Byzantine Remains

Mary offered Hagia Sophia by
Justinian; the City by Constantine

Standing here, looking up, it feels like the largest room I have ever entered, more so because the huge dome has no visible support. For almost 1,000 years, the Hagia Sophia (sacred wisdom) was the largest cathedral in the world. Built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6^th century its outer walls still glow a warm red. Sacked by Mehmed the Conqueror in the 15^th century, putting an end to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, it was immediately converted it to a mosque. 

Hagia Sophia interior
Mihrab at centre right

Now, a museum, secularized by Kemal Ataturk in 1931, over the centuries it has undergone a number of renovations to prevent its collapse; additional buttresses, rising damp, leaky roofs, peeling back the layers of history. As with many of the churches converted to mosques under the Ottoman Empire, the Christian artefacts were plastered over and still remain. The gleaming gold of its mosaics look as fresh as when they were created. And where else can you go to see graffiti, carved into the marble, by Viking soldiers.

As a cathedral it wasn’t constructed to align with Mecca, clear to see by the off-centre installation of the Mihrab (pulpit), guiding Muslims to Qibla (direction of Mecca) during prayer. Many of the modifications are grand - the Loge where the Sultan could go to pray unseen.

 

We walked out into the square outside, one of the most popular places in Istanbul – we saw a photo-shoot where a fashion model had picked her way through the cobbles. 

Then, three local teenaged girls approached us and asked if we spoke English. Now, I know we look like a harmless old couple!

Doing our homework!

 ‘Could we be their school homework?’ We agreed. ‘And, is it OK if we video you?’

In tentative English, they asked us where we were from, what we did, if we had any children, and whether we liked Istanbul… …of course we did. They said we were cute and we said they were sweet – that made it selfie time!

The Basilica Cistern, lies just beyond the square. Made famous in the movie From Russia with Love, this huge underground reservoir again built by Justinian to provide the city’s water, even under siege; more than 300 30-foot columns hold up its roof. It’s not used any more, although it has a few feet of water remaining – filled with large carp I realize when I shoot with flash.

Inverted Medusa

We find our way to the far end where the two most famous occupants rest – the mysterious heads of Medusa on the base of two columns, one upside down the other on its side – no-one’s sure why. We didn’t stay long – the further you get from the entrance the more pungent it smells.

The Green Man

Our final piece of Byzantium was across the square in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum – filled with the only local secular mosaics from the Justinian period, mostly hunting scenes. My favourite though was the Green Man.

Few places in the world have history this well preserved – the Hagia Sophia has been in continuous use for more than 1500 years and seen the crowning of Emperors, the schism of the Christian church, sacking by the Fourth Crusade, and pillaging during the Ottoman  conquest.

Hagia Sophia - Sultan’s Loge

Despite being a museum and flooded with tourists each day, it still courts controversy, with many calling for it to be restored as a cathedral and still more calling for it to be returned to a mosque. Although, there’s an obvious conflict with the images here preventing this dual use, it does seem a pity that such a beautiful building does not have a more vibrant and appropriate use.

Hagia Sophia - glowing pink in the afternoon sun

Hammam - The Turkish Bath

Looking North from the Suleyman Mosque

You can’t go to Turkey without taking a Turkish Bath, or Hammam. So it was we found ourselves in the Sultan Suleyman Hammam lying on a large square slab of marble with the sound of water noisily pouring into basins around the room.

Turkish baths go back into antiquity, starting with the Romans who migrated into the Byzantium Empire, baths were later embraced by the Ottomans. Mosques were built with a complex of buildings that always included a hammam. Many of the active hammams in Istanbul were built more than 500 years ago. These were not dens of public debauchery though; there were separate days assigned to men and women.

Hurrem Sultan Hammam

We’d booked the ‘Couple’s’ hammam and had not been sure what to expect. On our arrival we’d been ushered into a tiny changing room: “Man in shorts; Woman in towel!” the attendant had said; a generous pair of men’s swim pants hung on a chair beside a very small patterned towel (called a peshtemal), resembling a dishcloth/tea towel. We undressed, put them on, slipped our feet into sandals, and walked out, Carol just managing to keep herself contained. The same attendant ushered us into a sauna.

