Day 20, Saturday -
Istanbul: Topkapi Palace, Haghia Sophia, Haghia Irene, Blue Mosque, Rustem Pasa Mosque,
After breakfast at the Pera, we took a taxi to Topkapi Palace, the sultan's residence during the years of the Ottoman empire. It is built near the site of the Roman/Byzantine emperor's palace where Constantine the Great once lived. It is easy to see why two empires pick this spot for their home. It is on a hill at the tip of the penisula. From here one can see the Sea of Mammora (Pontus) to the right, Asia directly ahead, the Bosphorus to the left, and Pera and the Golden Horn to the far left. Turning around one looks down on the entire city of Istanbul.
Inside the palace, we saw the room where the Grand Vezirs received visitors. Sometimes the sultan would watch from behind a screen unseen. We also saw the enormous kitchen pots three feet high and as big around, used to feed everybody in the palace. Inside the museum was the Topkapi dagger with an emerald handle, made famous by the movie starring Melina Mecouri; the sultan's silverware made of silver, gold, and diamonds, and numerous other jewels and holy relics of Mohammed and John the baptist. There was also a display of clothing worn by each Ottoman sultan. It was interesting to see how successive sultan's wardrobes became larger and larger with the growing prosperity of the Ottoman Empire.
The most interesting part of the palace, however, was the harem. The last harrem wives, sultanas, left in 1906. The harem contains 400 rooms. The tour took us through 20. The others haven't been renovated. We stayed behind after the tour to look around unescorted and take photographs. There were many twists and turns with few doors or private places. One room had a fountain which purposely made an echo so that the harem girls could carry on a private conversation. We also explored some of the unrestored rooms not in the tour. We found a secluded outdoor pool overlooking the Bosphorus. The pool was dirty and there was algae growing along the sides and between the tiles, but I could imagine harem girls sunbathing unseen in their harem pants and veils overlooking the busy town and seaport below. The stairs leading to more rooms above looked so old, I was afraid they might break under our weight. If there was an accident, I didn't want to have to explain to the Turkish authorities what I was doing there. We left the harem and had lunch within Topkapi's walls overlooking the Bosphorus and Marmara (Pontus). We could see Asia in the distance and the land walls built about 350 A.D. by Constantine I at the water's edge. These walls protected the city from invasion until 1260 A.D.
We took another look at Saint Irene and walked to the nearby museums. Here we found the code of Hammerabi, the oldest code of laws. There was also a Hellenistic tomb showing the many exploits of Alexander the Great. Many relic of the near east can be found here. When the Ottoman Empire was beginning to shrink, the Turks made an effort to gather the best and bring them to Istanbul.
We then made our way to the church of the Holy Wisdom (Sophia). This time we were approaching from the back of the church. This is the only side which does not have any scaffolding. It was a little easier to imagine what the church must have looked like originally before the minarets and flying buttresses were added. We went to the front of the church where shade trees and turbs (small mausoleums) obscure the view from the street and entered.
The Byzantine Institute of America paid for the restoration of the church some time ago. This institution was the product of one man's effort which died with him. The remnants of the this now defunct organization have merged with the Dunbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. The entrance to the church is on the side as it was for the ordinary Christians before the conquest. The back entrance was reserved for the emperor. We took the path leading to the second story staircase. The building was quite dirty from all the tourists. Children were screaming and running around their giant playground.
The second floor was reserved for worship by women. I stood at the center balcony where the empress Theodora, Justinian's consort must have once stood. To the right, was an mosaic of Christ dating to the 13th century. It was very natural and life like, reflecting a living art rather than the stern formal expression of icons painted today. The decoration around the windows and on the ceiling is floral rather than religious, as it was at the time of the conquest, hence it escaped destruction by both the iconoclasts and the Turks. This floral design was very popular in Byzantine times and was adopted by the Ottoman's as well. The art nouveau style popular which reached its peak between 1890 and 1910 owes its origins to these floral motifs.
