Fall of Constantinople. Here’s a fascinating object from a fascinating, although terrifying, period: with the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Orthodox Church, about to fall for good (after 1000 years in which they kept the 300 year-old name of ‘Roman Empire’ going!) in Constantinople, artists were busy at work making myths to bind the people together in the name of ‘what made us great, once upon a time.’ In this case, an icon—meaning a picture used in religious devotion—about icons, indeed about the last time that Constantinople was threatened by Islam in a big way. Back during the rise of the Abassids, in the 800s/900s, a wave of iconoclasm—“icon-smashing”—had made the news in Constantinople, where superstitious people assumed that the only reason the Moslems were winning over the Eastern Christians was because of the business about icons. “Thou shalt make no graven image,” but that entire church is based on these icons; and the Moslems were so serious about no representations, some of the Christians began wondering if that’s why God favored them. In the 800s it was big news for a while, but eventually the pro-icon people took control again, and somehow the Byzantines lived side-by-side with the Caliphates for another 500 years.
The end came for the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453, when the Turks, who’d been steadily encroaching for a hundred years, finally took the city. We were there in ’01 for a wedding and went to Aya Sofya, once the main Eastern Orthodox Temple in the world, later a mosque, now mostly a tourist trap. It’s impressive and historically evocative, although from the point of view of architecture Sultan Suleiman’s magnificent Blue Mosque, just nearby, honestly made more of an impression on this tourist. Some of my photos from that trip:
My pals and I near a little pool in Topkapi Palace, home of centuries of Ottoman Sultans
My friend Julie is facing Haigha Sofia (aka Aya Sofya), with Suleiman the Magnificent (more on him soon!)'s Blue Mosque behind her.
The Blue Mosque is mighty impressive, perhaps the most beautiful building in Turkey.
Aya Sofya, which is about 1000 years older, has seen more wear and tear. It was the main Byzantine Cathedral for centuries--compare the mosaic icon here to the one in the podcast--and although the Ottoman's turned it into a mosque, in the 20th century that layer was peeled away so you can see the Christian imagery again.
But the fun part about traveling to Istanbul is going to the bazaar!
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