It was hot in the sauna; we sweated profusely, and frankly we didn’t last long. Although it seemed like we’d been there forever, we’d clearly come out too early by the looks on the faces of the staff. Eventually, they ushered us into the hot room where we now lay. This room is all marble; the large raised slab where we lay was like a king-sized bed with two wooden pillows and we lay there to relax for some minutes. The roof was a dome and all around the walls were large marble basins.

Hot room similar to ours

Eventually, the door opened and a young couple walked in; these were our masseurs; and immediately they turned on the water taps as they introduced themselves. We were face down as the first bucket of hot water hit me. As pleasant as it was, it was a surprise. Quickly, the masseurs got to work, soaping us down and flooding us again. Then it was time for the scrub, back and then front. He rubbed my skin rigorously with an abrasive cloth: you’d think it would hurt but it made my skin zing. Then, surprise, another bucket or two of hot water hit my head and back. Carol doesn’t like water in her face – I heard her gasp and squeak and few times.

Hammams on every street

Next was our foam massage. Each masseur got a long muslin cloth bag and soaked it in soapy water then they opened one end and swished it back and forth, causing it to inflate. Then, holding it in one hand they ran it through the other thumb and finger to squeeze the tiny soap bubbles out, as they held it over us. I glanced over at Carol and she looked like a giant foam turtle, with just her head, hands and feet poking out.

Once fully covered, it was time for our massage. Now, I like deep massage and I was not to be disappointed as this guy grasped, kneaded and put his weight on me. He even yanked my fingers and toes so I thought they might come off. But, he found knots and lumps I didn’t know I had… Finally, after throwing another couple of buckets of hot water over me, he sat me up and washed my hair… …finished with the inevitable heavy rinse!

It was time to go. Now, few surfaces are slimier or more treacherous than soap-covered marble. I managed to stand up and slip into my sandals without falling over. Then, I struggled around the ‘bed’ to help Carol out – sensibly, she’d left her glasses in the locker, but that had left her clutching that wet tea towel around herself, while trying to feel for her sandals. We managed to extract ourselves without stubbing anything.

As with all things in Turkey, after we’d dried and dressed, it was time to relax with tea and Turkish Delight before we left. We strolled out into the Istanbul afternoon, glowing, and walking just a little bit lighter…

View along the Bosphorus

The Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque at Dusk

Our hotel was right behind the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque and, for the first time ever, I heard the Call to Prayer in instalments. The Blue Mosque sits across a park from the Hagia Sophia and is perhaps the world’s most famous mosque. The Hagia Sophia was built almost 1500 years ago as a cathedral, converted to a mosque a thousand years later, and now a museum. Yet, the Hagia Sophia still calls to the faithful and these two institutions take turns to sing their way through it one sentence at a time. These calls are high volume, compared to all other mosques in the area, and if you sit in the park between them you can hear them rally, back and forth. But, from our hotel you could only hear the Blue Mosque call, punctuated by silences.

Istanbul Dogs

If Istanbul is full of cats, the area around the Blue Mosque is full of tourists… …and dogs. They march up and down, attack each other, sleep, and generally ignore everyone; not the tourists, that is, the dogs! They are tagged, fed and fixed, apparently – like the cats, they’re part of the fabric of the city. Between the mosque and the Hagia Sophia lies a park, with sections of fenced grass and a fountain. One grassy section had three dogs; you could see the scoops in the grass where they slept. But, woe betide you if you step over that 6-inch fence onto their grass.

Vacuuming between prayers

The Blue Mosque is a beautiful building, built to rival its elder the Hagia Sophia in the early 1600’s. On the day we entered, rain was pouring down, gushing out of the roof spouts. Carol tried to enter with her hair covered by a hoodie but no; she had to wear a headscarf, of course. You have to remove your shoes outside the mosque – we stood in a long line and I anticipated wet socks. But, no, it was organized so that hundreds of visitors could enter and leave without getting their feet wet. Attendants pace up and down scraping water off the walkway. They even give you a plastic bag to carry your shoes.

