Poultry Paradise

ISTANBUL PHOTOS

Lisa and I are in the middle of our 4th day in Turkey. We came into Ataturk Airport Thursday night and arrived at the Bahaus Hostel at about 8:30. A heavy-set friendly man with chin-length curly locks was there to greet us and showed us to our room which has a charming little balcony overlooking the street below and the Marmara sea to the right. He then took us up to the rooftop terrace which has a bar that serves food and drinks and from where the sea and the tops and minarets of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia (or Aya) Sophia are visible. We dropped our stuff in our room and then headed back up to the balcony where our long day of travelling ended with raki on the roof. Raki is the traditional drink of Turkey. Until a couple of years ago the Turkish government held a monopoly on its production which shows its importance as a national symbol, but recently it has been privatized. It is an anise flavored liquor, which is crystal clear in its unmixed state. However, most people add 2-3 parts water to the drink which turns it cloudy white. I'm not a huge fan of licorice, but this drink was quite pleasant to sip, especially while basking in the culture that oozes from the Sultanamet district--the heart of Old Istanbul where we are staying.

Day 1 in Turkey was a day of relaxed sightseeing. We awoke at 8:00 for a small breakfast of tomatoes, olives, bread, cheese, and a boiled egg. We knew that we wanted to hit the major sites (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace) at some point in the week, but also knew that all 3 on the same day would be a bit tiring. So we decided to visit the Blue Mosque for the first day and the other two on following days. So we headed over towards the mosque, took a few poor self portraits in front of it and then got a much better photo when a kind couple stopped by and helped us in our distress. We fended off a few locals who offered to take us around the mosque (for a fee to be named later of course) and then washed our hands and faces before going inside. The Muslim faith and the culture that goes with it is one that focuses heavily on cleanliness. Washing the face, hands and feet are expected and appreciated by anyone who is going into a mosque for prayers. Being clean before God is very important. Most tourists skip this step, as they are entering the mosque not to pray, but just to observe the holy place on the inside. Lisa and I decided to wash up just a bit at the outdoor line of water taps that are present at every mosque that we've passed by so far. There must have been 20-25 taps for water, each one fitted with a marble seat in front of it for a more comfortable cleaning. It was already hot by 10:30am and so the water not only provided an opportunity for washing, but also for cooling off. We then headed around to the tourist entrance of the mosque where Lisa got out a scarf to cover her head and a shirt to cover her shoulder and upper arms. I was wearing pants, so my legs were already covered appropriately. We removed our shoes and placed them in a plastic bag which was available for the tourists and we entered barefoot and covered into the cool interior of the mosque.

We are used to churches in America that are filled with things--choir lofts, balconies, seats and pews, pulpits, wall decorations, etc. Walking into the cavernous space of the Blue Mosque, where there are none of these items is quite magical. To see this massive domed building with so few things on the inside really allows one to appreciate the grandeur of the building. The decorations were remarkable beautiful. The walls covered in tiles of varying shades of blue, so many tiles in fact, that there was a fear of running out of them at the time of the construction of the mosque in the 17th century. Besides the blue tiles, the other decorations were arabic writing prominently displayed around the mosque in beautiful gold lettering, soft colorful prayer rugs covering the entire floor space of the mosque and wooden raised platforms around the edges of the walls where some people were reciting their daily prayers. There was a special platform in the back left of the mosque that was reserved only for women. The vastness of the place still remains at the forefront of my thoughts of the Blue Mosque as well as the beautiful shades of blue that are highlighted by the sunlight streaming in through the stained-glass windows. It was a beautiful visit.

From the Blue Mosque, we decided to head over to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art which housed an eclectic collection of pottery, prayer rugs, writing instruments, documents, and household items dating back a couple of thousand years. Current Muslim culture deems it inappropriate to have animal or human imagery in religious artwork and these items are prohibited in mosques and religious pictures/symbols today. However, back before these beliefs came to be predominant, there were instances where images of humans or animals mixed with Islamic art. It was quite interesting to see this melding of two things which today are opposed. The collection of prayers rugs was quite impressive as well, especially as you could see in most of the prayer rugs where the carpert had been worn bear where the knees, feet, head and hands had been touching them over many years. The museum was fascinating, but tiring and so after leaving it we headed to Doy Doy restaurant for a much needed break for lunch.

