Humility

From Paris to Istanbul, and the transition could not have been starker. Although both are ancient cities, with layers of history just asking to be peeled away, Istanbul occupies a special place in Islamic history, and therefore makes it a city with which I, as a Muslim, can form a deeper connection. We arrived here late last night, and were not able to see anything on our drive into Sultanahmet, where we are staying and where some of the most important cultural sites are located. Our inability to see anything turned out to be for the better, because the true impact of the first two monuments we visited – the Ayasofya and Blue Mosque – was best appreciated in daylight the next day.

And what an impact! The Ayasofya simply took my breath away. The emperor Justinian, who commissioned its building around 537 CE, is said to have dropped to one knee when he first walked inside the completed structure, and to have proclaimed “Solomon, I have outdone thee!” It’s hard to argue with that emotion.

The external structure is not as special as the inside, which has the effect of falsely lowering your expectations of the interior – until, that is, you step over the threshold, and are faced with the soaring interior. The cavernous space is just beautiful, with domes ascending ever upwards, and unlike the typical European cathedral, the entire structure has an incredible feeling of lightness to it. It’s not easy to understand why that is initially, until you realize that there are no large support columns that split up the interior. Instead, the massive central dome of the Ayasofya is supported by smaller surrounding half-domes that create an ingenious distribution of weight. In addition, the use of windows around the base of the dome allow in beams of light that bounce around the entire building, creating a mystical quality. The net effect on a human being standing within that space is to make them feel … puny.

Although Aysofya was the largest cathedral in Christendom for a thousand years, it was eventually converted into a mosque after conquest of the surrounding lands by the Ottomans. The, beautiful, immense medallions hanging from the ceilings that bear calligraphic representations of Allah and Muhammad are testament to this part of the building’s past. I felt this picture captured the duality of the Ayasofia's past, with the two medallions I mention suspended below a mosaic of the Virgin Mary.

We spent over an hour inside, even though there were no special exhibits to soak up our time – just standing in that hall was enough.

Ripping ourselves away from the Ayasofya was hard, but made easier by the fact that across the main square lay the beautiful Blue Mosque, so called because of the thousands of blue Iznik tiles that adorn its interior. Unlike the Ayasofya, the Blue Mosque presents a striking image from the very beginning. The intent, which is clearly achieved, is of size, majesty, and splendor. All visitors can enter the mosque, as long as they are appropriately covered. However, unlike the other visitors, as Muslims we were allowed to enter the actual space for prayer. This was significant, as it provided a symbolic differentiation, and helped make me feel a little special. I mention this not to describe a sense of superiority of my faith over others, but to explain how hard it is in these times to openly profess one’s adherence to Islam. Being in an environment where my faith is celebrated meant much to me.

I’ve heard that the interior of the Blue Mosque is not considered as architecturally significant as that of the Ayasofya. From an artistic point of view, I guess I can understand that – Ayasofya’s dome, as I mention above, stuns you into silence, where the Blue Mosque provides a subtler and gentler welcome into its religious space. However, while I offered prayer there, my mind was far from considerations of architectural achievements. It was deep in contemplative thought, feeding off the trappings of the beautiful mimbar, the mihrab, and the calligraphy, all of which served to heighten the beauty of this amazing, ancient structure. It was easy to close my eyes and imagine the centuries of supplicants who had stood where I stood now, bowing their head in utter humility.

Humility - the Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque have a way of imposing that upon you.