TURKEY SERIES: THE ALLURE OF HAGIA SOPHIA

IN AWE. I wrapped myself in the air of majesty as I entered the sovereign walls of ancient Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey. I almost kissed the floor – the same floor where a thousand other important ancient people sashayed and trudged in. Thought it’s too pagan for me to do that anyway.

The morning sun lit the confused monastery in all its hefty corners; baffled by the thousand years of history its weakening pillars holds, hence the on-going constructions to save whatever can be rescued. Built in 537 AD, the Christian church-turned-Muslim mosque-turned-museum saw hundreds of tourists flocking that day, stunned by the murals plastered on its Byzantine walls and the lavish chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 

Everything was ethereal and it’s allure, timeless.