After dining on kebabs (which is a very general term, not just meat on skewers) we walked around for awhile, looking in particular for an undergroung cistern that is hundreds of years old. We eventually found it, but decided the entrance fee was a bit too high, so instead we walked down the sunbaked pavement to the Grand Bazaar. Now, I knew Lisa would find this place to be a little slice of heaven, but I didn't expect myself to be so entranced by it. It is supposedly the largest covered bazaar in the world with over 4000 shops along 60 streets and alleys. The structure, while about the size of a normal shopping mall in the U.S., was much more packed with stores, people and goods. Lanterns, ceramics, plates, earrings, shoes, leather, touristy stuff, knock-off shirts and clothing were all displayed in any place possible. The roof and walls were painted beautiful colors and the place glistened with gold paint that highlighted the hundreds of arches and columns that supported the roof. It seems as if the only thing that had changed over the last few hundred years were the people and the merchandise. Shopkeepers were constantly supplied with free tea courtesy of the Grand Bazaar, which is big enough to have its own health clinic and police force, the latter of which is also supposed to help make sure tourists get a fair price on their purchases. One of my apprehensions was that we would be pushed to hard by the shopkeepers trying to sells us their wares, but that wasn't the case and just a firm 'no thank you' was enough to let them know you weren't interested. Everyone was respectful and most people (shopkeepers, shoppers, and tourists) seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

We left the Grand Bazaar, tired and very, very hot, and winded our way back towards the hostel, stopping only at a 300 year old Turkish bath where a scene in Indian Jones was filmed. We will certainly be back there later in the week. We rested for a bit at the hostel then found a restaurant called Magnaura which was right around the corner from our hostel. We had a relaxing dinner at a street side table and then turned in for the night, sufficiently tired from our wandering first day.

Day 2 was as touristy as a day can get, besides going to a late afternoon movie to avoid the sweltering heat. Lisa has provided a good description of the days' activities, so you can read below to find out in more detail about our walk down the Champs Elysses of Istanbul (the Istiklal Caddesi), our movie visit, Turkish delights and our rooftop dinner and card game. Instead of doubling up on that information, I'll dwell a little bit right here on the Hagia (Aya)Sophia which I feel needs a bit more attention.

The Hagia Sophia was built under the direction of the Emperor Justinian in the years 532-537. At the time of its construction Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire and the church remains a wonderful example of Byzantine architecture. Its stunning magnificence is only enhanced when one considers that much of the architectural devices used in the creation of the massive dome were unproven at the time of building. Equally impressive is the fact that for over 1000 years the Aya Sophia (whose name means Church of Holy Wisdom) was the largest enclosed structure in the world. The church remained a place for Christian worship until the year 1453 when it was consecrated as a mosque and minarets were added to its exterior. It continued to function this way until 1935 when Ataturk, the founder of modern day Turkey, pushed the government into making it a museum. The museum that stands today is an odd mix of Christianity and Islam. There are still 1400 year old mosaics which shimmer brilliantly in the morning sunlight. These mosaics exhibit images of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist, as well as former emperors of the Byzantine empire and their families. My favorite mosaic is placed on an arched surface above an exit door. It displays a picture of Jesus, with Constantine (the first Christian emperor and founder of Constantinople) to the right handing a model of Constantinople to Jesus, and Justinian handing a model of the Hagia Sophia to Jesus on the left. Truly, for hundreds of years Christians thought that Justinian had been given plans directly from God in order to build this Byzantine masterpiece, and though this belief has fallen out of fashion, one definitely feels a sense of the holy when visiting the cathedral.

Just as interesting as the history of this glorious place is its present situation. Though it has been a museum for over 70 years, there has been no attempt to return it to its original form. The result is that Islamic and Christian imagery stand side-by-side seemingly making the building twice as holy. Huge circular structures of wood hang from the 4 corners of the church/mosque displaying arabic words in gold writing on green backgrounds. There is also a minbar (the set of stairs leading to a pupit where the imam recites prayers) that was added during the conversion as well as a special raised platform specifically for the Sultan and I guess whoever he wanted to be there with him. A qibla wall has been added (the wall that faces Mecca) as well as a mihrad, the niche in the qibla wall that points directly to Mecca. It is very strange to see the two faiths which are commonly opposed in today's society, in somewhat of a harmony under one roof. It is far from a perfect melding, the Christian mosaics have been mostly torn down and fallen off the walls, Christian murals have been painted over cheaply in a poor attempt to make a concrete wall look like marble, and the Islamic signs have gathered dust and faded. Yet the Hagia Sophia is a marvel in its perseverence over war, greed and time and remains today a marvel where one can spend hours wondering how many wonderful and terrible things have happened in this ancient building during the last 1400 years.

