Istanbul not Constantinople (Part II)

Everything about Istanbul confirms its position as the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The most glaring example of this is the Aya Sofiya. While it is a museum today, in its previous lives it served as a mosque and before that a church. The church was most likely commissioned around 360 AD, just after Constantine declared his faith in Christianity. Inside are remains of some of the most incredible mosaics in the world – the most famous of which is “Judgment Day” in which Jesus is flanked by two other figures (pictured left).

During one of the crusades (there were so many, who can remember?), the Muslims took over the city and converted the church into a mosque. One of their first actions was to plaster over the mosaic work and replace it with Islamic art. When the mosque was turned into a museum in the 1920s by Ataturk, whose image is more conspicuous throughout the city than Kebab stands, the mosaics were uncovered. Today, verses from the Koran are only feet away from depictions of events in the New Testament.