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Hello to all of you back home reading this:Day 2 - Istanbul For all of you They Might Be Giant fans, I have yet to find out why Constantinople got the works. These Turks are a secretive lot when it comes to that. Ha!
Speaking of Constantinople, today I trekked (literally. 5 miles at least) from my hotel to see Haghia Sophia. The greatest church in all of Byzantium/Constantinople. I thought that the church was started in the 7th century by the Emperor Justanian. This version was. What I did find out today, was that this was the third church built on this site. The first was constructed under the rule of Constantine the Great, whom the city was named after. There is an archeological dig that shows the footing of the original church. There is a picture in this blog showing that dig. This place is huge! What is even more amazing was that it was built over 1,400 years ago, and that it was built in less than six years time! To put that in perspective, Notre Dame was not started for another 600 years, and Saint Peter's for almost 800 years. Plus, those two churches took 200+ years to build. The size notwithstanding, there are still a few of the Byzantine mosaics that have withstood the ravages of time. I have a few of them in the pictures. Form the picture, you will see some Arabic writings, and patterns. Mehmet III, the sultan who conquered Constantinople, was said to have held his first daily prayer to Mecca in this church. It amazes me that there were times and places, where Christians, Muslims, and Jew lived together in harmony. I boggles the mind that the world is so closed minded these days.
Across the boulevard from Haghia Sophia, is the Basilica Cistern. This was another project built by the Emperor Justanian. It is all underground, and it served the population of Constantinople/Istanbul until the 1800's. The Muslims did not know that it existed until they found that the population in the area where getting fresh water out of their basements. As much of a marvel as Haghia Sophia is, this is even more so to me. It is the engineer in me. For something to be built 1,400 years ago, withstand time, withstand all of the building on top of it, and withstand all of the train traffic on top of it, that is truly incredible.
Final stop of the day was the Suleymaniye Mosque. The mosque sits on one of the many hills of the old city. It was designed by the architect Sinan, who is considered by Easterners and Westerners alike, to be the peer of Michaelangelo (sp??). One look at this mosques and I can see why. This mosque has no equal in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque was impressive, and it was somewhat larger. However, the gracefulness of this building is something to behold. Suleyman was the greatest of all of the Ottoman sultans. Under his rule, the Ottoman empire stretched from Iran to Egypt, to Hungary. I hope that my pictures give you a feel for how beautiful this building is.
Enough of the sites. I found a great "english" pub on the way to Haghia Sophia. that is one good outcome of the 5 mile trek. I must have a magnet for English/Irish pubs when I am in a non-English speaking country. First it was the Irish pub in Barcelona, not it is the English pub in Istanbul. I have had some great food here. There is a bread called simit, that is crisp with sesame seeds coating it. It is all over the streets. I love it. Plus, you can't beat it for 1 Lira. I have survived off of it, and fresh fruit. The nectarines are the best I have ever had. I thought Turkey was noted for apricots, but these nectarines rock. I haven't eaten meat since I have been here. I know, I can't believe it either. A lot of the food is vegetarian, and it is good. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I think I could live off of the hummus and pita bread. The pita bread is made fresh by an older woman right as you order it. It is a good thing I am walking everywhere, I would be as big as a house by the time I leave on Sunday for Greece. As far as drinks are concerned, I like to beer here. I think it is brewed by Germans, but the Turks call it their own. The Turks have tea, of chai, all of the time. It is everywhere. They are not big coffee drinkers. After drinking Turkish coffee back home, I would have thought that the whole population is on a caffeine buzz. Finally, every place has a hamburger. I did not know that they are so popular, but tomorrow being Saturday, I am going to have a cheeseburger, since I cannot make it to the Edgefield. :-)
Enough rambling for one day. I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and the thoughts so far. I appreciate the comments as well.
Until next time,
Scot
Greetings all:
On full day down in the city that was once Constatinople. The city is huge. My guide book says that there are 11 million people living here. I would believe every last one of them. L.A. does not have the kind of urban sprawl that Istanbul does. To make matter worse, everyone wants to drive. The traffic is a nightmare. After sitting in two taxi rides for over 40 minutes, I did the next best thing, walked.
A couple of observations before I get to the pictures. The people are very friendly, some times too friendly. Everyone has something they want to sell you. Jewelry, foods, water, postcards, shoe shines, you name it. The street food is very good. In fact, I am probably going to live off of it while I am here. The hummus and pita are the best I have every had. I guess I will see how good the Greeks' hummus and pita are in a couple of days. I did have Raki (pronounced Rak-oo) last night with my dinner. Turkish fire water would be another name. It is very strong tasting. It is Italian Grappa , flavored with Anise, to give you a picture of the taste. Everyone cuts it with water, which I did as well. That is the only way I could finish the glass. The beer here is good. The big brand is EFES which is quited tasty. It is light, which is good with the heat of the city.
Back to the city, one can tell that it is a very old city. There are monuments, walls, churches, and mosques everywhere. The only drawback is that since Turkey became a republic under Ataturk, all of the old buildings have been torn down for ugly 50's and 60's boxes. It is nothing like Rome, Paris, or Barcelona, where the old city has been preserved. I get a feeling that the world has past the city by in a way. For over 1500 years, this was the crossroads of civilization. With the advent of super ships, and more importantly the rise of America, Europe turned her eyes toward the west. The people here a very proud of their heritage. Not snotty like some of the French, just proud of who they are, and where they came from.
After much walking through the city, I finally arrived at two of the three main sites in Istanbul, Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Haghia Sophia was the main church of the Bynzantines, and was started by the Roman Emperor Justanian in the seventh century. Once the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, it was converted to a mosque. However, today it has not religious significance. It was close for the day when I arrived. However, I did get some great photos of the exterior facade as the sun was setting. It is the picture with the large Turkish flag draped over it. The rest of the pictures are from the Blue Mosque. Absolutely incredible! I hope that the pictures do it justice. The stone masons were the same masons that worked on the Taj Mahal. The tiles work is so detailed. Every tile was hand painted in Iznik in the south of Turkey.
My day ended with me watching a fireworks display over the Bosphorus Bridge. Not bad at all.
Tomorrow, Hagia Sophia, Suleyamine Mosque, and who knows what else.
Until next time,
Scot
I have arrived safely at my hotel in Istanbul. The flight was uneventful, with the exception of the two pigeons flying around the inside of the terminal at JFK. Crazy New Yorkers!
I am about to head out and start exploring the city. The people that I have met so far have been extremely friendly. In fact, my taxi driver said that it was a shame that I was not married, when he asked me if I had a wife and children.
Pictures will be on my next posts. I was so overwhelmed on the drive through the old city, that I didn't want to waste the feeling on snapping pictures.
Until the next entry,
Scot
Well, here it is. T minus 12 hours until I take off on my journey to the land of the Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Greeks. As always, I have managed to wait until the last possible moment to pack everything. I guess I don't like to waste time packing and re-packing. I just throw it in the bag and go.
It is a sad commentary on our technology society. I am taking as many cords to charge devices, as I am pairs of jeans. Go figure! I think I will be giving my power converter all it can handle on this trip.
I have come to the realization that there is not much better in my working career, than saying on my voice mail "Hello, you have reached the desk of Scot Lyle. I will be out of the office until September 12th, and will NOT have access to email or voice communications." That is a great feeling.
I guess that I better return to packing.
I can't believe that eight months of planning is about to come to an end, and the trip is about to begin.
Until I touch the ground in Istanbul,
Scot
