Roger asked: "Is there a way to go from Sophia Cathedral?"

The captain said: "There are roads, and there is a road along the walls of the Grand Palace and the royal garden walls to the north of the Grand Palace.

"That's for patrols to walk, and there are no people in normal times.

“It leads from Sophia Cathedral to the northeast wall.

"Although there is a city gate there, it is locked and there are no guards on weekdays, so you have to climb over the wall.

"I used to help my friend, ah, when I helped that bastard transport the cargo, I parked the boat there.

"Then he used a hanging basket to hang up the goods he wanted, and then hang down the goods he wanted to take."

Danny interrupted, “How did he avoid the guards on the city wall?”

The captain said: "There are no guards in that corner, just avoid the patrol."

Danny asked, "When did the patrol pass there?"

The captain said: "Once in the morning and once in the evening."

Danny raised his voice and said, "Morning! Wouldn't that be possible to bump into it?"

The captain said helplessly: "We used to avoid it."

Roger looked at the map calmly and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"There are more dangerous places, not as good as here."

Roger punched the table and said, "Then it's here. If luck doesn't favor me, I will use my sword to earn my life!"

After nightfall, Roger followed the stranger and walked into Sophia Cathedral through the back door.

He was surrounded by Henk, Rinaldi and 7 personal guards.

After the church guards put them in, they sneakily looked out and then closed the door.

It was still early, and Roger did not immediately let his men control the guards of the church.

With great interest, he visited the Sophia Cathedral, a world miracle that is as famous as the Great Wall, under the leadership of the guards.

The guard proudly explained to Roger while leading the way.

He is like a professional tour guide.

He said: "The cathedral is named after a saint named Sophia, so it is called 'Hadays Sophia'.

“The word means God’s wisdom in Greek.

"So this church is also called the 'Church of God'. The church worships Jesus."

The guard took Roger around the outer porch to the main entrance.

Along the way, he explained: "In the 532nd year of Jesus' birth, Emperor Justinian I decided to build this cathedral.

"Justinian I chose the famous scholars Isidor of Lido and Antimos of Trales as architects.

"The emperor transported materials from all over the empire to Constantinople, such as the ancient Greek columns of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, Balebek, and the eight Corinthian columns in Lebanon.

"The big stones are all quarries from afar, including porphyry in Egypt, green marble in Thessaly, black stone in the Bosphorus region and yellow stone in Syria.

“More than 10,000 people participated in the construction work.

"The Emperor and Patriarch Menas participated in the grand inauguration ceremony in the 537th year of the birth of Jesus.

"According to records, the magnificence and exquisite whitewashing of the church at that time made the emperor claim: 'Solomon! I have surpassed you!'

"The mosaics in the church were not completed until 578 years after the birth of Jesus."

Walking to the main entrance, Roger saw 9 doors leading to the central hall of the church.

The guard introduced: "The gate in the middle is called the 'Emperor', and only the emperor and the queen can enter from here.

"There are 4 doors on both sides of the left and right sides. The doors on both sides are for ordinary people, and the two gates in the middle are for nobles and ministers."

The guard pointed to the tympanum on the Emperor's Gate and said, "Sir, look, here is a beautiful mosaic painting."

Roger saw Christ sitting on a throne decorated with jewels and praying, holding an open book in his left hand.

The book says: "Peace is with you. I am the light of the world."

There is a round sculpture on each shoulder of Christ, with the Archangel with the scepter Gabriel on the left, and the Virgin Mary on the right.

The guard introduction: "The halo shown on the mosaic represents the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo V bowing to Christ, and Christ gave eternal power to the Eastern Roman Emperor."

The guard seemed to want to lead Roger towards the noble door, but Roger walked directly through the emperor door.

When he entered the main hall, Roger immediately felt a sense of vast space.

He looked up and saw a central dome with a maximum diameter of about 30 meters above the main hall of the church, about 55 meters high.

There seems to be murals on the dome, which should be images of Christ, but the light is weak and Roger cannot see it clearly.

He saw the dome through the dome, supported by four giant pillars in the corner.

The dome seems to float between the four large arches of these pillars.

The continuous arcades under the dome make the dome seem weightless.

The 40 arched windows below the dome introduce bright moonlight.

Roger lowered his head again, and he saw that the ground in the main hall of the church was covered with multi-colored marble, green, white, purple porphyry and golden mosaics.

Then Roger looked around and saw the walls of the cathedral covered with marble slabs.

At the shoulder of the pulpit, there are mosaics of the archangel Gabriel and Michael.

The arches of the surrounding buildings are based on black marble, and precious white marble slices are embedded on them, showing the patterns of flowers and birds.

There are many mosaic portraits of people in the church.

The guard introduced: "This is Ignatius, this is the Orthodox saint... This is the prophet and the church elders..."

The guard took Roger to the southwest gate again.

The guard introduced Roger to a mosaic painting on the tympanum of the southwest gate.

He said: "This was created in the 944th year of the birth of Jesus."

Roger saw that on the mosaic, the Virgin was sitting on a throne without a chair, and his feet were placed on a pedestal decorated with precious stones.

The childhood Jesus was on her lap, and his left hand held the scroll and gave blessings.

The guard explained: "Stantin I, standing on the left of the Virgin Mary, was wearing a dress, who gave the model of the city to the Virgin Mary.

“The words around him mention: ‘The saint and the great emperor Constantine’.

“Justinian I stood on the right side of Our Lady and presented the model of Hagia Sophia to Our Lady.

“The circles on both sides of the head of the Virgin Mary are carved with monograms ‘mp’ and ‘Θy’.

“That is the abbreviation of ‘mētēr’ and ‘theou’, meaning ‘Mother of God’.”

The guard led Roger to the upper level from a ramp north of the outer porch.

The slanting is like the corridor of a public housing in later generations, turning back upwards, but it is not a staircase, but a section of slopes, and it is much more tiring to walk than a staircase.

After going up, Roger saw that the second floor was a corridor that surrounded the hall with the word "c".

He approached the railing and looked at the hall, and there was a clear view below.

The guard took Roger to see the mosaic murals embedded in the exterior wall.

He took Roger to a darker corner.

He pointed to a mural and said, "This is a portrait of Emperor Alexander."

Roger saw the mosaic depicting Emperor Alexander, wearing gorgeous clothes all over his body, holding a scroll in his right hand and a cross with a ball in his left hand.

Then the guard said mysteriously: "Sir, there are also some holy objects here."

He took Roger to see it, a stone known as the tombstone of Jesus, the milk of Virgin Mary, the shroud of Jesus and the bones of many saints.
Chapter completed!