Viking Graffiti at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey

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. If you enjoyed the video, make sure you give it a thumbs up and subscribe for lots more travel adventures around the world. I will also link our other Turkey videos in the description box so make sure you check them out and I’ll see you in my next video. Bye.

Channel: Eileen Aldis

Views: 88,956

Rating: 4.9175463 out of 5

Keywords: hagia sophia, hagia sophia mosque, hagia sophia museum, hagia sophia istanbul, hagia sophia turkey, eileen aldis, istanbul, istanbul turkey, turkey, ayasofya, istanbul things to do, what to do in istanbul, istanbul guide, istanbul travel vlog, turkey travel vlog, hagia sophia vlog, istanbul travel guide, istanbul vlog, turkey vlog, things to do in istanbul, Türkiye, İstanbul, hagia sophia church, istanbul must see, hagia sophia tour, hagia sophia inside, ayasofya camii, turkish

Id: I1soQH85mPE

Length: 4min 24sec (264 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 04 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/OnkelMickwald]

I can read runes, and I've never been able to see exactly how they get the scribbles to "Halfdan" though.

[u/AbsolutelyOrchid]

It's nice to see the beauty it was before it was ruined. Thanks for the video!