Istanbul August 7-10

Istanbul August 7- 10

Entered August 26

We landed in Istanbul on Friday, the 7th of August .What makes this part of the trip extra special is that Barry’s brother Larry is joining us for a couple of weeks on this part of the trip. We are staying in the Sultanhmet section of the City, a walk away from all of the major sites.

The Blue Mosque is framed in the window of the room where we eat our breakfast. Looking the other way, we see the Sea of Marmara, which is a beautiful and is connected to the Straits of Bosophorus.

The architecture of Turkey is best understood in terms of the conquerors who built here. In approximately 333B.C.E., the Persian Empire fell to Greece under Alexander the Great. Rome defeated Greece and ruled from about 129 B.C.E. The Byzantines defeated Rome in 300 A.D. In 654 the Arabian armies took, Constantinople (Istanbul), From 1243 until the 1700’s the Ottoman Empire was in control (Lonely Planet, Turkey). Turkey is the bridge between Europe and Asia, touching Greece in the west, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq in the south, and Iran, Armenia and Georgia, in the east. It has always resided in a neighbourhood full of political unrest.

Turkey is publicly a male culture, evident to us from the service people we have met on our first night. In front of every restaurant, there is man beckoning you in. Do they not only invite you in, but also ask where you are from. At one restaurant, the man in the front told us his mom prepared the food and it was very good. He a said that if we ate at his restaurant the tea and coffee would be complimentary and the wine cost reduced. How could we resist? Our lamb stew, cooked inside a clay pot, was excellent. We were tired and left before tea and coffee. Our host reminded us to return for complimentary tea or coffee another time.

After a good nights sleep we were off to visit the sites. Along the way, we passed a small but new bazaar. We met Jennifer, a former Edmontonion living in Turkey after spending several years in Thailand. In Turkey, she first owned a restaurant and now a textile store.

Aya Sofa, a short walk from our room, is the first site we visit. Emperor Justinian built it in 537 A.D. as a church, in an effort to restore the greatness of the Roman Empire. In 1453, it was captured by the Ottomans and converted it into a mosque. Instead of destroying all of the Christian mosaics, they plastered and painted over them. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when Ataturk, the leader of modern Turkey, declared it as a museum. Barak Obama visited Aya Sofya when he visited Turkey to deliver his speech addressing the Islamic world.

Approaching Aya Sofya, one sees a large dome roof and four minarets. Blue and white mosaics from the Islamic period adorn some of the walls. An inscription on the floor refers to Christ. Arabic writing surrounds the upper part of the wall where the central dome is located. Stained glass windows are built into the dome. Huge shield like circles with large Arabic letters hang from the walls. One is the name of Allah. A stone ramp rather than a stairway takes us up to the second floor. There is a rudimentary cross etched into the wall. The early Christian Mosaics are being uncovered and restored. “The Last Judgment” shows the Virgin Mary on the left and John the Baptist on the right. Another mosaic shows Mary holding Christ as a child.

Both the Aya Sofa and the Blue Mosque (across the park) are very busy places. The Blue Mosque was built in the early 1600’s under Ottoman rule to rival the magnificence of Aya Sofia. There is one entrance in which Moslems may enter to pray and one entrance for tourists. There are three levels of stain glass windows. The blue tiles lining the walls give the Mosque its name. There is a very large main prayer area for men and at the back, a much smaller prayer area for the women. The tall barrier separating the two areas was not unlike those common in many Orthodox synagogues.

We walked to the Grand Bazaar, which has over 4000 shops and been the major market in Istanbul for centuries. There is no doubt that it is currently primarily a tourist bazaar. Compared to the many markets we have been in, it is very large, well lit, and extremely clean. It sells shoes, purses, coats, food, gold, jewelry, and other items. The owners stand or sit in front of their shops inviting you in to drink tea or Turkish coffee. The beverages are most often and brought in by a young man on a tray.

One man invited us into his carpet shop, where we were educated about carpets - wool on cotton, wool on wool, silk on wool and silk on silk carpets. We learned he has a seven year old with a second child due in December. He told us about his single days, when he would invite unattached women looking at his carpets to drink Turkish coffee in a nearby café. He would offer to read their coffee grounds to predict their future and smoke a hookah pipe with them. After reading their futures, he had a date for the evening. As he is now a married man, he has handed down this Turkish custom to his single cousin.

The quality of leather in Istanbul is excellent. Sandra purchased a leather coat, almost inadvertently. As we were leaving the store not expecting the owner to accept our price, it was. Sandra will be modeling her new coat upon our return.

On our way home, we stopped in a garden café, where backgammon sets were on every low set coffee table. “Shesh besh” or backgammon appears to be the national coffee/tea sport. We felt Turkish as we sipped our tea and played backgammon. Barry was the champion. Although we must add this championship, position was short lived.

The streets are filled with restaurants selling all sorts of kebabs, and stores offering incredible sweets. We ate at a restaurant featuring a whirling Dervish accompanied by Turkish music. Whirling Dervishes are Sufis, a mystical form of Islam. They dress in long white robes and twirl rhythmically accompanied by instruments and singing. His hands are held high – up to Allah. The tunes and lyrics sound similar to mystical tunes in Judaism.