When the Turks took over, white wash was applied to most of the interior to hide the Christian art. Many mosaics were therefore not destroyed. Above the altar is the Virgin holding Jesus on her lap. I recognized it as the one above the altar in the church where I grew up. On either side of this icon are giant angels. The only Turkish remnant in the church are four huge circular plaques covering the four corners where the walls meet the ceiling. They are dark green and have a gold Arabic lettering from the Koran on them. They may be hiding mosaics beneath them.
The front entrance doors from the vestibule to the main church are made of solid iron four feet wide and forty feet high. They are the original doors hung by Justinian in 536 A.D. These were reserved for the emperor. Above the doors are mosaics of an emperor bearing the gift of the church o Christ.
Upon entering through the front doors, the first thing one notices is the vast amount of open space. There were never any pews. Neither an iconatosis nor altar now obstructs the view. The blue marble floor goes on forever and was constructed to imitate the waves of the sea. The dome appears to be almost in heaven itself. As a result, it is more obvious on the inside than on the outside that this is the largest building in Istanbul. Two Blue Mosques would fit inside, maybe even three. While setting up my camera to take pictures, I remembered something my Grandmother told me when I was a boy. I got on my knees and prayed for the return of this magnificent shrine to the Christian Orthodox Church.
In front of the church are a clump of trees and mausoleums. Directly ahead is a long level field. At the end of the field is the Blue Mosque, standing near the site of the Church of The Apostles. The clear view of this mosque contrasts with the trees which conspire to hide the Holy Wisdom. North of the field and Blue Mosque are three statues marking the center of what once was the hippodrome seating 100,000. It was dismantled by the 3rd crusade in 1204 A.D. The statues left include an obelisk engraved with the court of Theodosius and the three headed Pythian serpent which once stood at Delphi as a dedication to Apollo.
We continued southwest to the Blue Mosque. It has a large courtyard which gives it the appearance of being larger than it is. Inside it looked a lot like the other grand mosques, except it was cleaner and the art was finer. Many chandeliers hung down by a thin cord from the high ceiling. Each of its many windows was stained glass. All the tiles were beautifully decorated. Although there were blue tiles, the building didn't seem to have the bluish hue that accounts for its name. Perhaps it was the sunlight at that particular time of day.
After leaving the Blue Mosque, we walked along the long field which separates Agia Sofia from the Blue Mosque. Standing in the middle of the field, one can appreciate the difference in size between the two. From here, the group of trees placed in front of Holy Wisdom seem like mere shrubbery. The church towers above all else. In the opposite direction, the Blue Mosque appears as a beautiful, but small dome. We continued our walk toward the wide street just to northwest of the Blue Mosque where the hippodrome was stood. Besides the three statues there is a tourist information booth, the column of Constantine, and an entrance to the cistern where water was stored for the city's use. We went down to take a look. For 300 years after the conquest, the Turks didn't know it existed. Here we found a street vendor who sold us a Turkish oboe he was playing for $3.50. When we explained that Pam could play too, he wanted her to try it out, but she declined.
We walked toward Galata bridge stopping first at Rustem Pasa Mosque, above the grand bazaar. This was the prettiest mosque I saw. It was small, but it had a second floor balcony. It is also the only mosque I saw with frescos. We had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the entrance.
Then we went to Yeni Mosque, which is next to Galata bridge. This was the last great mosque built and dates from the 17th century. The exterior architecture is the most beautiful and faces the Golden Horn. It is just east of the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Unfortunately, the interior has not been renovated in recent years. There were no pretty Turkish rugs on the floor, just plain green with a red stripe. The building was in poor condition and quite dirty. We walked across the Golden Horn on the Galata Bridge and took a taxi to the Pera Palace.
After we took a shower, we went down to the lobby and asked the clerk where we could find a good Turkish restaurant. He gave us the name of one across from the French Embassy in Taskem square about a 20 minute walk from the Pera. It was called Haci Baba. We had to go up a flight of stairs to a garden terrace. We sat next to two French women. The waiter even spoke English so we were able to order what we wanted. There was a tree whose trunk growth had entirely encircled the terrace railing. The food was good, but I bit into a hot pepper that left my tongue and lips burning for hours. We walked around the square after dinner and saw the obligatory statue of Attaturk and a pretty water fountain. There were a number of sheek department stores here.
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