Haghia Sophia

I am in awe of this place, but I can’t take the time to reflect on that feeling because I am constantly bombarded with street merchants and run-away taxis. This constant assault on my space and my privacy makes the solitude and quietness of the mosques that much more enchanting. When I stepped into the Haghia Sophia I felt my breathe being sucked out of my body. Not only that, I forgot to even try to resume breathing for several moments as I walked thru the 50 foot entrance doorway. The entrance way was large enough for a herd of elephants to run thru. I can envision a king of kings entering this place and being humbled for the first time in his life. The massive entrance way then opens up to the main room by way of 50 foot side doors and a 100 foot main door that was said to be used by Emperor Justinian riding in on his white horse to be greeted by a full court. The grandiose hallway and gargantuan doors are altogether dwarfed when passed thru on the way to the main court room. I never could have dreamed that one simple room could be so large. A multitude of domed ceilings and super archways all form around and converge on the central dome. Looking up at the central dome gives me a sense of inverse vertigo. I am dizzy and my knees waver and almost buckle. It is said that when the dome was first completed, that when looking up at it on got the sense that they were glancing up into heaven was smiling back at them. 2,000 years later I feel myself smiling back at heaven.