While on our trip, we are trying to learn as much as possible about all the religions we come across. For our time in Istanbul, Turkey, we learned about Christianity and Islam. I am still unsure about some things, so if I make any mistakes about the religions, please comment so we can better understand.
To learn about the religions, we visited two different buildings: Hagia Sophia, a Christian church, and the Blue Mosque, an Islamic mosque.
Hagia Sophia
When Rome fell, the empire moved to present day Turkey in the city which was named Constantinople after their emperor at the time, Emperor Constantine I. They brought with them the religion of Christianity which was starting to become more popular around Europe. During the 1400’s, the Ottoman empire invaded and took over the city, renaming it Istanbul. They converted everything to Islam, including Hagia Sophia which became a mosque. They changed the church by painting over the christian icons and mosaics, adding minarets (towers), removing the altar, and moving the prayer niche to face Mecca, Saudi Arabia which is the Holy Land for Muslims, as the previous prayer niche faced Jerusalem, Israel.
After World War I, the Ottoman empire lost their power and fell. Turkey then exiled their sultan and became a republic. The country tried to modernize and follow the european ways under their leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It was during his time when the paint in the Hagia Sophia peeled away, revealing the conserved pieces of christian art covered while it was a mosque. Mr. Ataturk decided to convert the building into a museum to show how modern they are with a Christian church in a Muslim country. It’s thanks to him we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful church.
Before Hagia Sophia was built, there had been two churches on the same site which were destroyed in riots. By the time the Hagia Sophia was finished, Constantinople was the centre of Christianity. Hagia Sophia was the biggest Christian church in the world for 900 years until the Cathedral of Florence was built.
While we were visiting the Vatican city in Rome, we had hoped to see Pope Francis, but he wasn’t there. We learned he was in Istanbul at Hagia Sophia talking to the heads of the Greek Orthodox church to talk about combining the churches. I think this is a very good idea and the Pope is very enlightened to try to achieve something like this.
Blue Mosque
Another important place of worship is the Blue Mosque. It was built across from Hagia Sophia on the former site of the Emperor Constantine’s palace. The architect of the mosque used Byzantine architecture to compliment the way Hagia Sophia was designed. I think this architect was right to make the mosque this way because it shows respect for the other religious building. Another thing I found amazing was the mosque only took seven years to build!
On the outside of the mosque there are 6 minarets or towers which have the loudspeakers on them for the call to prayer. This is the only mosque in Turkey with 6 minarets. When it was finished, people criticized the Sultan Ahmet I because the mosque in Mecca had 6 minarets as well so it looked like the sultan wanted to be as good as the mosque in the Holy Land. What would you do to solve this problem? Sultan Ahmet I fixed this by ordering another minaret to be built in Mecca so there would be more on that mosque!
When visiting mosques, there is a dress code which needs to be followed. For girls, our hair and knees need to be covered, for the boys, just their knees need to be covered, and for both, no shoes are allowed to be worn inside. We brought our scarves from Morocco and wore pants so we were prepared, but just in case, there are scarves and wraps at the mosque that can be borrowed. We received plastic bags and were provided with shelves to put our shoes on while we looked around. This was a new experience for me and I liked being able to enter the building in the same way the worshippers did, which made me feel included.
Visiting the mosque reminded me of my time in Morocco where we saw mosques and heard the call to prayer every day. The only difference between the two are we weren’t able to go inside the mosques in Morocco. During the French Occupation of the country, the French soldiers went in the places of worship and killed people, so a law was passed which banned non-Muslims from entering the mosques. I enjoyed being able to see the insides of the buildings because all of them are beautifully decorated, but in Morocco, only those who can go inside are able to see its beauty.
The Blue Mosque was given its name from the beautiful blue tiles that decorate its interior. The French liked these blue colours so much they made the word turquoise, meaning “colour of the Turks”. I think it would be fun to have a colour named after Canada. Maybe a shade of red like a maple leaf or Mountie uniform called “canadiennaise” (colour of the Canadians)? 🙂
I have learned many new things about the Islamic religion and I can see quite a few similarities between this religion and Christianity.
Similarities
• Both religions believe in Jesus
• Both have a Holy Book and a Holy Land
• Both believe in one God
• Both participate in fasting
• Both are considered to be world religions
Differences
• Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God; Muslims believe he is a prophet
• I’m not quite sure, but I think Christians believe in saints; Muslims believe in Prophets
• Christians’ holy day is Sunday; Muslims’ holy day is Friday
• Christians don’t need to do a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; Muslims need to do at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lives
• Christians don’t have a special way to prepare meats; Muslims have halal meat where the animal is killed according to the Islamic religion
Learning about other religions is really interesting and I think if everyone took time to learn about and understand these religions, then people will feel more included and people will feel less scared of the other cultures. Again, please comment if there is anything I’ve made a mistake on or something to teach others reading this post. Thank you!
Comments
8 responses to “West Meets East, East Meets West”
My mum and I were just talking about your travels and hey presto, this blog appeared. I found this one very, very interesting Mikhaila as I am often confused about who believes in what. Thank you for simplifying it for me. Again, the photos are beautiful. Take care, I wonder where you are now! With love from Mum Laird and Teta Doreen xoxo
Hi Teta Doreen and Mrs. Laird,
It was very interesting to learn how similar both religions are. I loved visiting the two places of worship because they were amazing! At the moment, we’re in Jerusalem, Israel, and having a great time full of new learning for upcoming blog posts!
Mikhaila, you have done a most thorough job of explaining the two religions . I have really appreciated and enjoyed the research, photos and especially the pictures of you three ladies in your “humble” attire. Your explanation of the origin of one of my favourite colours was a special treat! Maybe you should continue to explore a term for a special Canadian colour!
Hello Herta,
Learning about the origin of the word turquoise was an extra bit of interesting knowledge for me as well. Maybe a petition to Crayola could get a new colour made for Canadians…. 🙂
Mikhaila and Katina,
There is a small organization back home called Encounter World Religions that offers courses to schools and the general public. I attended their introductory course called To See, To Be, To Do, which gave a fantastic overview of all the world’s many religions, their similarities & differences. Their high-light course is one week long every July in Toronto where we will visit (and eat in) the many different houses of worship.
http://www.worldreligions.ca
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the link! That is definitely something to look forward to discovering more about this program. It looks very interesting and covers many religions I haven’t heard of before. 🙂
That was very beautifully expressed, Mikhaila. You are very wise for your age! Love, Baba
Hello Baba,
Thank you for your compliments! They’re very kind!