A Series of Small Walls...

There is something to be said about being in a place of historical prominence. Even if it is just a pile of rocks or a plaque that commemorates a certain event that happened.  I feel like there is still something more to revere about it.

That is the part that enlivens me.

As much as I love a good story and respect history, it is not always easy to hear or interpret exactly what those places are trying to say.

To a tourist, the depth of understanding about a place may come from a pamphlet, a book, or maybe a documentary of some kind. For most tourists, any prior research would consist of last-minute Wikipedia brush-ups, or a jaunt through their Lonely Planet guide. Although that is something, it is not anything that would demonstrate the amount of respect that place actually deserves.

The thing is, these places of history are more or less physical metaphors for occurrences in our lives that cannot take the form of a physical structural shell. These places can demonstrate to us how to survive the toughest of times and how to be presentable in the most favorable of times. Just think, throughout each of our own lives we all have experienced at some point happiness, turbulent situations, deep sorrow or even a broken heart… life and death, etc. Certainly, there is no reason not to ignore the fact that these places have all felt or witnessed similar events as well. I full heartily believe that a better understanding of this idea will enhance the tourist's experience of being there. In essence, it is not a stretch to say that it is more gratifying to journey a long distance and procure a rich experience, than to journey a long way to gaze at a seemingly sad series of short broken walls from a dusty period in time.

The Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the finest examples of what I am attempting to get across here. Below is a list of the most significant happenings and factoids that have occurred on the grounds of the Church of Holy Wisdom (which translates to St. Sophia or Hagia Sofia), which in effect sculpted its historical identity:

1. Dedicated in 360CE by Emperor Constantius (Constantine’s son).
2. Burnt down in 404CE due to rioting.
3. Rededicated in 415CE by Emperor Theodosius II.
4. Burnt down in 532CE, again, because of rioting (NIKA revolt).
5. Rebuilt in 532-7CE thanks to Emperor Justinian. The architects were mathematicians who specialized in vaults and arcades, which created a sense of being in heaven witnessing all that is representative of divine order.
6. Dome collapsed in 538CE, rebuilt by 562CE.
7. The Church has withstood over 1,000 earthquakes.
8. There is evidence that the grandeur of the Church was influenced from that of another Church, St. Polyeuktos, in Constantinople that was built by an aristocrat named Anicia Juliana.
9. Emperor Justinian is thought to have said something along the lines of, “Solomon, I have surpassed thee” when he completed the Church in 537CE. The truth might be that he was really aiming to surpass Solomon... and Anicia Juliana.
10. It has housed enormously influential relics including that of the “true cross” from which Jesus was crucified.
11. Vladimir, Prince of Kiev, ordered “a survey of principle faiths of the known world and had made searching inquiries of Muslim, Jews and Roman Catholics – by none of whom, however, had he been particularly impressed. Finally, in that very year of 987, he had sent emissaries to Constantinople where, in their honour, a special service had been held in St. Sophia. So captivated had they been by its beauty that… they had not known whether they were on earth or in heaven. “ Subsequently, Vladimir married Emperor Basil’s sister, Anna, in 989CE, formally baptizing the Russians into Orthodoxy.
12. In 1054, St. Sophia witnessed the excommunication of the Patriarch of Constantinople via defunct Papal delegates from Rome. This ultimately would never be healed and would lead to the final formal separation of Latin (Catholic) and Greek (Orthodox) Churches during the Council of Florence, 1439CE.
13. Huge marble columns from the temple of Apollo in Baalbek, Lebanon, were transported and used in Justinian’s remodeling efforts.
14. The Church oversaw all of the coronations of Byzantine emperors except for Constantine XI – the last one.
15. “In the great church of Hagia Sophia, Nicetas Choniates tells us, looters stripped the silken wall hangings, smashed the icons, tore apart the gold and silver furnishings, and then brought mules inside to load with booty. Some of the mules slipped and fell, unable to regain their footing on the blood-slicked marble floor. Their guts were slashed with knives so that shit oozing from their wounds mixed with the blood on the marble. A drunken whore sat on the patriarch’s throne and sang obscene songs before kicking up her heels in a burlesque dance.”
16. During the sack of Constantinople the final holdout was within the walls of St. Sophia where the people of the city locked themselves in and prayed for a miracle. The janissaries hacked down the imperial doors and proceeded to capture people as slaves, plunder, and destroy. But the priests, “the story goes-the wall opened up to admit them, and closed again behind them; and there they will remain safe until an Orthodox emperor restores St. Sophia to a church.”
17. Turned into a mosque post 1453. The innards (gold mosaics) were plastered over because images are forbidden.
18. Secularized in 1935

