Stopped by Hagia Sophia again since they're still letting people in for free. They're threatening to start charging tourists from mid-January. Everything looks different from when it was a museum. Carpets, really bright lighting, and you can't walk everywhere.

Can't get to the second floor. Not at all. Though they're planning to fix that too in January. For your money, any wish is possible.

But that's not even the most frustrating part. I read online about a special column inside. According to legend, you make a wish, stick your thumb in the hole, and twist it 360 degrees. If it gets wet, your wish is guaranteed to come true. At some point they decided to protect the column and covered it with bronze sheets. That didn't stop the pilgrims though. They poked holes through the bronze and kept going with the ritual. Today they've blocked access with a little fence and you can't reach it by hand. And no one's trying to climb over it. I haven't heard any promises to open it up again.

Looks like I'm leaving without making a wish :(