One day we took a cruise on the Marmara Sea, up the Bosphorus Straits to the mouth of the Black Sea. Along the Straits are: old stone forts built to protect both the Asian and European sides from the invaders; Sultans built their summer homes along the shores and now the very wealthy have homes here.

Our boat seated a couple of hundred people. We enjoyed good seats outside. Servers came by selling tea in small glasses and fabulous tasting yogurt with honey. We sat beside a Turkish family with two young children. The mom offered us coke and homemade cake.

We disembarked at the mouth of the Black Sea, in a village with many outdoor restaurants serving fish. We had lunch and began to walk up to an old fortress. While we did not make it up to the top, we stopped for tea at an outdoor cafe with an exquisite view of the Sea of Marmara.

Next day, we visited Tokapi Palace, palace of the Sultan’s. Imagine 1001 Arabian Nights. This is where we spent the day. The palace was built during the rein of the Ottoman’s, on a high hill overseeing the Sea of Marmara. The architecture and landscaping are aesthetically pleasing.

The treasury holds jewels and jewel covered gifts from other states - a bowl filled with green emeralds, a diamond and gem studded suit of armour, daggers embedded with diamonds and rubies, as well as a pair of five-foot high diamond encrusted candlesticks. There are more diamonds, emeralds and rubies than one can imagine!! Any one of the items could feed a country for a long time.

The Sacred Safekeeping Rooms hold holy items from Medina and Mecca. They had been given as gifts by previous Sultans and returned to Istanbul for safekeeping during World War I. Included are the rod of Moses, the turban of Joseph, hairs from the beard of Mohammed, Mohammed’s footprint in clay, his sword, and a tooth.

We also visited the harem, a complex of small rooms housing the Sultan’s wives (up to 4), concubines (up to hundreds), and eunuchs (guards or protectors of the harem). The King’s mother was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the harem, including which of the Sultan’s wives or concubines he would spend the evening.

For Barry and his brother, Larry, the harem conjured up images of veiled dancing women, numerous female companions and all encompassing authority and power (unless the Sultan had power issues with his mother).

Sandra felt sadness in the harem. While the walls were covered in beautiful artwork, the harem was more than depressing. To imagine all of those women living in close quarters; never leaving the harem - at best looking out small windows onto the gardens or the sea; being bored to tears for years on end; waiting to be summoned to the sultan and scheming to attain a higher status (mother of the sultan was first, and mother of the heir to the throne second). Sandra understood that many women entered the harem as children and never left. Very few women had decision-making authority and most were exploited based upon their appearance and sensuality.

On the Jewish holiday of Purim, we read the book of Esther. Esther joins the harem of King Achesheverous and liberates the Jewish people through her beauty, and intelligence. The story of Purim, as well as the harem of the Sultans’, creates a tension between male fantasies and the reality of harem life.

The sons of the Sultan went on to govern the many states of the empire and the princesses were married to other princes, kings, and sultans to consolidate the political power of the empire.

Barry was quite taken with the room where the Sultan’s advisers met four days a week, to direct the governing of the kingdom. The sultan watched the proceedings through a window, from a room above. When he wanted the meeting to end, the sultan simply closed the curtains. Imagine how much more we would enjoy sitting in meetings if we were able to close a drape and the meeting would conclude. When the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith, it was good to be Sultan.

One afternoon, Sandra and Larry enjoyed a Turkish bath. There are separate rooms for males and females, with male and female attendants in the respective rooms. After entering the change room, Sandra replaced her clothing with a rectangular shaped red cloth. She entered a marble hot room - with a small platform beside a water basin holding hot running water. The attendant took Sandra’s cloth, folded it, had Sandra sit on it, and with ladles poured the hot water on her. A few minutes later the attended escorted Sandra into another room with a marble-topped table. The cloth was placed on the table and Sandra lay on it - like preparing for a massage. More hot water was poured onto her and the attendant took a coarse hand mitt and vigorously rubbed the dead skin from her body. After being scrubbed, the attendant filled a pillowcase, which had been sitting in soapy water, with air. The case was swung in the air and puffed up. When rubbed against the body, soap bubbles came out in profusion – like being in a bubble bath. While being scrubbed and soaped the muscles were being lightly massaged. The wash ended with a hair shampoo and another rinsing. Sandra was taken back to the first room and rinsed down one last time. Then an attendant patted her down and dried her. She was then taken to the massage room for a good oil massage. By the end of the massage, it was almost impossible for Sandra to lift her head, never mind any other part of her body. She changed and as is the custom, came out to the main waiting room for apple tea. Sandra called the experience luxurious, indulgent, and relaxing. It took away all tension, and made every pain go away - including her sore feet from walking all day.

Istanbul is a pleasure to visit. The main tourist attractions are within walking distance, food is great (we eat not only the raw vegetables and salad but also the meat!!) and Turkish hospitality generous. We highly recommend Istanbul as a place to visit.

Until later

Sandra and Barry

Contact us by e-mail at: sanbar79@hotmail.com or read our blog by typing into the address line: http://ama.mytripjournal.com/sandrabarry

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Aug 26, 2009

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