of the few churches that depict the life of the Virgin Mary, as well as an incredible depiction of the last judgment seat of Christ. Next, we visited Agia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom), one of the world’s greatest architectural and spiritual masterpieces. This church, built under emperor Justinian, was the largest church in the world for a span of 1,000 years. Our visit was not only significant because of the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest, which took place on this day 553 years ago, but also because the obtrusive dome scaffolding had been removed. The sheer size of the interior space is amazing. The dome rises 182 feet (this is about 18 stories high!), and the diameter spans 103 feet. After taking a group picture out front, we made a short stop at the Blue Mosque, built to look larger than Agia Sophia and known for its blue tile work. A short walk away, we visited the Hippodrome, the social and sporting center of the Old City. It contains the oldest object in the city, a 3500-year-old Egyptian obelisk that Theodosius the Great brought from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor. Tomorrow we will start our day at the Grand Bazaar and continue on to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where we will have an audience with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
0 comments:
Post a Comment