If Walls Could Speak

Have you ever wondered what the walls we built would say to us if only they were capable of doing so? Would the pyramids holler with indignance whenever someone called “El king” carved onto its stones? Would the Eiffel tower admit to being a bit overrated? One wouldn’t even dare think about the horrors witnessed by the Easter Island statues. Since they were created by us, these grand buildings act as a mirror to our society, portraying the growth of humankind. While researching this article, I read into the history of countless artifacts, from the Luxor obelisks that toured the world, to the Berlin Wall, but the one that stood out the most was the Hagia Sophia, since it rivals all buildings as one that has truly experienced a clash of cultures.

Perched on the edge of two continents, this immense structure has experienced a number of integral changes close to the times when its mother city changed names. As with any great project, this magnificent building went through a few drafts. First built as the “Megale Ecclesia’’ (The Great Church) in 360 AD, the wooden church didn’t last long before it was burned down in a riot. Afterwards, a towering basilica rose to take its place in 415 AD, before it too was burned down during the Nika Revolt—an uprising named after the battle cry: “Conquer!” from those involved. Finally, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus were hired by Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, to lead the project, and in a remarkable span of only 6 years, an amazing church similar to the one we see today rose with the name of the Hagia Sophia or “Holy Wisdom”. An aweinspiring architectural feat, the orthodox church was a marvel of its time. In fact, the appearance of its interior and exterior is so mesmerizing that the 14th Century Russian Traveler, Stephen of Novgorod, was quoted saying “As for Hagia Sophia, the human mind can neither tell it nor make description of it.”

As soon as the church came to life, however, it was bombarded with the cruelty of the world. The population of Constantinople, nowadays known as Istanbul, became infected with the bacterium Yersinia Pestis, the predecessor to the bacterium that caused the Black Death. The Turkish historian Procopius wrote in his Secret History, that the city was bedeviled by the stench of the dead, that little soil was left undug for burying sites and that burying rituals were disregarded. Despite the disease wiping off most of the Byzantine farming industry, Justinian continued to ruthlessly demand that the survivors pay the annual taxes for themselves, as well as their liable neighbors, to be able to support the expenses needed to fortify the city against vandals as well as to build grand churches. At its peak, the Justinian Plague was said to have murdered 5000 of the city’s residents daily.

Just when the Holy Wisdom thought all hope was lost, the city was dogged by conquests and sieges. After witnessing the near demise of their species due to disease, humans jumped to finish the job themselves. During the following centuries, Constantinople faced battles one after the other, battles that I sadly shall not be mentioning due to their sheer number and political complexity. What is worth mentioning, though, is the rise of the Latin empire in Constantinople due to the efforts of the Fourth Crusades. This short-lived period saw severe pillaging in the marbles and mosaics of Hagia Sophia, as well as its conversion to a catholic church. But in a turn of events, the byzantines reconquered the city and immediately returned it to its orthodox roots. A dandelion is known to be able to bloom in the harshest of conditions. Similarly, despite all the pain and suffering the city had witnessed, art burst through, coloring the streets with dreams and hope. The 12th century saw an eruption of the mosaic art the Byzantine empire is still revered for to this day. Vivid, mesmerizing depictions of flora, fauna and Emperors shrouded the walls of the city, poetry and magnificent literary works such as those of Jelaleddin Rumi emerged, and dazzling silks with various masterpieces etched on them were created. During the reign of Michael VIII, the population of the city saw a growth that almost doubled its number, marking the period with a scale of prosperity unlike anything it had seen in ages.

You probably wish the colors had lasted forever and the city never saw eras of plight again. But that wasn’t the case here. In the 15th century, the city was flanked from both Asian and European borders by the Ottomans and was under siege for almost two months before surrendering. As soon as they entered the city, Sultan Mehmed the Second ordered his soldiers to stop raiding the Hagia Sofia of its marble, dazzled by its architectural magnificence. In an effort to revitalize it after almost being knocked down by a number of Earthquakes, he ordered 4 large minarets to be built, each acting as a structural support as well as a beacon for the spread of Islam throughout the city. Consequently, the church became a mosque adorned with ornate disks, featuring the names of Allah, The prophet Muhammed, the first 4 Caliphs, and the Prophet’s two grandsons.

Fast forward to the year 1914, a year marked by what became known as the Great War. The Ottoman Empire decided to aid the German Empire only on the basis that they, as the enemies of their enemies (Russia), must be their friends, a decision that caused the inevitable downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Great War, war was pretty typical, only the instruments used to fight them differed. It is only when those instruments became devastating enough to threaten our own existence did we stop to consider whether every weapon invented should indeed be used. This is especially true for the invention of the atomic and hydrogen bomb. As U.S. President Harry S. Truman put it best: “machines are ahead of morals by centuries, and when morals catch up perhaps there’ll be no reason for it.” It was only when our species was faced with eminent and complete destruction when the US placed Missiles in Istanbul and the USSR retaliated by placing some in Cuba, did humanity step back and for the first time we were finally able to see that the ends don’t always justify the means.

Due to a decision made in 1935 by Mostafa Kemal Atatürk, the first Turkish President and the one credited with establishing the Turkish Republic, the building stands as a museum to showcase the concoction of cultures that have left their fingerprints on it. The Hagia Sophia stands as one of the oldest artifacts built by man, giving it enough time to form an opinion about us. Whether it thinks we’re bumbling barbarians or mystical creatures, we’ll never know, but what we do know is that despite all odds, even when encountered with our own demons, we prevailed. Yes, our history, like our own nature, is messy, but it is also magnificent.