If there’s anything that personifies the essence of this trip, it is the first stop on our first full day in Istanbul: Hagia Sophia. This astonishing and ancient landmark was built as a grand Byzantine Church in the fifth century, converted to a mosque by the Ottomans in 1453 and is now a living, breathing museum unlike anything in the world.
I say living and breathing because Hagia Sophia is a work in progress. Its history is uncovered as workers painstakingly peel back some of the Islamic plaster to reveal its Christian past. What is emerging is a fascinating look at two of the world’s great religions in this one significant place where East meets West.
Artistry and craftsmanship provide the narrative:
The sultan’s prayer platform remains next to the Christian altar where, high above, the image of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus is seen.
Behind golden Islamic medallions are the faces of painted Christian angels (depictions of faces in a mosque are forbidden.)
Large medallions of the names of Allah, Mohammed and his religious successors are near Christian mosaics that had been covered up but are now emerging into view.
Here is Islam side by side with Christianity.
Here, in a sense, is a representation of the peaceful coexistence of Christianity and Islam in Turkey since the beginning of Ottoman rule in the late 1200s. Modern Turkey may be 99 percent Muslim, but its religious minorities continue to be respected and valued as part of the country’s culture.
(Later, our group will learn of an equally harmonious relationship with Turkey’s Jews, dating back to 1077, when we visit the Jewish Museum in Istanbul.)
Pacifica Institute, our host on this trip, is committed to interfaith dialogue. Pacifica wants to let people know of Turkey’s history of harmonious religious coexistence.
Hagia Sophia tells the story beautifully.
Sounds like you guys are having a great time over there. Wish I were there. However, I think one of your statements was inaccurate. We all want present and future co-existence of religions, but history should not be ignored in that pursuit. You wrote the following:
ReplyDelete"Here, in a sense, is a representation of the peaceful coexistence of Christianity and Islam in Turkey since the beginning of Ottoman rule in the late 1200s."
Your statement is not accurate for many reasons. Here are some reasons. There was an Armenian genocide in northern Turkey in the early 1900's. The Turkish gov dominated by Muslims slaughtered way over 1 million Armenian Christians. There is a history of taxation where non-Muslims were taxed higher than Muslims. Non-Islamic religious houses of worship have been bombed in the last decade by Islamic extremists.