Istanbul - Hagia Sofia/Ayasofya

Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) is THE must see thing in Istanbul (goes without saying).

It is on all pictures/brochures/ads about  Turkey/Istanbul because it is a monumental piece of world history. Built in 537 (yeah, that's like 1,400 years ago), it was the largest Christian and Eastern Christian cathedral in the world for many centuries after that and influenced Western architecture to the present day.
This is why it's been a museum since 1935 and an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

Wifey and I visited the place on March 20, 2015 AD :-).

Getting there is easy - just take the tramvai/light rail to the Sultanahmet station.
Depending on how much you like and how interested you are in this landmark, you can expect to spend between 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours here.
The line is small - only about 10-15 minutes at the most and you can pay with cash and credit cards.

Moving on to the sight itself, the only word that I can think of to describe it is MONUMENTAL. You only realize that when you actually stand in front of it and when you enter it.

Hagia Sophia - the View from Sultan Ahmet park

Hagia Sophia - Looks even more mesmerizing at night.

Hagia Sophia - View from near the Basilica Cistern

As I walked into the building I realized its size. The open space is huge, overwhelming.

The height is 55 meters/180 ft at the tallest point of the dome, but only when entering Ayasofia did I get a true feel about the space it takes up. What can I say... looks smaller from the outside.
The icons on the walls  are mosaics and date from Byzantine times (1400s) and have been covered with plaster by the Ottomans with the Fall of Constantinople, until the late 1800s.

One of the things clearly visible throughout our visit, was the fact that the edifice is slanted - the picture below captures this perfectly. Turns out, the builders of Ayasofia did not let the mortar dry long enough before moving on to the next stages of construction, so the dome pushed the walls to the side.

One of the things that will catch your eyes on the ground level of Ayasofya is the Omphalion (pictured below). For centuries it has been the places where Roman and the Byzantine emperors were crowned.

Ayasaofia - The Omphalion - the place where Roman and Byzantine emperors were crowned

If you look left from the Omphalion you will see the Apse, currently housing the qibla (sort of a Mulsil altar facing the Qaaba in Mecca - found in every mosque), a remnant of the times when Ayasofya was a mosque. The whole picture shows the history of the place - Christian art intermingled with Muslim artifacts.

This is sort of the key to understanding the history of Ayasofia and Istanbul (I think), as it has been the largest Christian cathedral for centuries and then for centuries (between 1453 and 1935, when it became a museum) one of largest mosques.

Ayasofya - Apse mosaic of the Virgin and Child

Ayasofya - Apse mosaic of the Virgin and Child

Ayasofya - the qibla

There even is a legend about this place: when the Ottomans took Constantinople (soon to be renamed Istanbul) 24th of May 1453 and entered Ayasofya during the very last Christian mass. The Christian priests are said to have disappeared into the walls only to return when Ayasofya will be a Christian church again.

Enough with legends: once you are done visiting the ground floor take the stairs or should I say the passageways to the upper floors. Very cellar looking like masonry.

The stairs will lead you into the Lodge of the Empress, where the Roman empresses would stand during the mass. Everything is made of white marble slabs cut in such a way that the pattern flows uninterrupted, with the joints barely visible (well they are visible now, but weren't at the time this was built).
Not visible in the pictures below, but clearly visible at the site is the sloping of the floors. Yes, all the floors are sloped; makes you wonder how the building is still standing.

Ayasofya - View from the Lodge of the Empress

Ayasofya - Another view from the Lodge of the Empress - GRANDURE

Going straight ahead through the Lodge of the Empress, you will get to the Marble Door, which separated the area where Christian clergy used to sit. The mosaics on the walls are very unique and one of the best surviving artwork at this monument.

Ayasofya - the Marble Door - used by clergy

Behind the Marble Door there is one the best preserved icons in Ayasofya - seen below. It is typical religious imagery from the Byzantine period, which to day it is very popular with Eastern Orthodox Christian churches all around the world.

It is near the Marble Door that I got this awesome view of the Blue Mosque.
By far one of the best photo ops - the Blue Mosque aka Sultanahmet Mosque, seen from one of the windows of Ayasofya.

All in one, a very impressive landmark and totally worth your time and money.
It took me a few months for everything I saw to sink in and to realize what a truly unique place this.

So, if you are ever in Istanbul and only have time to see one landmark, this is the one you need to see.