The Church of Saints Sergius & Bacchus, now called Kuçuk Ayasofia Camii — or little Hagia Sophia Mosque — is one of those little gems you stumble upon. It’s off the beaten path, in a residential neighborhood not far from the coast of the Sea of Marmara. There were only two other people in the mosque: a man, apparently a caretaker, who gestured me in when I hesitated outside the door wondering if it was okay for me to go in, and the other a worshipper who was so focused on prayer that he didn’t notice me as I tiptoed around him, having put my camera on silent shutter & took a few shots.
It’s a short, squat building and looks more like a cistern than a grand church that once used to be second only to the Hagia Sophia. The simplicity of the interior gives it an air of solemnity & piety that’s lacking in the Hagia Sophia with its ostentatious dimensions & iconography. The red & green breccia marble columns around the nave have delicate floral friezes on their capitals.
It is believed that Emperor Justinian (the Builder) — who also rebuilt the Hagia Sophia in its current form — built this church in gratitude to the saints who appeared to his uncle Justin, his uncle and the then Emperor, asking him to pardon the nephew the night before he (the nephew) was supposed to be put to death for allegedly organizing a revolt against Justin.
As I wore my shoes outside the door of the mosque, the worshipper emerged and smiled at me. ‘Thank you for coming to Turkey,’ he said in English. ‘Tell all your friends that it’s a safe and beautiful country.’
I wholeheartedly concurred with him.
