[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.39,0:00:10.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They say that if walls could talk each building would have a story to tell,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.75,0:00:15.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but few would tell so many fascinating stories in so many different voices
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.84,0:00:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the Hagia Sophia, or holy wisdom.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.38,0:00:21.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perched at the crossroads of continents and cultures,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.82,0:00:25.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it has seen massive changes from the name of the city where it stands,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.51,0:00:27.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to its own structure and purpose.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.99,0:00:30.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And today, the elements from each era stand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.69,0:00:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ready to tell their tales to any visitor who will listen.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.01,0:00:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even before you arrive at the Hagia Sophia, the ancient fortifications
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.40,0:00:41.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hint at the strategic importance of the surrounding city,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.39,0:00:46.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,founded as Byzantium by Greek colonists in 657 BCE.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.36,0:00:50.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And successfully renamed as Augusta Antonia, New Rome and Constantinople
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.81,0:00:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as it was conquered, reconquered, destroyed and rebuilt
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.40,0:00:59.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by various Greek, Persian and Roman rulers over the following centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.74,0:01:04.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was within these walls that the first Megale Ekklesia, or great church,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.40,0:01:06.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was built in the fourth century.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.49,0:01:08.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though it was soon burned to the ground in riots,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.75,0:01:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it established the location for the region's main religious structure
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.82,0:01:13.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for centuries to come.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.96,0:01:16.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Near the entrance, the marble stones with reliefs
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.47,0:01:19.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the last reminders of the second church.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.13,0:01:24.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Built in 415 CE, it was destroyed during the Nika Riots of 532
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.31,0:01:26.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when angry crowds at a chariot race
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.33,0:01:29.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nearly overthrew the emperor, Justinian the First.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.59,0:01:31.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having barely managed to retain power,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.72,0:01:35.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he resolved to rebuild the church on a grander scale,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.06,0:01:39.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and five years later, the edifice you see before you was completed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.82,0:01:42.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As you step inside, the stones of the foundation and walls
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.97,0:01:46.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,murmur tales from their homelands of Egypt and Syria,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.57,0:01:51.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while columns taken from the Temple of Artemis recall a more ancient past.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.86,0:01:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Runic inscriptions carved by the vikings of the emperor's elite guard
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.23,0:01:57.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carry the lore of distant northern lands.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.64,0:02:02.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But your attention is caught by the grand dome, representing the heavens.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.70,0:02:06.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reaching over 50 meters high and over 30 meters in diameter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.95,0:02:09.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ringed by windows around its base,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.59,0:02:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the golden dome appears suspended from heaven,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.35,0:02:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,light reflecting through its interior.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.01,0:02:19.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beneath its grandiose symbolism, the sturdy reinforcing Corinthian columns,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.25,0:02:22.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brought from Lebanon after the original dome was partially destroyed
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.91,0:02:25.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by an earthquake in 558 CE,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.65,0:02:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quietly remind you of its fragility
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.69,0:02:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the engineering skills such a marvel requires.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.28,0:02:34.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If a picture is worth a thousand words,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.34,0:02:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the mosaics from the next several centuries have the most to say
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.42,0:02:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not only about their Biblical themes,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.89,0:02:42.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the Byzantine emperors who commissioned them,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.96,0:02:45.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often depicted along with Christ.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.44,0:02:47.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But beneath their loud and clear voices,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.48,0:02:51.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one hears the haunting echoes of the damaged and missing mosaics and icons,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.84,0:02:56.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,desecrated and looted during the Latin Occupation in the Fourth Crusade.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.13,0:02:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within the floor, the tomb inscription of Enrico Dandolo,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.93,0:03:02.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Venetian ruler who commanded the campaign,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.38,0:03:08.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a stark reminder of those 57 years that Hagia Sophia spent as a Roman Catholic church
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.11,0:03:13.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before returning to its orthodox roots upon the Byzantine Reconquest.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.01,0:03:15.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it would not remain a church for long.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.23,0:03:19.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Weakened by the Crusades, Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.87,0:03:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and would be known as Istanbul thereafter.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.45,0:03:24.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After allowing his soldiers three days of pillage,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.83,0:03:27.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sultan Mehmed the Second entered the building.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.47,0:03:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though heavily damaged, its grandeur was not lost
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.58,0:03:33.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the young sultan who immediately rededicated it to Allah,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.87,0:03:37.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,proclaiming that it would be the new imperial mosque.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.33,0:03:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The four minarets built over the next century
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.46,0:03:41.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the most obvious sign of this era,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.57,0:03:45.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,serving as architectural supports in addition to their religious purpose.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.67,0:03:47.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there are many others.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.13,0:03:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ornate candle holders relate Solomon's conquest of Hungary,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.75,0:03:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while giant caligraphy discs hung from the ceiling
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.28,0:03:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remind visitors for the first four caliphs who followed Muhammad.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.62,0:04:02.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though the building you see today still looks like a mosque, it is now a museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.67,0:04:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a decision made in 1935 by Kemal Ataturk,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.70,0:04:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the modernizing first president of Turkey
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.80,0:04:11.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,following the Ottoman Empire's collapse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.61,0:04:15.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was this secularization that allowed for removal
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.16,0:04:17.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the carpets hiding the marble floor decorations
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.86,0:04:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the plaster covering the Christian mosaics.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.64,0:04:24.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ongoing restoration work has allowed the multiplicity of voices
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.61,0:04:26.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Hagia Sophia's long history
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.49,0:04:29.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be heard again after centuries of silence.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.34,0:04:31.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But conflict remains.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.07,0:04:34.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hidden mosaics cry out from beneath Islamic calligraphy,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.47,0:04:38.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,valuable pieces of history that cannot be uncovered without destroying others.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.97,0:04:42.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile, calls sound from both Muslim and Christian communities
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.65,0:04:45.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to return the building to its former religious purposes.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.93,0:04:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The story of the divine wisdom may be far from over,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.20,0:04:52.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but one can only hope that the many voices residing there
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.62,0:04:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will be able to tell their part for years to come.