March 24: Pinching myself in Istanbul! Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Archeological Museum

After 27 hours of travel, we arrived here In Istanbul last night and checked in – to the hotel next door to our own.  This morning we moved to the Artefes Hotel in Istanbul, where we are within walking distance of nearly everything we would like to see.

So walk we did.  So far, our general impression of Istanbul is that it is very clean, and the vendors are much less aggressive than those in Egypt or China.  We met up with a very personable young man who walked us to the Blue Mosque and offered to take us to his shop afterward.  We soon learned that these polite offers of help are a common practice to make sure one visits the local shops.

Istanbul is both traditional and cosmopolitan.  In many of our photo shots we had pictures both of women in burkas, women in high fashion, and all kinds of stages in between.  In one of the oldest Christian Churches in the world, a woman in full burka was talking on her cell phone.  And yes, that is a man vacuuming the Blue Mosque. (Over Ian’s shoulder). 

 

The Blue Mosque is an amazing structure, still used many times per day for worship. Non-Muslim visitors need to time their visits between the hours of prayer.   I was surprised – I don’t know why – to see the little dispensers of pink liquid soap hanging beside the taps for ritual ablutions.  I knew before I came that the mosque gets its name from the blue tiles used in its interior, and is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world.  Still the sheer size of the building, and the fact that the interior is completely covered with this tile astonished me. It was built in the early 1600’s and was very controversial in its day because a mosque with six minarets such as this was thought to be an attempt to rival Mecca.  We took our shoes off to go inside, and ladies are supposed to cover their hair.  Blue scarves are provided, but I had brought my own.

None of this is paintwork.  The interior surface is all faced with tile.

 

Our rug gentleman met us outside and took us down to the Cavalry Bazaar, so-called because it is where the horses for the hippodrome, just above, were stabled.  We got the obligatory carpet tour, and I felt sorry for the poor guy who put on quite a show for no sale, and for poor Ian who just LOVES Turkish carpets and can’t even let his enthusiasm show under his wife’s baleful glare.  They were lovely, and well priced, but you just don’t buy a carpet on your first day out.  Knowing me, I will never see such reasonable carpets again in Turkey, and will end up going home without one!

Our next and much anticipated stop was the Haghia (pronouced "Eye-a") Sophia.  The “church of Holy Wisdom” (the literal meaning of Haghia Sophia) was built more than 1400 years ago in 537 by the Emperor Justinian, when Byzantium was the capital of the Roman empire.  Its domed ceiling was and is a marvel.  It was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans in the 15^th century, and Ataturk suggested it become a museum in the 1920’s.  Since then, layer upon layer of decorations and artwork have been discovered during successive restorations.  Muslim, Iconoclastic, Early Church, and Eastern Orthodox art creates an amazing cultural collage, all dedicated to God.

The visit begins outside the main church, in the narthex, which was the only area of the church building that non-baptized people were allowed to enter in Christian times.  There was a lot to see in the narthex, and I made myself listen to all the audioguide entries, although I was very excited to see the church itself!

These are the Imperial Doors that only the Byzantine Emperors could use. 

The floor below used to have a lintel, now worn so smooth that the marble looks like flowing water.

We passed through the imperial doors like a pair of emperors, and suddenly we were inside this vast and yet airy and inspiring house of God.

Everything gets reused.  These tablets are from a very early church synod (3^rd century).  They were flipped over and used in a Mausoleum for an Ottoman Emperor.  They are now on display in the narthex.

This huge marble jar was taken from Pergamum in the 16^th century, and is of ancient Greek origin.  In Hagia Sophia during the time that the building was a mosque, it was used to serve sherbet to the people on special occasions!  That is my kind of feast day.  One of the matching urns, also from Pergamum, is in the Louvre in Paris.

During the time that the Hagia Sophia was a mosque -- from the 16th Century until the 1930's, the depiction of the human figure was not allowed.  All of the mosaics were covered over with white plaster.  Attaturk had the building converted to a museum, and restoration work began.  The mosaic work that they uncovered is almost always damaged, and I was amazed by the evocative facial expressions.  This art work really shows the beginning of Eastern iconography.

 So much history!  We even saw a graffito on a balcony railing left by a Viking raider – in the 9^th Century!

We staggered back into brilliant sunshine, and I thought about mailing my entire wardrobe back home, and starting again with summer clothes.  Ian really had me worried about the cold in the interior, but it was a spring-like 18 degrees here today. 

We found a bank machine, then decided we had time to look at the Basilica Cistern, under the streets of Istanbul.  This cistern was created in 532 by the Emperor Justinian to provide fresh water to supply his Great Palace.  The walls of the cistern are 4 metres thick, and are coated with waterproof plaster, and columns, blocks, and other spolia from Byzantine Istanbul were reused in its construction.

The cistern is cleverly lit, and since it reuses columns and items from all over the place, it is interesting.  It is also a bit hoaky, with weird special effects and sound effects, and a glowing lighted mechanical crocodile that is too stupid to show you here.  There is a booth where one can try on "Ottoman" costumes, such as the stereotypical dancing girl and turbaned warrior with a scimitar, and pay for the pictures.  Still, I found I could look beyond the silliness to a truly unique tourist site.

See, I liked the lighting, but the red colour and low lighting levels made picture taking very difficult.

Yes, she is upside down.  The reason for this is a "mystery" according to the sign, but I figure if you are using  a Medusa head as "fill" she ends up whichever direction works.

I wondered how the fish liked the lighting levels!
 

We went for lunch next to the Haghia Eirene  another ancient church.  I had a pasta type dish with spiced lamb in what looked like spinach ravioli, drizzled with butter and smothered with thick creamy yoghurt.  Delicious!  Ian had lamb meatballs – more like patties, I guess, which came with both potatoes and a pink risotto.  Very nice also.  We ate al fresco.

Bad Kitty

As I write this in our hotel, I can hear the feral cats fighting for control of the 'hood.  It reminds me of the “bad kitty” that was picking on a smaller cat – right under our table.  I took this picture for evidence at the trial. The white cat spent hours subduing every other cat that even looked like it might wander by.  He was so tough and relentless -- a real top dog!

We planned to go to Topkapi Palace, but it had a huge queue, and was only open for another two hours.  Instead, Ian suggested we go to the Istanbul Archeological Museum, since archeological sites tend to be less crowded.  And it really was.  I can’t imagine why because we saw so many amazing things that I won’t even bore you with many pictures.  The Ishtar Gate, the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, the Treaty of Kadesh – everywhere we turned there was something new to see.  Before we knew it, it was closing time, and we had barely made it off the first floor!

Tiled Lions from the Ishtar Gate

Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great.  So called because he is the figure at the far left, not because it's his.  This thing is the size of a small house!

We came back here for a moment’s respite, then off to the fish restaurant across the street.  Ian’s dish was delicious, the appropriately named “Fish cooked in a pot”.  Mine was less delicious:  fried anchovies.  The fish were about 2 inches long, and since they still had innards they tasted fishy, and since they had all their bones, you had to taste the fishy taste for a long time to grind down the bones.  I tried dissecting them, but gave up.  We got 5 calamari rings for 20TY and four tiny stuffed vine leaves for 15TY as an appetizer, which were immediately forgettable.  However, dessert was six tiny pieces of baklava made entirely from pistachios.  Made the very expensive meal much less regrettable.

The alarm rings early tomorrow for our Bosporus cruise, and Ian has been asleep for a couple of hours, so I will say good night as well!