Turkey Day 6-Grand Mosque, Nicea, Hagia Sophia

     In the morning we went to the Grand Mosque in Bursa. It’s the 5^th largest Mosque in the world. It was built in 1396 to commemorate the Turkish battle with the Tatars. I really really liked it. It was very clean and looked very new. It has been well taken care of.

     After that we drove to Nicea where the famous Nicene Creed was established. In May 325, Constantine called many bishops from around the empire to solidify key doctrines of the church. Such matters that were debated included the divinity of Christ and the nature of the Godhead. Because of the Nicene Creed, the church became more unified and helped propel Christianity into the Middle Ages.

     After Nicea we drove back to Istanbul where we capped off our trip by going to the Hagia Sophia, or the Aya Sophia. It was built by Constantius in 360 and was for many centuries the world’s largest church. Today it’s the 4^th largest. After being destroyed by earthquakes, Justinian finally built it as it stands today. In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II ordered for the building to be converted into a mosque. Then in 1934, Ataturk ordered that it be converted into a museum. There is definitely a lot of wear and tear on the building but was really awesome to be in such a historic building that is so massive.

     Turkey was such an amazing trip. Not only was it absolutely beautiful but it is so historically and religiously significant. It was soooo incredible to learn about. The highlights of the trip in my opinion were going to or passing by the 7 churches of Asia, the Blue Mosque, and the beautiful scenery at Assos. Even though I posted some pictures, they do it no justice as to how magnificent the country is.