#Sidibouzid - Dec 17, one year on...

I rarely write on this blog and lately I have not posted much at all. I will not make promises to amend that, because life is churning far too fast for me to be sure of keeping such a promise. But I would like to write a few lines of what we see in my cherished Middle East over the past year, and what better time to do so than the anniversary.

So, this is a tribute to unemployed university graduate fruit vendor Mohammed Bouazizi of Sidibouzid in Tunisia, whose frustration and anger was the spark of the Arab revolution of 2011. His action woke many and started a wave of change.

Many more have died since and I fear we have not seen the end of violence. But many many have also found voice and hope. I believe we can never go back to a day where it is said that Arab populations are politically passive or complacent.

This is also for Tawakol Karman, Nobel peace laureate, Alaa Abdel Fattah, Razan Ghazzawi, Ali Abduleman - just to mention but a few of those brave people whose names we have learned this year.

Change will continue to come, if in different timetables and ways in different countries.

At the regional level, inter-regional interaction has also sharpened and heightened.

Windows

Two different windows (the lower one real and decorated, the upper one painted), from the Hagia Sofia.

Pillar!

The architectural solidity of the Hagia Sofia, one of the earliest building supporting a dome (replicated in Istanbul first almost a thousand years later by Sinan in the Suleymaniyya) and having survived in an earthquake zone, leads me to believe that this amazing column has no important function. But it does sort of lead you to look twice and once again!

Decorations

Every detail is really exquisitely worked.

More details

4 different angels (? or what are they?) can now be seen in one of the ceiling domes - they must have been uncovered from whitewash in recent renovations because I cannot recall ever seeing them.

Mosaics in Hagia Sofia

Some examples of the magnificent mosaics decorating the Hagia Sofia, really personifying the regal origins of the church.

The three top photos are all of mosaics in the upper gallery.







This is the Pantocrator, over the main imperial door from the side gallery to the hall.



Mary with her son, in the vault high above the altar.

In Hagia Sofia

I think this was my first visit to Hagia Sofia without the central hall being full of construction equipment for renovations. Instead, it felt open, airy and light in a whole new way a - an amazing experience!

In the Topkapi

Kösks and decorative fixtures (including the golden ramadan tent, overlooking the Golden Horn).

Mosaics from Topkapi harem

Amazing Iznik tiles, all from inside the harem. Which is worth a visit not for its sensual connotations, but for its history and how it shows the social system and hierarchy of the palace. Highlighting both the role of women, the system of inheritance and ottoman slavery, it is a true eye-opener.

Looks at Hagia Sofia itself

Some outside views of the Hagia Sofia, and of the Hagia Eirene behind it. Note how both are dedicated to concepts (Holy Wisdom and Holy Peace) and not saints, but still in the feminine.

Tombs and details

A closer look at the tombs and kösks in the side courtyard.

Hagia Sofia courtyard

For the first time ever, I saw the tomb's in the side courtyard of the Hagia Sofia, opening through a small grate to the side, around the corner from the main entrance. It gave a better view of the whole Sofia complex.