I was taken around with a small group by our guide (Omar) who was great and really knew his ancient history. We viewed the pink Obelisk in what remains of the Hippodrome (chariot races) brought here by Theodosius from Egypt in 390 AD. The obelisk was carved in Egypt in roughly 15oo BCE and weighs about 200 tons. It was an amazing feat to bring it here that long ago. (It would be an amazing feat today too!)
We followed that with a visit to the Blue Mosque. This amazing building was created in the 17th century by Ahmet I. Designed by the architect Sinan, this building takes its name from the beautiful blue tiles found on the inside. The building was designed to rival Hagia Sophia and is filled with light. It is still a working mosque and prayers are observed five times a day here. We got a chance to learn much more about Islam from Omar as well and I was grateful for the opportunity to ask him questions.
Next came the building that was ostensibly the whole reason for coming to Istanbul, Hagia Sophia. It's difficult to describe how incredible this place is. Built in 527 by emperor Justinian, this building was completed in just 5 years using 10,000 workers! You couldn't even do that today. The building stands over 17 stories high and has a dome spanning over 90 feet which makes it STILL the 4th largest dome in the world behind St. Peter's (Rome) St. Paul's (London) and the Duomo (Florence). The thing is, this building is a millennium older than any of those other structures! Incredible. Following the Ottoman invasion in 1453, the Muslims knew what they had and did nothing to change it structurally. The simply covered the frescoes, and hung medallions inside with the names of the prophet and his followers inscribed in Arabic at various points in the building. In the original apse of the building (facing East) they added a Mihrab or "gateway to heaven" off center in the apse. By moving the Mihrab four feet south of center, they effectively, "pointed the way to Mecca" without having to destroy the building. Ingenious really. They had to pull me away from this place and I will return shortly!
After that, we went to Topkapi palace and learned about the life of the Sultan's as well as the political structure of the Ottoman world. It was very interesting as we viewed the Harem (I wanna know more about this....) the kitchens, the library, the crown jewels (heavily guarded by guys with uzzi's) and the reliquary where there were such things as the staff of Moses, the Sword of king David and the footprint of Mohammed.
Following lunch, we went to a carpet shop where we learned about the various degrees of quality in rug making as well as the various styles. Over coffee and tea, they would love to sell us something, but they did not put the hard sell on anyone. They simply showed us a zillion rugs and wanted to talk about rugs. If you were interested, great. If not, no big deal. I enjoyed it and loved talking to them.
Following this, we went to the GRAND BAZAAR. I'm not kidding. I love to shop. I am a world champion shopper and when I saw this place my jaw hit the floor. This Bazaar is over hundreds of years old and has somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 vendors in it. It was simply crazy, cacophonous fun. I loved every minute of it (we only stayed for 45).
At the end of the tour, I went to the Marmara sea wall and watched people fish as the sun set. t was beautiful as the evening cool set in. The climate is very much like home at this time of year in the evening. Cool breeze, low 50's and threatening to rain for tomorrow. I finished the evening meeting some folks in the small and civilized bazaar across the street. I met a music student and we talked, drank tea and listened to C.D.'s which I will try to load onto the Blog at some point! Following this was a dinner of Turkish "Ravioli"-small amounts of meat in pasta served in a garlic, yogurt and lemon sauce, and a main course of lamb rolled in pistachios with a lovely demi-glaze.. I happily fell asleep after a very full day.
1 comment:
Your trip sounds fabulous already. I'm catching up with your notes as I finish a visit to my dad and brother on the east coast. Can't wait to hear more about your travels!
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