So here we can see that St. Sophia, alone, has withstood significant feats of devastation and absurd opulence throughout its long history. Though it was once only one church amongst hundreds, it was built with a purpose, maintained a life, and acquired a reputable identity along the way.

St. Sophia was born in 360CE. She has withstood amazing changes both structurally and culturally. She has bore witness to some of the most amazing stories in history. So many stories that in some way I am positive that their outcomes have affected us all since 360CE.  If you think, for one moment, that you have had a bad day – think of the response you would get from Sophia if she could speak. In a sense, that church, like so many places of historical eminence, has reflected and weathered the harsh reality of human history. Yet, somehow, it still stands.  I get the feeling like some of us can relate on some level to this.

I suppose when I go to St. Sophia at the beginning of August I will remember the stories that those walls will be trying to tell me. I will remember and respect it with a great understanding of where she has been. My "heartbreaks" and "good days" are nothing in comparison to the ones that that place has experienced in its magnificent past.

History itself cannot speak to most individuals in a comprehensible language. It was only when the people of past civilizations were culturally active did (or does) human history then take on a documentable voice that might be somewhat recognizable to later generations. St. Sophia is a testament to that.  And it's those documentations that we have to be able to listen to carefully... since it's all we've got left.

The good news is that eventually, if you listen to it carefully, you could very well be listening in on one of the greatest epic poems, songs, or story's ever to be told.

So, onto Varna as an archaeologist who is trying to better understand the story of that place.  I will then go to Istanbul as a pilgrim, not a tourist.

NOTE:
*Yes the title is borrowed from Eddie Izzard's skit having to do with archaeology.
Hagia Sofia facts came from:
Crowley, Roger. 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West. Hyperion Books, New York. 2005.
Dalrymple, William. From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East. Henry Holt & Co. LLC., New York. 1999.
Lowden, John. Early Christian & Byzantine Art. Phaidon Press, Ltd., London. 1997.
Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Apogee. Alfred A Knopf, New York. 1992.
Wells, Colin. Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World. Bantam Dell, New York. 2007.

The Itinerary

I am trying to enjoy the halcyon days of this summer. Before I know it, I will be ushered off to the other side of the world with numerous adventures awaiting!

Before I set off to get my Byzantine fix in Bulgaria, I'll be headed to Germany with the family. We are all going because my cousin is to wed on the northeast coast at a place called Hiddensee.

I officially leave on July 8 headed for Munich with a layover in Switzerland. From Munich I will begin a teutonic road-trip with my brother and his wife to Berlin where we should meet up with the rest of the family on the 11th or 12th. While in Berlin I shall reunite with a long lost high school acquaintance, Ms. Klein, which should be amazing. I say that because, after all, this will be directly after the German's claim victory over the FIFA 2010 World Cup... so the locals will be exhibiting great composure and decorum. Right?

So from Berlin, off to Hiddensee for a couple nights then back to Berlin then a hop skip and a jump over to Budapest and then onto Varna (Bulgaria) where I will checkin and attend an orientation on the 18th concerning the dig. I will dig up amazing artifacts and old things until July 31st - on the eve of which I will take an overnight bus from Varna to Istanbul, setting afoot on the ground of the motherland at around a half past ten, August 1st. That coming week will be full of small pilgrimages and urbane historical analysis of that amazingly historically rich city of antiquity.

I should expect to be back in California on Aug 8. Unless I just cannot tear myself away from Constantinople... entirely possible.