WEBVTT 00:00:06.391 --> 00:00:10.752 They say that if walls could talk each building would have a story to tell, 00:00:10.752 --> 00:00:15.843 but few would tell so many fascinating stories in so many different voices 00:00:15.843 --> 00:00:19.384 as the Hagia Sophia, or holy wisdom. 00:00:19.384 --> 00:00:21.815 Perched at the crossroads of continents and cultures, 00:00:21.815 --> 00:00:25.510 it has seen massive changes from the name of the city where it stands, 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:27.990 to its own structure and purpose. 00:00:27.990 --> 00:00:30.692 And today, the elements from each era stand 00:00:30.692 --> 00:00:34.011 ready to tell their tales to any visitor who will listen. 00:00:34.011 --> 00:00:38.403 Even before you arrive at the Hagia Sophia, the ancient fortifications 00:00:38.403 --> 00:00:41.393 hint at the strategic importance of the surrounding city, 00:00:41.393 --> 00:00:46.357 founded as Byzantium by Greek colonists in 657 BCE. 00:00:46.357 --> 00:00:50.811 And successfully renamed as Augusta Antonia, New Rome and Constantinople 00:00:50.811 --> 00:00:54.398 as it was conquered, reconquered, destroyed and rebuilt 00:00:54.398 --> 00:00:59.740 by various Greek, Persian and Roman rulers over the following centuries. 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:04.396 And it was within these walls that the first Megale Ekklesia, or great church, 00:01:04.396 --> 00:01:06.494 was built in the fourth century. 00:01:06.494 --> 00:01:08.746 Though it was soon burned to the ground in riots, 00:01:08.746 --> 00:01:11.822 it established the location for the region's main religious structure 00:01:11.822 --> 00:01:13.963 for centuries to come. 00:01:13.963 --> 00:01:16.470 Near the entrance, the marble stones with reliefs 00:01:16.470 --> 00:01:19.127 are the last reminders of the second church. 00:01:19.127 --> 00:01:24.306 Built in 415 CE, it was destroyed during the Nika Riots of 532 00:01:24.306 --> 00:01:26.326 when angry crowds at a chariot race 00:01:26.326 --> 00:01:29.593 nearly overthrew the emperor, Justinian the First. 00:01:29.593 --> 00:01:31.718 Having barely managed to retain power, 00:01:31.718 --> 00:01:35.059 he resolved to rebuild the church on a grander scale, 00:01:35.059 --> 00:01:39.819 and five years later, the edifice you see before you was completed. 00:01:39.819 --> 00:01:42.966 As you step inside, the stones of the foundation and walls 00:01:42.966 --> 00:01:46.573 murmur tales from their homelands of Egypt and Syria, 00:01:46.573 --> 00:01:51.860 while columns taken from the Temple of Artemis recall a more ancient past. 00:01:51.860 --> 00:01:55.226 Runic inscriptions carved by the vikings of the emperor's elite guard 00:01:55.226 --> 00:01:57.641 carry the lore of distant northern lands. 00:01:57.641 --> 00:02:02.696 But your attention is caught by the grand dome, representing the heavens. 00:02:02.696 --> 00:02:06.954 Reaching over 50 meters high and over 30 meters in diameter 00:02:06.954 --> 00:02:09.589 and ringed by windows around its base, 00:02:09.589 --> 00:02:12.348 the golden dome appears suspended from heaven, 00:02:12.348 --> 00:02:15.013 light reflecting through its interior. 00:02:15.013 --> 00:02:19.253 Beneath its grandiose symbolism, the sturdy reinforcing Corinthian columns, 00:02:19.253 --> 00:02:22.914 brought from Lebanon after the original dome was partially destroyed 00:02:22.914 --> 00:02:25.651 by an earthquake in 558 CE, 00:02:25.651 --> 00:02:27.691 quietly remind you of its fragility 00:02:27.691 --> 00:02:31.278 and the engineering skills such a marvel requires. 