Day 3: Blue Mosque, Little Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace-Annika Clark

We started off our day by visiting the very ornate and beautiful Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultanahmet Mosque. The Blue Mosque, since it was not converted from a church to a mosque, had a lot of pleasing symmetry and attention to detail that the Hagia Sophia lacked in comparison. For example, it was built so the mihrab was facing towards Mecca which made the building again feel more symmetrical because it had not been moved like in the Hagia Sophia. Also, after completing the readings of the four specific symbols that we typically see in mosques, they became much more noticeable and identifiable. The most prominent symbols for me were the symbols of paradise, and these were seen in the Blue Mosque through the abundance of windows (265), which then created an abundance of light, the decorations of the mihrab, as well as the floral designs on the tiles, and finally the ablution fountains on the outside. From the reading, it was mentioned that according to Islam, humanity destroyed the perfect world that was given by God, so the mosques attempt to evoke that sense of paradise to remind people of the perfection that the world once had. These reminders of paradise that I mentioned above have been seen in many of the mosques that we have seen thus far.

Moving on past the symbols, I also wanted to talk about what makes the Blue Mosque unique compared to the other mosques. While I already mentioned the ornate structure, what also sets it apart from other mosques is the design, architectural plan, and the number of minarets. For the design piece, the Blue Mosque uses these gorgeous blue tiles that the Turks almost created their own way of tile making, simply from the technique they used of double kilning and the specific temperature they used to get those bright colors used to adorn the mosque. For the architectural plan, they started off with one dome and then if they wanted to add more domes they added more pillars, however; as the space grew the pillars separated the people in the space. The people did not like the separation and instead wanted a unity of space and that was achieved with a very introverted architectural plan that involved the big dome being supported by half domes, and then half domes being supported by quarter domes, and so on. This mosque design later became used as a layout for later mosques because of its clear effectiveness. Finally, the Blue Mosque differs in the number of minarets because it was the first mosque to have six minarets. Technically a mosque only needs one minaret to function, but it became a tradition for imperial mosques to have more than one.

After the Blue Mosque we made our way to the Küçük Ayasofya, or the Little Hagia Sophia, which got its name due to its resemblance to the Hagia Sophia, but it was significantly smaller. Even tho fin the size of the mosque was small, it was still very interesting due to its unique origin story. Like the Hagia Sophia, it also was a church later converted into a mosque, but while it was a church it was dedicated to these two martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus, who later became important figures and saints in the Christian religion. They were Roman soldiers who converted to Christianity and were willing to die for their faith. As apart of them being martyred, there was an additional humiliation piece of them being mocked and put in women’s clothing, and this added a new gendered layer and perspective to their story that represents the gender roles during the time. Furthermore, these two martyrs were also said to have a partnership or relationship and can be perceived as homosexuality. However, that piece of their story was often overlooked or erased in history because it was not Orthodox. I loved learning about the pieces of history that are purposefully overlooked, especially when it comes to queer pieces of history.

After the Little Hagia Sophia, we visited the Hagia Irene which was an earlier church than the Hagia Sophia and wa sized as an official church beside the Hagia Sophia was built. The Hagia Irene was also unique because it was during the iconoclasm where no icons were being painted or drawn so instead of the traditional murals that we may be used to there were simply crosses instead.

We then moved on to Topkapi museum where we discussed the intricacies of the Ottoman Empire and how the Turks selectively claimed their history. The Museum was full of many exhibits to see which included the main parts of the palace, the library, the treasury, the armory, and more. The highlight of this museum for me was learning more in depth about the women in the harem and the social norms during that time. We were also able to touch on the perception of one woman, Roxelana. She was perceived as evil for killing other people’s sons to ensure success for her own, and many people today do not question that narrative. However, we were able to discuss her actions and how many women during the time when they were simply trying to do what was best for them and their family were still perceived as evil. Even though she was killing other people’s sons which is undoubtedly wrong, they would have killed her son anyways if he had not been a ruler so the whole system was messed up. Anyways, what a day!! We saw soooo much and I can’t wait for tomorrow.