Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-28
in TIE YARD OF THE MOSQUE
BARRIERS, Butchers and Peddlers Ply
Their Trade There.
ALSO SELLERS OF REvoLvERs
Pigeons of sultan Bayrid-Five
obligations of the Plus Mos
lem-The shoppers and
BegEars.

CoNSTANTINoPLE, March s.-It was
tumored last week that the Greeks had
lsked the Ottoman government 10 give
back to them the famous byzantine church
OF st. Sophia, about which much tradition
and superstition clings. The church was
taken from them at the time of the Turk
ish conquest, in 1853, and the 10000 women
and children who had taken refuge there
were either slain by their captors or drag
ged out and divided among the soldiery as
slaves.
Though the Turks have converted the
church into a mosque by celebrating many
traces of Christianity and adding emblems
OF Islam beth inside and out the old build
Ing stands out conspicuously from among
the other large mosques OF the city which
have been built on a similar plan. Their
painted walls and brilliantly colored tiles
are tawdFy looking In comparison with the
wonderful mosaics and marble pillars
which give an air of somber grandeur to
the interior Of st. Sophia.
Justinian, in whose reign It was built.
did not consider that gold alone was good
enough for the scheme of decoration. so
he ordered precious stones to be used as
well. No expense was spared and many
were the ships that came to Constantinople
laden with all manner OF costly things.
Ivory. amber and cedar were brought for
the doors; every known kind of, marble
was used for the 100 gigantic pillars-green
from Daeernia, white with black vein from
the Bosporus, white with pink streaks from
Phrygia and others from Egypt and Asia
Minor.
Record Job of Building.
History says that the pay of all govern
ment officials and public s~choolmasters and
the troops had to be stopped in order to
meet the demands of the 100 architects and
their 10000 artisans who were employed
about the building. Probably none of the
mosques was built at such expense or
with such expedition, for the emperor him
self superintendent the work and set the
different groups of men vying with one
another to see which could finish first.
1t Is no wonder the Greeks should covet
their lost treasure. which they have long
hoped and still expect to repossess. But
though there may be an outward appear
ance OF friendship between Turks and
Christians since the constitution, there Is
no intention on the part Of the former to
relinquiah their spou,
st. Sophia, like all mosques that we're al
one time churches, is painted yellow on
the outside; the crosses over the doors
have been changed TO represent the prongs
of a trident. and four odd shaped stumpy
mlnarets have been added at different
times. Within the building many supersti-
tious Greeks point out a marble cornice
as the gate which led to a chapel into
which a priest fled with the sacramental
elements when he heard the city was in
the hands Of the Turks: and they believe
that he will come out of his place of con.
cealment when the building becomes a
church again.
Superstition and Changes.
The Greeks also assure you that the
place is haunted by a choir of angels
whose chanting IL audible to those Chris
tians who are in the building; there are q
few Moselms who confess that they, too
have heard the angelic voices. Some OF
the wonderful mosaics OF Christ. the apos.
ties and the seraphim show through the
thin wash which the Turks have put ovei
them; others are hidden completely by ire
mendous green shields inscribed with the
names OF Allah and Mohammed. The fina
attempt to bring Islam into prominenc,
is in the dome. where a green linen ciotf
has been fixed to cover the mosaic Of
the Almighty and the following verse from
the Koran painted upon 1t in gilt letters
thirty feet long.
God 10 the light OF heaven and earth
His light u as that OF the lamp placed In
niohe In the wall which diffuseth it's ligh
from under the glass and shineth like unit
q star; and In this lamp burneth oil of
neither east nor west. God alone shed
deth His light on whomsoever He passeth
But apart from the changes which hav,
been made to the building, the courtyard
OF st. Sophia shows one that II is no longe
In the hands OF Christians, being used
like other mosque yards. as a place 70
the transaction OF business. And the vend
ers of trinkets and oriental souvenirs tina
infest the place swindle the innocent tour
lists who come in hundreds to visit tn
mosque which is one Of the few open L
Christians.
Business I'm the Mosque Yard.
In comparison with the ~courtyards o
other mosques, the large yard Of ST. 81
phia IL barren and desolate. though 1
boasts q couple OF coffee shops and man!
vendors. DuCing the feast OF Ramazar
the greatest Of the Moslem festivals, 1
is almost impossible to get into the inne
yard OF the BayEid Cor Pigeon) mosque
which 10 the most picturesque of any Il
-Constantinople. For here ssembledr oun
TIE fountain in the center is a dens
crowd OF vendors. white-turbaned. gray
bearded old fellows, sitting cross-legged
and soldiers and civilians in many-col
ored costumes.
There are seal cutters and sellers o
rosaries. the string OF ni~nety-nine glas
or sandalwood beads which every Mosler
carries to amuse his idle fingers; an
there are sellers of Egyptian and Persia
sweetmeats, trinkets and oriental peI
fumes skirting the yard is a raise
c~loister, where the scribes with inkhor
stuck in their voluminous sashes sit o
low stools and write or transcribe letter
for ignorant Turkish women.
AS you stand for a moment in the door
way n watch the gray-oolored, bus
throng. intent on bargaining and swir
ding. within the gray walls of the an
Client mosque your mind goes back I
the day when Christ entered the tempt
OF God at Jerusalem and "overth rev IN
tables OF the money changers and OF thos
that sold doves" For in one corner G
the yard. making the) Biblical pictur
more realistic. Is the stall OF the pigeo
keeper. and flutterlng continually eve
the heads OF the people are the descend
ants of a pair OF pigeons bought by Sultn