Hagia Sophia

Ara Güler’s photograph TURKEY. 1975. Boats sailing out into the Bosphorus depicts Hagia Sophia in all its majesty behind steam ships floating in the Bosphorus. The immense dome distinguishes the old Byzantine building while its Ottoman minarets pierce the city’s skyline and are echoed in Istanbul’s numerous mosques. Originally a sixth century Byzantine church, Sultan Mehmet II converted the building immediatelyafter the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and thus made Hagia Sophia the first mosque of Istanbul. Topkapi, the Sultan’s palace, is located adjacent to the mosque and the Tower of Justice is visible to the left of the dome.In this photograph, Ara Gülerjuxtaposes the old andthe very old withfast paced modern life. His image conveys tranquility, motion, nostalgia andmodernityat the same time. Thesmoke of the city’s industry threatens toslowly swallow its past. The imagetransports the viewer into the midst of a chilly, busy morning at this most magical place by the shore -in between continents and time.