Hypochondri-Anatolia

Well, Stuart has a little glitch and freaks out. I think he's a hypochondriac. No big heart attack or anything. Good grief. But no matter, I'm still just happy he works. Silly thing.

As much as I complain about all the papers and assignments I have, it really is quite wonderful learning all the things I'm learning. Today I have immersed myself in Turkish history and culture. Very enjoyable. Since 4 years ago when I took the Western Survey (Art History) I have been interested in Turkey. In the first section of the survey I was introduced to the Haghia Sophia.
In a word: amazing.
It sparked my interest in Turkey, if nothing else but to make me put Istanbul on my top 5 places I would really like to go. It was built in the Justinian era, under a (somewhat) Christian rule. It was rebuilt in part due to earthquakes, and added on to due to the course of history, but it is still primarily the same as it was when it was built. This place is huge. And beautiful. I love the thought that something so beautiful, powerful, massive and inspiring was built for my King. As is the unfortunate destiny of so many beautiful places of worship, it has been reduced to a mere museum. Like Turkey itself, the Haghia Sophia has experienced a kind of ridiculously diverse history, and, as a museum, stands for a little bit of everything with the Bible as an insuppressible foundation.