It was built in the year 537
by the emperor Justinian. (By the way, I know lots of dudes named
Justin. But no one named Justinian. I think my Justin friends got
ripped off when the "ian" part was cut off. Though come to think of it,
I also know guys named Ian. Maybe they got the "Justin" part ripped
off.)
Anyway, this place is more than 1,400 years old! And I love old stuff.
Just look
at my comedy.
It was one of the great churches in Christendom for centuries and
centuries. But in the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. Thus,
the minarets on the four corners.
Today, it's a museum. But it's cool to see all the old Christian stuff
in the place. For instance, this mosaic in the apse of the church is of
Mary holding the infant Jesus. Completed in 867.
Think of what you were doing
in the year 867. They were creating art depicting the Virgin Mary!
Pretty cool.
And here's a mosaic of Christ the Pantocrator...
I didn't know what
Pantocrator meant either. But it means All-Powerful.
After becoming a mosque,
they added tons of Arabic all over the church...
Because I don't understand
Arabic, here's me giving my "whatchu talkin' about Willis?" to the
Arabic...
And every place I go, I try
to take a really artistic picture. Or just something really beautiful.
It's easy, of course, to take a good picture. Just keep me out of the
frame. But an artistic one? That takes talent.
That's the main dome on the
top left, a smaller dome on the bottom left, and one of the marble
columns holding the whole place up!
And the church/mosque/museum is cool just because it reminds you of the
history - and age - of the faith. It's not something just made up a
handful of years ago...
