Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmet, and Gedikpasa Hamami

Whew, last Friday was a busy day! We started off by meeting with a graduate student/previous tour guide who was kind enough to lead us through both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. First was the Blue Mosque, which a few of us had already been inside, but it's the sort of place who's beauty and wonder never seems to get old. Before entering we sat outside in the courtyard and listened to the grad student explain some of the interesting history behind the building of the mosque and of it's namesake. Inside he was sure to point out the place where the sultan would sit and he said there was a special prayer room just for the sultan there too. After spending some time inside we decided to get lunch before going to Hagia Sophia, so we stopped in the Green Corner Cafe which is right next to the historical Byzantine church. I got some Gozleme which reminds me alot of a quesadilla, it was pretty tasty. Then the long awaited event came, we passed through the gates and security of Hagia Sophia!! As we entered the ancient doors I was impressed with how cool it was, unlike the mosques we've been in which are always a little on the warm side. Coolness seemed to radiate from the marble which was everywhere, all along the walls and the floor. Stepping into the main part, I have to admit was a little disappointing because there was scaffolding in the middle which was being used to restore parts of the dome. However, that minor disappointment soon faded away as I continued looking around at the 1500 year old church. I was so impressed by the way that natural design of marble was used to create beautiful patterns all around the church. Of course the best part was when we walked up the never-ending ramp up to the second floor. MOSAICS!! This is what everyone comes to Hagia Sophia for, the spectacular Byzantine mosaics. And although some were worn and missing pieces, the precision with which they were made did not go unnoticed. The gold reflective tiles were my favorite. They do such a great job of adding luster to the already gorgeous works. We learned that the reason that some of the mosaics were missing pieces from their lower parts was because people used to pick them off believing that they had healing properties. There was also some ancient graffiti showing that vandalism is nothing new. O, and did I mention that the dome of the church is so high that the statue of Liberty could be put inside and the torch would just hit the top! Amazing! And, tests have been run to check the stability of the structure and evidently the building could still withstand an earthquake of a 7.5 magnitude! This can partially b attributed to the fact that the planning of the building was done by mathematicians not just architects.

The last thing of Friday's agenda was Edward and my presentation on Hamams. We decided to do hamams as our site presentation because they are of both great hisorical and cultural significance. We chose Gedikpasa because it is one of the oldest in Istanbul, it was one of the cheaper ones, and it was bound to offer a more authentic (less touristy) experience. Presenting some background information on the many ways hamams were incorporated into cultural rite of passage as well as the historical basis for having hamams was just the beginning. We then, as a class, had our very own hamam experience. The girls and guys went to their respective areas and the fun began. We changed into our bathing suits and headed into the main room. We had the whole place to ourselves pretty much so we joked around, had water fights, and of course gossiped (in the true spirit of the hamam). We all had a blast. Afterwards we sat and had tea with two of the ladies that had bathed us in the hamam. What a day!