Hagia Sophia and the sweating column

In front of you stands Hagia Sophia. You already know its official history; now it's time for the other one, passed down by word of mouth for centuries, that turned this building into a place of wonders.

1The sweating column

Inside, near the north-west entrance, is a column sheathed in bronze plates with a hole in the middle. It's known as the sweating column, the weeping column or the wishing column. Visitors put their thumb in the hole and try to turn their hand in a full circle.

According to tradition, the column has been damp ever since Saint Gregory the Wonderworker appeared beside it, and its moisture cures illness; other tales say Justinian cured a headache here.

The down-to-earth explanation is that the porous stone soaks up moisture. But the custom is so old that the bronze has been worn smooth by millions of hands.

2The priest in the wall

The most famous legend was born on 29 May 1453. As Ottoman troops poured into the city, the liturgy was being celebrated in the basilica. According to Greek tradition, when the soldiers burst in, the priest took up the chalice, walked to a wall, and the wall opened to hide him.

The legend says he will come out to finish the interrupted mass on the day the city becomes Christian again. It's a tale of consolation for a defeated people, not historical fact, but it has been told for more than five centuries.

3What to look for

• The west door: the sweating column is close by, on your left as you enter.
• The dome, which the Byzantines described as hanging from heaven.
• The walls of brick and stone where legend places the secret door.