Day 3: Read Lisa's Blog Below

Day 4: This day is quite simple to explain. We ate breakfast, went to Asia for lunch, and are now typing on our blog at the internet cafe, which is the cheapest one yet charging only 2 dollars/hour!

Now for the details. Our breakfast was the same as it's been everyday. Olives, bread, and steaming hot boiled egg, a steaming hot cup of tea or instant coffee, tomatoes, a small slice of cheese. I have always despised olives. With all my taste buds I have lamented seeing any olive on my plate. I have always shuffled them away from me as quickly as possible. Usually my mom or dad would take them away from me, and since Lisa and I have been travelling she has always willingly consumed them for me. But I figured since breakfast isn't such a big meal, I might as well eat what's on my plate. So daily I have been forcing down the salty, squishy, pitted little things and daily they have been becoming more agreeable. I attribute this taste to mere acclimation. Eating olives with bites of other foods help too, especially bread and cheese. What I have found best about olives, is that their flavor is so strong and still so much to my distaste, that they make all other foods taste better. So, thank you olives, you help me enjoy all the other parts of my breakfast even more!!!

After breakfast Lisa and I walked in the suprisingly cool, cloudy air down to the ferry dock to board our ferry for the tourist-famous Bosphoros boat tour. This 1.5 hour each way ferry ride takes you 20km up the Bosphoros toward the Black Sea and ack again for a grand total of 5 US dollars (7.50 New Turkish Lira). It stops at about 5 ports on both the Asian and European side of the Bosphoros channel. Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents and its fun to think that this morning you can be on one continent and 5 minutes later be on another one. It's like thinking that you can be in Mississippi for breakfast and Alabama for lunch--but on a much grander scale.

The tour leaves from European Istanbul and heads into the northern portion of the 12 million member city. The second second stop is on the Asian side and then it heads back to Europe where it docks at places frequented by the rich and famous folks in Turkey. Million dollar homes and expensive hotels line the coastline as well as ancient fortresses and antique wooden houses. The continental criss-crossing happens a few more times before you end up in a little coastal village called Anadalou Kavagi on the Asian side. Lisa and I took an anti-clamactic off the boat and into Asia and then climed up a steep road and then a pathway to an old dilapidated fortress hanging on the slopes of a big hill. From the fort you could see the immense Black Sea to the north (which borders Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine) and back down the Bosphoros toward Istanbul to the south. We wiped the dripping sweat from our brown and headed down to the shady town, where after dodging innumberable restaurant workers beckoning us to eat at their restaurant, we finally settled at a typical kebap shop, solely because they didn't ask us to come there. We ate our kebaps (chicken for Lisa and beef for Gordon) before getting back on the boat and heading back to Istanbul on the same route by which we came.

It was a wonderful journey, the majority of which was spent with the cool breeze in our faces and clouds giving us a reprieve from the burning sun. Our most memorable part of the trip was probably not the expanse of trees on either shore, or the million dollar homes, or the old homes and forts, but rather is the cute older couple from Madison, WI who we sat right next to on our outward journey. We never got their names, but he is a Greek philosopher teacher with a special emphasis on Plato at the University of Wisconsin and she's an artist. They have at least 3 children and they are a pleasure to talk with. He had given her a new digital camera for Christmas and neither she nor he knew how to work even the basics of it, incuding the flash. So Photography/Art Major Lisa saved the day and we were ever endeared to them afterwards. I'm not sure whether we'll see them again while we're here, but chances are good that if they're within our range of sight, we'll spot them in their long shirt/long pant Ex-Officio gear, with big hats and the American tourist trademark white tennis/running shoes. You can always tell an American for the white shoes, and if that's not enough, then look for white socks--always a dead giveaway (a little packing hint for the Corbins and Paces).

We left Asia behind as we stepped back on European soil and then headed over to our favorite internet place to type all these words you've just read. Now, carpal tunnel has begun to set in and I must take a break. Now that we're caught up with our blog, you can expect one of two things: either a daily short update so we don't fall behind, or procrastination for another 4 days. We'll see soon.

Well, its off to our favorite restaturant, our Paninoteca of Isatanbul--Doy Doy, for some kebab eating on the terrace.

Teshikkur ederim (thank you) for reading our blog and iyi geceler (good night).

ISTANBUL PHOTOS