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| Karen, Lloyd and Mike loving Istanbul |
We had 4 rushed days, minus a lonnggg day visting Cannakkale and Gelibolou (Gallipoli) and the ancient site of Troy; we shall cover these 2 another time. We all had a must-see, or even "you must see" and felt we managed to cover these in the time we had.
Sometimes I think our Anglo-Saxon education needs a thorough whipping... it should be manadatory that the history of places like Istanbul should be included. A very quick run down :
Istanbul is split into two by the Bosphorous Straight, and these are referred to as the Asian side and the European side. There is evidence of human settlement on the Asian side dating from 5500BC. On the European (Anatolian) side, near the peninsular, human settlement was from 1000BC. The first name was Lygos, with another settlement, Semystra near-by. Incredibly there are a few walls from Lygos that still stand near the Topkapi Palace. There was a Phoenician settlement on the Asian side (now Kadikoy, previously Chalcedon).
The earliest recorded city was that of Byzantium, established around 660BC when a Greek King, Byzas, established a city in Chalcedon before colonising the European side, naming it in true heroic fashion, after himself, voila Byzantium....
Ok I give up, I'm not going to give you a history lesson, because I'm not an expert, but it's very interesting. Istanbul was been also known as New Rome, Constantinople, Stamboul and Pera (the two sides had different names), and Ḳosṭanṭīnīye, among many other names. For centuries it was the capital of the world, central to the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires, the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthdox church before finally becoming under Muslim rule after it was conquered in 1453 by Sultan Mehmed II. For a real explanation (given that it is Wikipedia) please click on the following link:
It would be great to be able to see a lot more of Istanbul, but we managed to visit The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cisterns, the Grand Bazaar, cross the Galetea Bridge, forget to pay for lunch, go for a ferry ride, go back to pay for lunch, then walked walked walked, rested in the cool of Gulhane Park, sampled Turkish delight, fascinated by Turkish traffic and dined with spectacular views from our hotel's rooftop or nearby restaurants. Oh, yes and lost (it was stolen) my Turkish phone with all the photos of our boat time together, so you are going to spared that blog...
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| A boring everyday view from our rooftop... Blue Mosque |
The Blue Mosque
Apparently, the mosque has a proper name, the Sultanamet Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1617 by Sultan Ahmet I, but completed by his successor Mustafa I. Legend has it that Sultan Ahmet I wanted to create a mosque that would outshine the nearby Hagia Sofia in beauty and size, to placate Allah as he was not particularly successful in battle. He also didn't have any money, having no plunder from wars, so he used money from treasury for this construction so he was not a popular chappy. Another reason for the mosque's, and his, unpopularity is that was constructed with 6 minarets, which was only permitted for the Prophet's mosque in Mecca. It appeared to the people that the Sultan had too big of an opinion of himself, while he claimed it was just a "misunderstanding" between him and the architect. The solution was for the Sultan to pay for a seventh minaret for the mosque in Mecca. Ka-ching Ka-ching. (Note: a new mosque was completed in 2019, called the Camlica Mosque; it also has six minarets, and the whispers we heard were that Erdogan, the newly relected President of Turkiye, has dibs on himself too, and even that the mosque is an embarrassment....).
Anyway, all of this was irrelevant to Mike who just wanted to know why is it called the Blue Mosque?! It is because of the 20,000+ hand-made blue tiles that decorate the interior walls. The designs include those representing flowers and flowers, and are stunningly beautiful.
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| Looks blue to me.... |
Entry to the mosque is free, and only restricted during prayer time. Being smart women of the world, Karen and I had come prepared. Mike and Lloyd, on the other hand adopted the Aussie 'she'll be right' attitude, which resulted in them having to don 'Skirts" to allow them to enter the mosque. Mike is ok, as he wears a sarong most of the time. However, Lloyd claimed he had never worn a dress before, and certainly his attempts to get into a simple tube of fabric backed this claim up.
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| Look at me look at me VS How the hell do I get into this? |
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| Boys on Tour |
And finally, compare the pair....
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| Jess and I in 2010 |
The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
I have/had very fond memories of Hagia Sophia. It was constructed by the Roman Emperor Justinian I between 532 ad 537, and was an Orthodox church until the Ottoman conquest in 1453. It remained a mosque until the father of modern Turkey changed it to a museum, which it was when I visited in 2010. In 2020, Erdogan changed it back to a mosque, which seems pointless given that the Blue Mosque is only a 600+ metres away. This means that it doesn't have the same access as before 2020, and the feminine influence in this building is not included in the free guide book inside. Not happy Jan.
Justinian was married to Theodora, and history tells that they worked in partnership, or at the very least, she was one of his chief advisors. (Look her up, she came from 'the wrong side of the tracks' and was a fascinating woman). Or, in fact she was the stronger of the two, and thus her influence over the creation of Hagia Sophia should not be ignored. In 2010 we were able to visit the upper gallery, where Empress Theordora would view the ceremonies below, but this is not permitted anyore. Regardless, despite the many changes of hands, Hagia Sophia is a place where religious tolerance preserved the original Christian iconagraphy and artworks. Large Islamic calligraphic 'roundels' were hung on the original supports in the 1800's, and other additions such as the Sultan's Lodge, the Library of Mahmud and the Niche transformed the church into a place of both Islamic and Christian beauty.
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| The Mihrab (Niche) where the Iman stands while leadig the congregation in prayer |
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| Sultan's Loge, decorated with tiles from the 16th century |
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| In the foreground, the Omphalion, where Byzantine emperors were crowned |
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| Golden Doors to the Library of Mahmud 1, built in 1739. 5000 books were transferred from here to the Suleymanie Library in 1968 |
Erdogan added a green carpet. It's pretty nice to lie on to look up at the spectacular domes and ceiling, but the security guards don't like it if you do that. Ask Karen....
The Duelling Muezzins
In the evening we made use of the deserted roof-top breakfast balcony, scurrying up the narrow flight of stairs with drinks in hand, to appreciate Istanbul in the cool night air.
It was very peaceful until of course, the last call of prayer for the day commenced. The muezzin (cleric who calls the prayer) is appointed by Turkiye's religious authorites and has a lot of prestige. We considered ourselves very fortunate to be able to hear the penultimate Muezzin sing out from the Blue Mosque, particularly during Eid a-Adha. Then, he stopped and the call came the other direction, from Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Amazing. Back and forth they went for the normal 3-5 minutes it takes to complete the call. Apparently this is way the adhan/athan is conducted now there are the two mosques close together.
But wait... there's more. To our astonishment and appreication they continued on for another 20 minutes or so. It was beautiful and something none of us will ever forget. Our cameras however, did not record this very well... so here's a sample.
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