Aya Sofia at duskThe above image encapsulates our stay in Istanbul: magnificent sites, cold and blustery weather. The upside is that we weren't dealing with hordes of tourists. The downside is that you couldn't last outside as long as you might like.
When we left Ankara, we were cautioned that we were driving into a big snowstorm. As it turned out, the "big dump" had come the day before. The highways and all the main and secondary roads were basically clear. Only some of the little side streets, which probably didn't get much sun, still had snow. Our bus took us to Taxhim Square. We had good directions to our hotel, which involved taking two metros. The only hard part was finding our little street which was only about two blocks long. The hotel, more of a European-style pension, was only two blocks from Aya Sofia and Topkapi, very centrally located. By the time we checked in and grabbed a very late lunch it was nearly 4 PM. Sadly, Aya Sofia closes at 4 PM, so we wandered across the street to the Basilica Cistern, an unbelievable public works project building under Justinian in the 6th century AD. It's the size of two football fields, and the water was carried from its source 12 miles away via aqueducts and clay pipes. Now there are walkways the let you stroll over the water -- only about a foot deep -- among all the columns. The ceiling was vaulted, almost like an underground cathedral. Before the walkways were built the water was much deeper and you got around in a row board. If you saw From Russia with Love, you might remember a chase scene shot in the cistern.
By the time we emerged from the cistern, it was dark and significantly colder. My little $1.99 Bartell's gloves weren't doing the job. However, there were people on the street selling supposedly hand-knit gloves and hats. I bought a pair and pulled them over my Bartell's gloves. That arrangement kept me comfortable for the rest of the trip. After grabbing a bit of dessert (good excuse to get out of the cold) we trundled over to the Blue Mosque. The structure is truly amazing. However, since it was dark outside, you didn't get the effect of the light shining through the stained glass windows. I popped back in a couple of days later and WOW! Then you really understood why it was called the Blue Mosque.
View of the Blue Mosque from the Aya Sofia.As the Aya Sofia is closed on Mondays, we decided to spent that day at the Topkapı Palace. But first we enjoyed a wonderful Turkish breakfast on the top floor of our hotel. On warmer days, breakfast is serve on a deck outside, but as you can see from the picture below, that wasn't happening that morning.
View of the Sea of Marmara from the top floor of our hotel.
It's there you find both the harem and the Hall of Justice from where affairs of the Ottoman Empire were administered. The Hall of Justice is not that large. On the back wall at the second story level there is a window with a grate over it. Apparently the sultan observed the deliberations of his ministers from behind the grate. They he decided the proceedings should be over, he signaled and they ended. Given the size of the empire and even the size of Topkapı itself. I was surprised at the small size of the space that was devoted to actual government activities. But then, probably lots of government activities took place in other locations or were negotiated in other less official settings. It's possible that this building was the equivalent of the Ottoman Supreme Court. At some point, I'd like to find out more about the process. I have a couple of books on the Ottoman Empire that I haven't yet read. I guess I should.
The harem was really impressive -- and you have to pay an additional entrance fee to see it. It's the residential part of the palace. When many people hear the word harem, they think of a lot of women who are basically sex slaves, there for the sultan's enjoyment. That isn't really the case. Most of the women who lived in the harem were there as servants. The sultan had one (sometimes two) wife and perhaps three or four concubines he particularly favored. Earlier, the Sultan never married, because marriage brought the risk of divided loyalties -- the wife might betray him for her family. However, concubinage was considered a legitimate way to produce heirs. The person you really wanted to be was the sultan's mother. She was the one who decided who the sultan would sleep with and in what order. Careful records were kept. The whole purpose of the harem was to ensure that the sultanate remained in the family. She also played an important role in affairs of state. Security in the harem was provided by Black (Egyptian, Abbysinian or Sudanese) eunuchs.
One interesting architectural feature of the Harem was the ornamentation. We tend to paint our walls some nice neutral color as a background for hanging our works of art. Not so here. There wasn't a square inch of wall space -- or even ceiling space -- that wasn't covered with a mosaic, fresco or some sort of carved ornamentation. And somehow it all works. The effect is opulence, of course. To the left you also have some beautiful stained glass windows.
Ted in front of the Hall of Justice.
Of course, the palace housed all sorts of treasurers, relics considered holy in Islam, a library just the building), reception hall, and pavilions with views of the Sea of Marmora or the Golden Horn. Given the weather, we didn't go into the final courtyard to visit the pavilions. However, we saw the exhibits of palace treasurers and garments worn by the sultan or members of his family as well as many of the sacred relics.
We finally gave in to the need for warmth about three thirty in the afternoon. The next morning we visited the Aya Sofia, built in the 6th century AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Books have been written about this structure and I don't have too much to add. Just one little fact. A guide book pointed out the the Statue of Liberty could do jumping jacks under the dome. That gives you an idea of it's height. After the Ottomans took over, the church was converted to a mosque. Now it's a museum, some part of which is constantly being renovated. Another observation. The area is full of stray cats. They aren't dumb. They discovered a great way to keep warm -- sit in front of the spotlights shining on the mosaics and other objects that glitter.
Click on this picture. You'll not cats behind the spot lights -- center left.
