Goya: Chapel of Saint Anthony (1798)

In Istanbul, there stands a brick building. It is small, looks very insignificant, and we can only find it by walking far away from anything important. It is called the Chora. But, while it seems so unimportant from the outside, inside it is too beautiful for words.

There is a similar building in Madrid, Spain. It is small, looks very insignificant, and we can only find it by walking far away from anything important. It is called the Chapel (Little Church) of Saint Anthony. But, while it seems so unimportant from the outside, inside it also is too beautiful for words.

Chora Church (1321)

In Turkey there is a city called Istanbul. From 330 to 1930, however, that city was called Constantinople.

In that city, in an unimportant area, there is a brick building that looks very unimportant. It was first called the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora. Chora means “the country.” This church building was first constructed in the early 400s. At that time it was outside the walls of the city.

Muslim Call to Prayer

Muslims worship God together at a place called a mosque. At each mosque a person is chosen to be the muezzin.

The muezzin does many things. One of them is to call Muslims to prayer five times each day. He does this by singing the “Call to Prayer” (“Adhan”).

In English, the words of the call to prayer are something like this:

     Allah is greater [than all else].
     I witness that there is no god except Allah.

     I witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

     Come to prayer.

     Come to success.

     Allah is greater [than all else].

     There is no god except Allah.

One thing that makes Muslim cities distinct is this call to prayer. Everyone can hear it. Hearing it, everyone is reminded of God five times each day.

Copyright © 2012 by Steven Farsaci. All rights reserved. Fair use encouraged.

Pantheon

In Rome stands a building called the “Pantheon” because it was dedicated to "all gods." The Roman emperor Hadrian, who ruled from 117 to 138, had it built. It has been used as a Roman Catholic church since 609.

Hagia Sophia

Constantine 1^st was emperor of Rome from 306 to 337. In 330 he moved the capital of the empire to a new city he had built for the purpose. He called this city New Rome but it was soon known as Constantinople. In 1931 its name was changed to Istanbul.

Justinian 1^st was emperor of Rome from 527 to 565. He was also the most powerful emperor since Constantine. Justinian thought that Rome was the most important empire in the world. He thought that Constantinople was the most important city in that empire. He thought that the leader of the church in Constantinople was the most important Christian. So Justinian ordered the construction of the most important church building in the empire. He called it Hagia Sophia which means “Holy Wisdom.”

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)

Modest Mussorgsky was born on March 9, 1839, in Karevo, Russia, near the very rural town of Toropets, about 250 miles (400 km) south of St. Petersburg. His family was aristocratic, wealthy, and owned lots of land, villages, and peasants. He died on March 28, 1881, in St. Petersburg, at the age of 42.

Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky was born on March 9, 1839, in Karevo, Russia, near the very rural town of Toropets, about 250 miles (400 km) south of St. Petersburg. His family was aristocratic, wealthy, and owned lots of land, villages, and peasants. He died on March 28, 1881 at the age of 42.

His mother started teaching him piano when he was six years old. He played well and developed great skill. He was sent to private school in St. Petersburg at age ten and then to military school there at age thirteen. He continued his piano lessons. His fellow students liked to hear the songs he made up as he played. He graduated in 1856 and became an officer in the Russian Imperial Guard.