Thursday in Istanbul

Today was the first full day in Istanbul! The day started with a great breakfast at Hotel Faros (which has an excellent location if anyone is interested in ever going to Istanbul). While enjoying and watching BBC News (love the BBC) I about jumped out of my chair when I heard the broadcaster mention Ukraine! Much of the morning's news focused on Ukraine and Yanukovych's plans regarding his relations with Russia and the EU. He was inaugurated Thursday AM even though Tymoshenko has yet to concede. The newscaster asked the reporter if this was going to cause a problem of sorts and the reporter repeatedly mentioned the reports submitted by international observers as the primary legitimizing source for election process. I had to leave the country in order to see how truly close I have become to it. It warmed my heart to know that I was able to serve in that capacity (observer) for this important moment in Ukraine's development. My participation will always invoke a sense of personal pride.

After breakfast, I immediately walked over to the Blue Mosque, which was super close to the Faros. This man stopped us on the street and kept pointing out the main sights. At first I couldn't figure out why he was doing this. I was not going to pay him and he would go away. After he waited nearly 20 minutes while I walked around outside the Blue Mosque, I was more forceful with my, "Thank you. Goodbye." and finally he said that he had a carpet store around the corner. Ah! Negative.

Before entering a mosque, it is customary for tourists to take our shoes off, leaving them either at the entrance of a mosque or putting them in a plastic bag that is provided (yes, plastic bags are provided...I was shocked bc in Ukraine plastic bags are not provided but cost extra...wouldn't that be a good incentive to get people to use the recyclable Publix bags?!). Women are expected to cover our heads and should be in a skirt, but a blind eye is evidently frequently turned these days.

The Blue Mosque was built between 1609-1616 and is unusual because it has 6 minarets (spires). Most have 4. If a mosque has more than 1 minaret it means it was commissioned by the Sultan. The 6 minarets was evidently controversial bc when Sultan Ahmet I commissioned it, the Ottoman Empire wasn't doing so hot financially, and bc some viewed it as an attempt to rival Mecca. The Blue Mosque is named bc of the blue tiles in the interior. Inside, it is very colorful and has red carpet.
Because you are expected to take your shoes off, and because Muslims pray on their knees, I saw many men and women sitting down in the mosques. The carpet was comfortable and these mosques had a very warm, cosy feel inside. Here I am, standing in front of the Blue Mosque:

The center structure is for the washing off the feet, hands, and head (considered a ritual ablution) before entering the mosque to pray.



There was another foot washing station to the side of the Blue Mosque. The older, round structure above is not used anymore.

All the mosques I visited had low lying circular candelabra.

The dome inside the Blue Mosque is so vibrant.

Here you can see the red carpet:

Leaving the Blue Mosque...

Then, I went to the Haghia Sophia, which is very close to the Blue Mosque...right across the street from Sultanhamet Square. I was super excited about seeing Haghia Sophia.

Haghia Sophia was constructed in the 6th century (yes, that is not a typo...inaugurated by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537AD), when this city was known as Constantinople. It was built as a Christian church with the objective of creating the largest dome ever built. Thus, the unique architectural style, which (after it was converted into a mosque) became a sort of template. Other churches and mosques (such as the Blue Mosque, built nearly 1000 years later) copied the architectural style of Haghia Sophia.

So how and why was this converted into a mosque? When the Muslim Ottomans came in and took over Constantinople from the Christian Byzantines in 1453, the church was subsequently turned into a mosque, which meant that all the frescoes were painted over bc in Islam, mosques never had visual images (not to mention they didn't want frescoes of Jesus and Mary, etc.). The center part of Istanbul, which sits in between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, increasingly became known during these centuries as Stamboul (the city).

When Ataturk was president of Turkey (more on him and my obsession with him later), Haghia Sophia was turned into a museum where Christians and Muslims could come to see the excavation and other efforts that are still taking place, including the removal of paint and recovery of those gorgeous frescoes. This visit to Haghia Sophia initiated what has been, for over one week now, interest in other churches that evolved into mosques that are now museums. This is what prompted my visit to Chora Church, which I'll write about on the Sunday in Istanbul posting.

On the grounds around Haghia Sophia, aritfacts that have been excavated are strewn around the property. I really enjoyed looking at them.

Once inside, Haghia Sophia did not disappoint. This place is massive. HUGE. It is one of the handful of places I've seen that prompt that cliched expression, "it took my breath away." The frescoes inside that have been uncovered are so beautiful, and I found the architectural evidence of its 2 faiths so interesting.

Frescoes:

The area where Byzantine Emperors were coronated:

One of the things I noticed was that the front entrance had 2 areas on either side of each door that dipped into the ground...these were the places where guards stood for centuries.

The dome of Haghia Sophia. Several years ago, I purchased a photograph of this dome from one of my students who had been here on study away. At the time (maybe 2006), I didn't know much about Haghia Sophia and it didn't occur to me that I would see it for myself several years later. Her photograph is better (she is a trained photographer) but I really loved photographing the dome myself.

