Our first destination: Trabzon’s Hagia Sophia Hagia mosque, once a Greek Orthodox church, converted into a mosque in 1584, into a museum in 1964, and now into a mosque once more.  

It was under renovation when we visited the year before.  Now it is open to the public. 

Shaykh renews his salams to each brother individually, and asks how they are.  He wants to know who has not been to Trabzon previously.  He wants us to see and experience what he saw and experienced.  “That’s why I brought you here,” he says. “Make sure you are not passive tourists, but active dhakirs.”