At least the rain gave street vendors a chance to sell clear plastic umbrellas as a break from their constant chant of ‘selfie stick, selfie stick’.

Interior showing Minbar (Pulpit)
on left, Sultan’s enclosure centre

Unlike many places I’ve been, you are welcome to enter any mosque in Istanbul; and entry is free. Inside this mosque, you cannot enter the main prayer area although you can see it. As with most mosques, you avoid prayer time and, it seems, you get to see someone vacuuming the huge carpet that covers the floor. Generally, you look up to see beautiful domed roofs, and the Blue Mosque is no exception. It’s called the Blue Mosque to acknowledge the blue iznik tiles that adorn its interior, particularly the central dome. These tiles are found in tombs and mosques throughout Istanbul, adorned with geometric and flowing arabesque patterns.

I wonder what Sultan Ahmed 1, whose tomb is on the grounds, would think of the groups of tourists sitting on his prayer carpet laughing and comparing photos of his beautiful building on their smart phones…

Blue Mosque - Central Dome

The Streets of Istanbul

Perhaps more than anywhere else I’ve been, Istanbul preserves the history of East and West over the last 2,000 years but the warmth of its people grabs you first. Narrow cobbled streets burst with sweets, spices and carpets - every other store a café with someone inviting you to take a seat for tea, coffee and more - the city fills the senses.

We arrived early on a Saturday morning, checking in by 10am. After a coffee, we hit the streets. Guys walk beside you offering guidebooks, in any language, although they seem to know which one you need. Calls to Prayer contend with each other from mosques in every direction as salesmen stand outside their cafés, spice shops, or carpet stores imploring you to come inside – ‘you don’t have to buy anything, just take a look…’

We immediately felt welcome. Coming upon a bridal couple at a sidewalk café on our first evening walk and I asked if I could take their photo. The bride laughed: “Wait – this is not my husband,” and she ran into the restaurant to grab him. Then, she insisted we join them, as her friend took my camera. It made a lovely memory.

We accepted an offer to look in a carpet store from a young guy who’d been polite and helpful with directions. But, he simply passed off to his ‘cousin’ who served us tea and then laid out countless carpets before us: ‘Just tell me which one you like the most…’ Fortunately, Carol and I couldn’t agree on one. The tea was good though.

We were there for two weeks and I realized perhaps it was too long when all of the hustlers gradually stopped trying to sell and simply wished me a ‘Good morning, sir.’

There are carts selling food in all of the tourist areas: thin bagels filled with processed cheese (Laughing Cow/Dairylea) or Nutella; boiled corn-on-the-cob, finished off on the barbeque, or roasted chestnuts by the bag – all for $1(50p).

A guy in a fez that would guess your weight, if you could wade through the cats that surrounded him…

The streets of Istanbul are full of cats, dogs and Syrian refugees, and the cats and dogs are clearly doing better – they seem to be pets of the city; people put out food for them and they sleep where they want. Most of the refugees we saw were young families and there was some argument over whether they were genuine or not with many of the tourists we met. But, we had no doubt – they were clearly in need. On a bus tour we saw a young family with small children standing in the middle of busy highway traffic holding a sign that said “ACIZ (HELPLESS)” – I’m crying all over again just writing this…

It was in the evening though, near our hotel that they were most apparent, holding out their passports and a sign: ‘Syrian Refugees, please help’. Turkey is currently struggling to host more than a million Syrian refugees.

Sunday Fishing on Galata Bridge

 On our second day we walked across the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn, crammed from end to end with local fishermen. Along the bridge there are those that offer a game of chance. Standing with a soccer ball tucked under their arm and three packs of cigarettes, or three bottles of Coke on the ground at their feet. To win, you pay them and then try to knock all three over in one shot – more difficult than it looks…

A white-bearded old man sits behind two white rabbits on a table. He promises to tell your fortune for a fee – all you have to do is choose a rabbit. The old man pulls out a tray stuffed with ‘fortunes’ on pieces of paper and the rabbit immediately goes to one and sniffs it. He plucks it out and hands it to you. It’s your lucky day!

There are many that hope Istanbul will change their fortune.

Corn-On-The-Cob for sale