00:02:31.278 --> 00:02:34.337 If a picture is worth a thousand words, 00:02:34.337 --> 00:02:37.416 the mosaics from the next several centuries have the most to say 00:02:37.416 --> 00:02:39.890 not only about their Biblical themes, 00:02:39.890 --> 00:02:42.964 but also the Byzantine emperors who commissioned them, 00:02:42.964 --> 00:02:45.438 often depicted along with Christ. 00:02:45.438 --> 00:02:47.481 But beneath their loud and clear voices, 00:02:47.481 --> 00:02:51.845 one hears the haunting echoes of the damaged and missing mosaics and icons, 00:02:51.845 --> 00:02:56.131 desecrated and looted during the Latin Occupation in the Fourth Crusade. 00:02:56.131 --> 00:02:59.933 Within the floor, the tomb inscription of Enrico Dandolo, 00:02:59.933 --> 00:03:02.382 the Venetian ruler who commanded the campaign, 00:03:02.382 --> 00:03:08.109 is a stark reminder of those 57 years that Hagia Sophia spent as a Roman Catholic church 00:03:08.109 --> 00:03:13.009 before returning to its orthodox roots upon the Byzantine Reconquest. 00:03:13.009 --> 00:03:15.227 But it would not remain a church for long. 00:03:15.227 --> 00:03:19.873 Weakened by the Crusades, Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453 00:03:19.873 --> 00:03:22.452 and would be known as Istanbul thereafter. 00:03:22.452 --> 00:03:24.828 After allowing his soldiers three days of pillage, 00:03:24.828 --> 00:03:27.474 Sultan Mehmed the Second entered the building. 00:03:27.474 --> 00:03:30.579 Though heavily damaged, its grandeur was not lost 00:03:30.579 --> 00:03:33.866 on the young sultan who immediately rededicated it to Allah, 00:03:33.866 --> 00:03:37.326 proclaiming that it would be the new imperial mosque. 00:03:37.326 --> 00:03:39.462 The four minarets built over the next century 00:03:39.462 --> 00:03:41.571 are the most obvious sign of this era, 00:03:41.571 --> 00:03:45.669 serving as architectural supports in addition to their religious purpose. 00:03:45.669 --> 00:03:47.128 But there are many others. 00:03:47.128 --> 00:03:50.750 Ornate candle holders relate Suleiman's conquest of Hungary, 00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:53.283 while giant caligraphy discs hung from the ceiling 00:03:53.283 --> 00:03:57.625 remind visitors for the first four caliphs who followed Muhammad. 00:03:57.625 --> 00:04:02.666 Though the building you see today still looks like a mosque, it is now a museum, 00:04:02.666 --> 00:04:06.698 a decision made in 1935 by Kemal Ataturk, 00:04:06.698 --> 00:04:08.798 the modernizing first president of Turkey 00:04:08.798 --> 00:04:11.608 following the Ottoman Empire's collapse. 00:04:11.608 --> 00:04:15.158 It was this secularization that allowed for removal 00:04:15.158 --> 00:04:17.863 of the carpets hiding the marble floor decorations 00:04:17.863 --> 00:04:20.639 and the plaster covering the Christian mosaics. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:24.614 Ongoing restoration work has allowed the multiplicity of voices 00:04:24.614 --> 00:04:26.490 in Hagia Sophia's long history 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:29.336 to be heard again after centuries of silence. 00:04:29.336 --> 00:04:31.071 But conflict remains. 00:04:31.071 --> 00:04:34.471 Hidden mosaics cry out from beneath Islamic calligraphy, 00:04:34.471 --> 00:04:38.966 valuable pieces of history that cannot be uncovered without destroying others. 00:04:38.966 --> 00:04:42.653 Meanwhile, calls sound from both Muslim and Christian communities 00:04:42.653 --> 00:04:45.930 to return the building to its former religious purposes. 00:04:45.930 --> 00:04:49.203 The story of the divine wisdom may be far from over, 00:04:49.203 --> 00:04:52.624 but one can only hope that the many voices residing there 00:04:52.624 --> 00:04:55.704 will be able to tell their part for years to come.