You really can’t visit Istanbul without seeing the Hagia Sophia.
And I mean that quite literally because it’s a massive complex
and it really dominates the skyline here.
It’s spectacular from the exterior,
but I really want to see inside so that’s what we’re here to do.
We’re going to head into the Hagia Sophia.
I’m standing inside one of the wonders of the ancient world.
This is the Hagia Sophia
and it’s the most popular place to come in Istanbul
and with very, very good reason.
If you didn’t know anything about the history of this place and you just walked inside,
your breath would surely be taken.
It’s a massive complex.
But added to that, all of the layers of history for Hagia Sophia.
It was a church for 916 years and then a mosque for 482 years.
Such a long time as a place of worship and now it’s a museum
and when you walk inside and you look up at this incredible dome
and think about every part of history that has passed through here,
you actually get goosebumps.
I feel tingles.
This area with the circles on the floor behind me is really important.
It’s called the Omphalion and this is where for over 1000 years,
the Eastern Roman emperors,
the Byzantine emperors had their coronation ceremonies.
And it’s called the Omphalion
because when they were sitting on a throne in the centre of the biggest circle there,
they were wearing a belt — a gold chain around their waist,
which was called the Omphalion.
So that’s how it got its name.
And the Empress, the wife,
would stand in this balcony way up high between the pillars
and that’s why that is now called the Empress Gallery.
One of my favourite things you can see here are these enormous marble jars
each carved from a single piece of marble.
They’re from ancient Pergamon so they date to the 3rd, 4th century BC.
And a sultan brought them here in the 16th century
and they were used on special days to distribute water.
Here on the upper gallery, you can see this marble door.
It’s from the 6th century.
And this was used to separate the private chambers for the emperor
from the meeting place for the church members.
I never expected to find Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sophia
but that’s exactly what’s up here, here on the upper gallery.
The Viking inscription from the 9th century reads “Halvdan” — a name,
or “Halvdan was here.”
It’s right here from the 9th century.
People have been writing their names where they shouldn’t, for a very long time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing around Hagia Sophia.
I know this has been an incredible experience for me
and it’s easy to see being here why this place is considered a wonder of the ancient world.
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Bye.