1
00:00:01,010 --> 00:00:10,580
They say that if walls could talk, each building would have a story to tell.

2
00:00:11,460 --> 00:00:17,079
But few would tell so many fascinating stories in so many different voices as the Hagia Sophia,

3
00:00:17,559 --> 00:00:22,920
or Holy Wisdom. Perched at the crossroads of continents and cultures, it has seen massive

4
00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,760
changes from the name of the city where it stands to its own structure and purpose. And today,

5
00:00:28,940 --> 00:00:33,299
the elements from each era stand ready to tell their tales to any visitor who will listen.

6
00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:39,560
Even before you arrive at the Hagia Sophia, the ancient fortifications hint at the strategic

7
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:45,619
importance of the surrounding city, founded as Byzantium by Greek colonists in 657 BCE,

8
00:00:46,219 --> 00:00:51,899
and successfully renamed as Augusta Antonia, New Rome, and Constantinople, as it was conquered,

9
00:00:52,299 --> 00:00:57,420
reconquered, destroyed, and rebuilt by various Greek, Persian, and Roman rulers over the

10
00:00:57,420 --> 00:01:04,340
following centuries. And it was within these walls that the first Megale, Ecclesia, or Great Church

11
00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:09,599
was built in the 4th century. Though it was soon burned to the ground in riots, it established the

12
00:01:09,599 --> 00:01:14,900
location for the region's main religious structure for centuries to come. Near the entrance, the

13
00:01:14,900 --> 00:01:21,599
marble stones with reliefs are the last reminders of the second church. Built in 415 CE, it was

14
00:01:21,599 --> 00:01:27,400
destroyed during the Nica riots of 532 when angry crowds at a chariot race nearly overthrew the

15
00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:33,599
Emperor Justinian I. Having barely managed to retain power, he resolved to rebuild the church

16
00:01:33,599 --> 00:01:38,840
on a grander scale, and five years later, the edifice you see before you was completed.

17
00:01:39,819 --> 00:01:45,299
As you step inside, the stones of the foundation and walls murmur tales from their homelands of

18
00:01:45,299 --> 00:01:51,060
Egypt and Syria, while columns taken from the Temple of Artemis recall a more ancient past.

19
00:01:51,859 --> 00:01:56,400
Runic inscriptions carved by the Vikings of the emperor's elite guard carry the lore of distant

20
00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,980
northern lands. But your attention is caught by the grand dome representing the heavens.

21
00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:09,439
Reaching over 50 meters high and over 30 meters in diameter and ringed by windows around its base,

22
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:15,199
the golden dome appears suspended from heaven, light reflecting through its interior. Beneath

23
00:02:15,199 --> 00:02:20,960
its grandiose symbolism, the sturdy reinforcing Corinthian columns brought from Lebanon after the

24
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:26,919
original dome was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 558 CE, quietly remind you of

25
00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:33,680
its fragility and the engineering skill such a marble requires. If a picture is worth a thousand

26
00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:39,360
words, the mosaics from the next several centuries have the most to say, not only about their biblical

27
00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:44,240
themes, but also the Byzantine emperors who commissioned them, often depicted along with

28
00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:50,080
Christ. But beneath their loud and clear voices, one hears the haunting echoes of the damaged and

29
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:55,439
missing mosaics and icons, desecrated and looted during the Latin occupation in the Fourth Crusade.

30
00:02:56,340 --> 00:03:01,520
Within the floor, the tomb inscription of Enrico Dandolo, the Venetian ruler who commanded the

31
00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:07,840
campaign, is a stark reminder of those 57 years that Hagia Sophia spent as a Roman Catholic church

32
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:14,120
before returning to its Orthodox roots upon the Byzantine reconquest. But it would not remain a

33
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,539
church for long. Weakened by the crusades, Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453

34
00:03:19,539 --> 00:03:24,780
and would be known as Istanbul thereafter. After allowing his soldiers three days of pillage,

35
00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:30,759
Sultan Mehmed II entered the building. Though heavily damaged, its grandeur was not lost on

36
00:03:30,759 --> 00:03:35,599
the young sultan who immediately rededicated it to Allah, proclaiming that it would be the new

37
00:03:35,599 --> 00:03:41,020
imperial mosque. The four minarets built over the next century are the most obvious sign of this

38
00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:44,979
era, serving as architectural supports in addition to their religious purpose.

39
00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:51,300
But there are many others. Ornate candle holders relate Suleiman's conquest of Hungary, while giant

40
00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:56,219
calligraphy discs hung from the ceiling remind visitors for the first four caliphs who followed

41
00:03:56,219 --> 00:04:02,379
Muhammad. Though the building you see today still looks like a mosque, it is now a museum,

42
00:04:02,379 --> 00:04:08,560
a decision made in 1935 by Kemal Ataturk, the modernizing first president of Turkey,

43
00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,800
following the Ottoman Empire's collapse.

44
00:04:12,180 --> 00:04:14,979
It was this secularization that allowed for removal

45
00:04:14,979 --> 00:04:17,519
of the carpets hiding the marble floor decorations

46
00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:19,980
and the plaster covering the Christian mosaics.

47
00:04:21,180 --> 00:04:24,420
Ongoing restoration work has allowed the multiplicity of voices

48
00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:27,319
in Hagia Sophia's long history to be heard again

49
00:04:27,319 --> 00:04:30,339
after centuries of silence, but conflict remains.

50
00:04:31,079 --> 00:04:34,160
Hidden mosaics cry out from beneath Islamic calligraphy,

51
00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,060
valuable pieces of history that cannot be uncovered

52
00:04:37,060 --> 00:04:38,379
without destroying others.

53
00:04:39,199 --> 00:04:42,379
Meanwhile, calls sound from both Muslim and Christian communities

54
00:04:42,379 --> 00:04:45,000
to return the building to its former religious purposes.

55
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,920
The story of the divine wisdom may be far from over,

56
00:04:49,620 --> 00:04:52,519
but one can only hope that the many voices residing there

57
00:04:52,519 --> 00:04:55,279
will be able to tell their part for years to come.