The front is where the Imam conducted services. It points in the direction towards Mecca, the direction towards which Muslims pray.

This photo gives some perspective on just how huge this building is.

Yay! I am very proud to have taken these photos of the dome. Amazing how the colors change when I change my camera settings. The first photo is more accurate but the second sure is pretty!

So beautiful!

I have about 100 more photos of Haghia Sophia, so perhaps I will try to upload them to photobucket and post the link.

After leaving, I decided to stop for a Turkish coffee and Turkish tea in an outdoor cafe overlooking the 2 mosques. I fell in love with these microscopic coffee and tea sets and now own a set of each plus some Turkish coffee and Turkish apple and pomegranate tea. Visitors to Chernivtsi, get ready to partake!

Beautiful weather in Istanbul!! It was so great to be outside in nice weather.

Then, I walked along the street the Faros is on Divanyolu Caddesi, towards the Grand Bazaar. Everyday I passed this entrance to a cemetery, which I thought was so attractive.

So, if you are familiar with Istanbul, you know that visiting the many bazaars is on the list of things to do. The largest of the bazaars is the appropriately monikered Grand Bazaar. I was determined not to become one of the tourists who just gets sucked into buying a Turkish carpet ( what we call in the US a rug, they call a carpet) while on the trip, so I went ahead and decided to buy one before I left! Buying a Turkish carpet is also the thing to do in Turkey. Even if you don't buy one, going into carpet stores, learning about carpets, being served Turkish tea while you are shown anywhere from 10 to 50 carpets... it is an activity that is commonplace. It is simply what many tourists do while in Turkey. I really enjoyed it when the person showing me the carpets was in sync with my style, and really got tired of this process when the person suggesting rugs and I were not in sync, bc you have to be polite and you start to feel badly bc meanwhile, there is at least one person carrying large, very heavy carpets and unrolling them before your eyes. Then they turn them (ever heard of the expression flying carpet?) because the colors change according to the way that the wool lies. So the people doing all this work get quite a workout. In nicer stores, there is someone in a suit who gives directions to 1-2 younger guys. In other stores, sometimes there is only one person helping you with carpets and serving tea. On this trip, I spent a great deal of time sitting on a loveseat, drinking Turkish tea, learning about and scrutinizing carpets. I now know all about knots, the materials (wool on wool, wool on cotton, silk and cotton blends, etc.), which ones you hang on the wall and which ones you walk on, and of course the difference between hand and machine made (growing up with Linda T, however, I already had quite an education in this very important factor). I also learned about the difference in the carpets, kilims, etc. made in different regions of Turkey and in neighboring Iran (Persia). The rugs are used for a variety of purposes ( to hang over windows, to put on the floor, to sleep on, to use as a table cloth, etc.). I was struck by how incredibly interwoven the carpet culture is with Turkish culture, even today. Many girls learn these skills and create rugs for their dowry (one rug salesman told me that nowadays 40% of Turkish marriages are arranged whereas the percentage used to be much higher...I looked this up and it seems that in 2005, 54% of marriages in Turkey had been arranged although young people overwhelmingly disagree with this practice).

I digress...walking to the bazaar...

Here is the entrance to the Grand Bazaar. It was established in the mid 15th century soon after the Ottomans took over.

This place is a labyrnthine beehive of activity and it is very easy to get lost. There are thousands of booths and many of them sell the same items, which means they begin to look the same after a little while. Of course they sell carpets in the Grand Bazaar (along with tea sets, copper, leather, fur, jewelry,etc.) although evidently this is not the best place to get a good price. The selection, however, was extensive, and better than I saw in most other places.

Turkish tea sets are everywhere!

Here is the main entryway into the Grand Bazaar. This place is a labyrinth of passageways, some like this, some much smaller.

When I finally exited the bazaar after about 4-5 hours (yes, you say you won't spend that much time there and it sucks you in!), it was cold! I took the tram back to Sultanhamet. The Firuz Aga Mosque was just down the street from the Faros, meaning I passed it multiple times per day.

Thursday night, I had dinner at a restaurant suggested by Lonely Planet and the hotel, Hamdi. The views of Sulemaniye Mosque and the Bosphorus were fantastic and the food was pretty good, but unlike everywhere else we ate in Turkey, the service was lacking.

An up close and personal shot of the ironically named New Mosque (it was built between 1597 and 1663). I took this before we hopped on the tram at Eminonu to travel back to Sultanhamet. I like the New Mosque for a variety of reasons, which I'll explain in more detail in a later posting.

In conclusion, I feel the need to state that I am behind on my postings and am fervently trying to catch up. It is now Saturday at 12:21AM, I have been working on this posting more or less all day (bc of my slow connection), and I have not left the flat all day (bc it has been snowing buckets all day today) and bc I am feeling a little under the weather (an expression I taught Mykola on Wednesday). In the past 20 minutes the power has gone out and we have punched the circuit breakers 8 times. I am now posting this with a flashlight beside me bc I have given up the power game for now. Dobronich (Good Night)!