That afternoon we met a former colleague of Martha's for a stroll down Istiklal Street, a pedestrian way on the other side of the Golden Horn. Quite a change from the Byzantine-Ottoman world we'd been visiting for two days. Here all the young and hip gathered to shop, see and be seen. It was lots of fun. We ended up at the Galata Tower, from which we had a great view of Istanbul. Is was very windy and cold -- had a hard time holding my camera.
Looking across the water, the buildings on the left, with the sun shining on them, constitute Topkapı Palace. The first dome on the horizon is Aya Sofia, and the dome in the back on the right is the Blue Mosque.
View of the Sea of Marmara from the top floor of our hotel.It would take more than a day to see all of Topkapı. It's an unbelievable complex. When you enter through the gate in a rather formidable wall, you are in a large park -- the tree in the photo below is in that first courtyard -- I just love the shape of the branches. It's called a courtyard, but it's more than that. You have to pass through a second gate before entering the actual palace.
It's there you find both the harem and the Hall of Justice from where affairs of the Ottoman Empire were administered. The Hall of Justice is not that large. On the back wall at the second story level there is a window with a grate over it. Apparently the sultan observed the deliberations of his ministers from behind the grate. They he decided the proceedings should be over, he signaled and they ended. Given the size of the empire and even the size of Topkapı itself. I was surprised at the small size of the space that was devoted to actual government activities. But then, probably lots of government activities took place in other locations or were negotiated in other less official settings. It's possible that this building was the equivalent of the Ottoman Supreme Court. At some point, I'd like to find out more about the process. I have a couple of books on the Ottoman Empire that I haven't yet read. I guess I should.The harem was really impressive -- and you have to pay an additional entrance fee to see it. It's the residential part of the palace. When many people hear the word harem, they think of a lot of women who are basically sex slaves, there for the sultan's enjoyment. That isn't really the case. Most of the women who lived in the harem were there as servants. The sultan had one (sometimes two) wife and perhaps three or four concubines he particularly favored. Earlier, the Sultan never married, because marriage brought the risk of divided loyalties -- the wife might betray him for her family. However, concubinage was considered a legitimate way to produce heirs. The person you really wanted to be was the sultan's mother. She was the one who decided who the sultan would sleep with and in what order. Careful records were kept. The whole purpose of the harem was to ensure that the sultanate remained in the family. She also played an important role in affairs of state. Security in the harem was provided by Black (Egyptian, Abbysinian or Sudanese) eunuchs.
One interesting architectural feature of the Harem was the ornamentation. We tend to paint our walls some nice neutral color as a background for hanging our works of art. Not so here. There wasn't a square inch of wall space -- or even ceiling space -- that wasn't covered with a mosaic, fresco or some sort of carved ornamentation. And somehow it all works. The effect is opulence, of course. To the left you also have some beautiful stained glass windows.
Ted in front of the Hall of Justice. Of course, the palace housed all sorts of treasurers, relics considered holy in Islam, a library just the building), reception hall, and pavilions with views of the Sea of Marmora or the Golden Horn. Given the weather, we didn't go into the final courtyard to visit the pavilions. However, we saw the exhibits of palace treasurers and garments worn by the sultan or members of his family as well as many of the sacred relics.
We finally gave in to the need for warmth about three thirty in the afternoon. The next morning we visited the Aya Sofia, built in the 6th century AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Books have been written about this structure and I don't have too much to add. Just one little fact. A guide book pointed out the the Statue of Liberty could do jumping jacks under the dome. That gives you an idea of it's height. After the Ottomans took over, the church was converted to a mosque. Now it's a museum, some part of which is constantly being renovated. Another observation. The area is full of stray cats. They aren't dumb. They discovered a great way to keep warm -- sit in front of the spotlights shining on the mosaics and other objects that glitter.
Click on this picture. You'll not cats behind the spot lights -- center left.That afternoon we met a former colleague of Martha's for a stroll down Istiklal Street, a pedestrian way on the other side of the Golden Horn. Quite a change from the Byzantine-Ottoman world we'd been visiting for two days. Here all the young and hip gathered to shop, see and be seen. It was lots of fun. We ended up at the Galata Tower, from which we had a great view of Istanbul. Is was very windy and cold -- had a hard time holding my camera.
Looking across the water, the buildings on the left, with the sun shining on them, constitute Topkapı Palace. The first dome on the horizon is Aya Sofia, and the dome in the back on the right is the Blue Mosque.The next morning we walked through the Grand Bazaar -- disappointing as it's really only geared to tourists -- to see the Sueleymaniye Mosque, designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan for
Sueleyman the Magnificent. Closed for renovations until April. We then went back to see the Blue Mosque during the daylight hours. Entrance was restricted because of noon prayers. I got in; Ted didn't. But I can say that the light pouring in through all those stained glass windows is magical. We then returned to Istiklal Street for the Turkish version of a stuffed baked potato -- oh so good, especially in cold weather. We ended the day at the archeological museum, basically attached to the Topkapı. Sadly they close at 4:30 PM, so we didn't get so see the entire collection. One event of interest. While in the courtyard we heard some strange bird sounds coming from the tree. We could hardly believe what we were seeing -- green parrots. There were having it out with the crows. In fact, we saw a crow fly over with a squawking parrot in it's beak. When we came out of the museum, all was quiet and there were no parrots to be seen or heard.
That was the end of our stay. The next morning we departed for Troy and Galipoli.
That was the end of our stay. The next morning we departed for Troy and Galipoli.
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