Not too far from Hagia Sophia lies Hagia Irene, a Greek Eastern Orthodox Church that had the luxury of not being converted to a mosque after the fall of Constantinople. Along with Hagia Sophia and Hagia Dynamis, these three churches were dedicated to God’s three attributes, peace, wisdom, and power. Hagia Irene had stood for peace, but during the Ottoman conquest of the city, it had been used as the military arsenal, and was even converted to the military museum during Sultan Ahmet III’s reign.
Hagia Irene is not as popular as its sister Hagia Sophia, since it had only recently opened up to tourists. You can even find a few moments of solitude, and hear your own footsteps echo through its vast halls. Its ceilings were decorated with mosaics of saints and psalms, which were probably what this woman had been looking at when I snapped her photo.
I always feel somewhat guilty when I take a photo of a stranger, but I couldn’t help but want to capture the reverent look on her face. Perhaps it’s only a look of serious concentration, but in that setting and under the light, I couldn’t help but attribute it to faith.
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