Hello and welcome back to my Art and culture blog. As I told you on previous posts, I am doing a series of three blogs connecting my home region Galicia, and my Erasmus country, Turkey. On the past blogs I talked about The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and the Istanbul Blue Mosque. On todays post we will merge those two wonderful architecture creations and speak about what is the thing that make them so close.

Santiago Cathedral and the Blue Mosque, two architectural jewels separated by thousands of kilometres, share a common language: that of faith and grandeur.

Both constructions use the dome as a central element, symbolizing the connection between heaven and earth. Both play with light and stained-glass windows, creating atmospheres of spirituality and recollection.

However, there are also notable differences. Santiago Cathedral, with its Romanesque robustness, Gothic verticality and robust rock walls, gives a sense of strength and transcendence. The Blue Mosque, with its spaciousness, luminosity and colourful tiles invites contemplation and serenity.

Despite their stylistic differences, both constructions are testimonies of the history and culture of their peoples. They show us how art and architecture can transcend borders and connect people of different backgrounds. As I said in past posts, going inside of those two places, makes you feel like you are being part of something, they teleport you to a place in which you form part of its history.

Visiting Santiago Cathedral and the Blue Mosque is embarking on a journey through time and space, a dialogue between two worlds that share the power of culture, and search of the transcendent.