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I took this photo the very first time I saw Hagia Sophia for myself on June 2, 2008 (with @thereallajones). It was after my first year as an MA student. I studied and read, but none of that prepared me for what I was about to see inside. [thread]
https://flic.kr/p/dPZSZV
![I took this photo the very first time I saw Hagia Sophia for myself on June 2, 2008 (with @thereallajones). It was after my first year as an MA student. I studied and read, but none of that prepared me for what I was about to see inside. [thread] https://flic.kr/p/dPZSZV](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcqNft8XoAEwNMF.jpg "I took this photo the very first time I saw Hagia Sophia for myself on June 2, 2008 (with @thereallajones). It was after my first year as an MA student. I studied and read, but none of that prepared me for what I was about to see inside. [thread] https://flic.kr/p/dPZSZV")
https://flic.kr/p/dPZSZV
You read the measurements, study the sources, and look at the pictures, but none of that truly conveys the overwhelming experience of the space. I still get get chills and cry when I step inside. https://flic.kr/p/28f2WP5
In the 6c, Prokopios said, "Rising above this circle is an enormous spherical dome which makes the building exceptionally beautiful. It seems not to be founded on solid masonry, but to be suspended from heaven by that golden chain and so cover the space." https://flic.kr/p/dQeTFb
A little later, Paul the Silentiary writes, "Rising above this into the immeasurable air is a helmet rounded on all sides like a sphere and, radiant as the heavens, it bestrides the roof of the church." https://flic.kr/p/LbrC5w
During my 1st visit, I tried to capture that feeling of being enveloped by the space, but this was as good as I could do with my wimpy camera. And that's the point. Capturing all of that in a single image, within the confines of the frame, is impossible. https://flic.kr/p/dQ7adF
In the 10c, Constantine of Rhodes said: "I look towards the great house of God, the house of Wisdom that courses heaven, springing up from earth towards the ether and outstripping the circles of the stars." https://flic.kr/p/dQ8Voc
In the 14c, Nikephoros Gregoras had a difficult time describing the size of Christ's image in the dome: "When one looks up [at the image] from below, one is unable [to apprehend] by means of sight its true proportions and transmit them to the mind,... https://flic.kr/p/dQeZ5q
![In the 14c, Nikephoros Gregoras had a difficult time describing the size of Christ's image in the dome: "When one looks up [at the image] from below, one is unable [to apprehend] by means of sight its true proportions and transmit them to the mind,... https://flic.kr/p/dQeZ5q](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EcqR_0oXgAgLHbW.jpg "In the 14c, Nikephoros Gregoras had a difficult time describing the size of Christ's image in the dome: \"When one looks up [at the image] from below, one is unable [to apprehend] by means of sight its true proportions and transmit them to the mind,... https://flic.kr/p/dQeZ5q")
...since sight is usually deceived by the interposition of distance between the spectator and the object seen." https://flic.kr/p/LbrBQJ
Gregoras nails it. Photographs, books, descriptions, and even our own eyes are deficient in comprehending Hagia Sophia's space. She's been around for nearly 1500 years and has taken in people from all around the world. I expect she'll outlast us all. https://flic.kr/p/dQ9kXv
