I got a travel blog email this morning with a story about the Hagia Sophia planning to again start charging visitors for entry. Not all visitors, just non-Turkish ones (or maybe non-worshiping visitors). Over the past few years, the Hagia Sophia was changed from being monument/museum and returned to being an active mosque with free entry.
Apparently, those changes have resulted in or at least contributed to the building deteriorating. We were lucky enough to visit there prior to the change back into an active mosque, and I felt it was mildly crowded back then, but I had to buy a ticket, and I think it is now seeing many more visitors than a decade ago.
It was then, and is still today, an impressive historical monument - whether a church, mosque, or museum, and I will really hate to see it decline for reasons that are short sighted or avoidable.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2354 posts
There was a rumor about when I visited Istanbul in September that they were going to close the building to all tourists and only allow worshipers. That was the (purported) reason for the extra long lines to get in as people were worried they'd never be able to see it again. Don't know if that's true, but it appears the access issue speculation is going on in various forms as your blog post noted.
Side note, it was interesting to hear our guide talk about the differences in accessing and explaining the building to visitors as it transitioned from museum to mosque. Regardless, I think it's fair to say the Turkish government is making some kind of statement (TBD) about how they treat the Hagia Sophia and other historic buildings, like Chora Church (which is currently closed altogether, in transition back to a mosque).
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7049 posts
Over the past few years, the Hagia Sophia was changed from being
monument/museum and returned to being an active mosque with free
entry.Apparently, those changes have resulted in or at least contributed to
the building deteriorating.
Can you be more specific? This is a building that has stood for hundreds of years and has changed multiple times. I don't think the past few years (a minuscule time in the building's long history) could have resulted in any substantial deterioration to the structure itself; however, the Byzantine mosaics have been likely covered up as visual representations and icons are not in tune with Islam.
Posted by
OP
Reston VA
149 posts
@agnes - it's probably difficult to determine the full accuracy of the source of deterioration and long term impact.
If you google the topic ("Hagia Sophia deterioration"), you'll see an assortment of stories about recent damage to the Hagia Sophia - much of it linked to the new (returned) use as a mosque and the lessening of rules enforcement to prevent damage. Of course, there is likely some bias built into the "news" stories because of the Erdogan political angle, so while it is possible the deterioration has gotten worse DIRECTLY because of the recent change from museum to mosque, it is also LIKELY that protection of the Hagia Sophia has never been ideal and problems over the centuries just add up, and folks start noticing and/or reporting it more.
Sometimes it is tough to have an absolute root cause(s), but regardless, if the Hagia Sophia is deteriorating and Turkey and the world aren't making enough of an effort to slow & stop that decay, that's a sad thing for sure.