20th Anniversary Dream Trip Contest

Great Travel Moment

Hagia Sophia is one of the most dramatic building interiors in the world. Built by the Byzantine Christians, converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Muslims this juxtipositon of the Islamic prohibition against representational art but thier love of Calligraphy as a component in spiritual settings speaks volumes about the concept of"Sacred Space". You see this dramatic vista as you enter the main dome. I had been there before. As I snapped my picture I could hear both my wife and son say"Oh my God"! as they saw this"Sacred Space" for the first time. I can remember having the same reaction the first time I entered Hagia Sophia 25 years earlier, but that didn't compare to sharing it with my family.