December 3-6, 2015
Where
does one begin about one of the most amazing cities in the world? I had the
privilege of visiting the New York of Turkey this past weekend: Istanbul. While
I only saw a very small portion of what the city has to offer, it was enough to
take my breath away. I know I will be returning here again to explore more of
the city. Here are the highlights of our experience.
Airbnb
Rental
Airbnb
is an online service through which people all over the world put up their houses/apartments
for short-term rentals to visitors. We found a cozy and cheap place near the
city center. The room was warm and toasty, and our host was very hospitable. He
served us herbal tea, dates, and cookies upon arrival. While the accommodation was
just what we wanted, it did have interesting décor. For example, stuffed
elephants and chained dolls hung from the ceiling. No doubt the host was a
hoarder.
Ayasofya
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| Juxtaposition of Christianity and Islam inside Ayasofya. |
On
our first day in Istanbul, Friday, we waited for our friend Elizabeth to fly in
from Antalya. When she arrived at noon, we all hit the city together. Our first
stop was the magnificent Ayasofya. Also known as Hagia Sophia, which means
“Holy Wisdom,” this museum was once a Christian patriarchal basilica and converted
to an imperial mosque when Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmet II conquered the
city of Constantinople in 1453. This is a very important date in Turkish
history, as it symbolizes the start of Ottoman rule in Anatolia. According to
Wikipedia, the Ayasofya is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and
is said to have “changed the history of architecture.” Indeed, the beauty of
this structure lies in the juxtaposition of both Christian and Islamic art,
Byzantine and Ottoman designs. When staring directly at the dome for example, I
saw a painting of Jesus Christ as well as Allah and Muhammad’s names written in
large, golden calligraphy. In the photo of Alex, myself, and Liz, you can this beautiful
juxtaposition.
Sultan
Ahmed Mosque/Blue Mosque
Situated across from the
Ayasofya (about a 3-minute walk) in the Sultanahmet Square, the Sultan Ahmed
Mosque is an equal gem. It has one main dome, six minarets, and eight secondary
domes, all of which have a light blue color. Its overwhelming size, majesty and
splendor can be attributed to the fact that this structure was more than a
mosque: it housed a madrasah (religious school) and served as a hospice.
While open to tourists from around the world, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is still
popularly used as a mosque today. It also houses the tomb of Sultan Ahmed I,
who purposefully built this mosque on top of the vaults of the old Grand Palace
(Great Palace of Constantinople built by Byzantine emperors).
I think the true beauty of
the mosque lies in the interior. The stained glass windows with intricate
designs admit natural light while the large glass chandeliers further reflect
the light, making the inside truly a place of noor. The wall and column
decorations include verses from the Quran, many of them made by Seyyid Kasim
Gubari, regarded as the greatest calligrapher of his time. Above all, the
interior of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the “Blue Mosque” for this
reason, is lined with more than 20,000 handmade İznik style ceramic tiles, made
at Iznik (the ancient Nicaea) in more than fifty different tulip designs. Did
you know that the cultivation of tulips began in Persia and was introduced to
Anatolia via the Seljuk Turks? My host mother Wanda, who is widely read on a
number of interesting topics, told me about this before I left for Turkey. I
find this to be very interesting; my research on this topic led me to find this
on Wikipedia: “Tulips are called lale in Turkish (from Persian word
"lale" لاله). When written in Arabic letters, "lale" has
the same letters as Allah, which is why the flower became a holy symbol.
It was also associated with the House of Osman, resulting in tulips being
widely used in decorative motifs on tiles, mosques, fabrics, crockery, etc. in
the Ottoman Empire.”
Topkapı Palace
Museum
The Topkapı Palace was one
of the major residences of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years. We roamed
through the royal study rooms, imperial kitchens, treasury offices, courtyards,
imperial stables, dormitories, baths, harems, and many chambers, among other
special rooms. Alex, Liz, and I explored as many rooms as possible before
meeting our Fulbright friends Anand and Sarah in the Grand Bazar. We saw a lot
of artifacts such as swords, clothing, jewelry and documents. Almost everything
was dazzled with jewels like diamonds, emeralds, and rubies—boy did the sultans
live a luxurious life!
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| Dazzling Spoonmaker's Diamond! |
My favorite parts of
exploring the Topkapı Palace, however, were seeing the eye-catching
Spoonmaker’s Diamond (Kaşıkçı Elması)
and Prophet Muhammad’s holy sword. Since we were not allowed to take pictures
of these items, I took a picture of the Spoonmaker’s Diamond from a bookseller
in the courtyard, and encourage you to look up images of Prophet Muhammad’s
sword on Google. I was awe-struck when I saw both of these items in person; I
couldn’t believe my eyes. Legend has it that a poor man found the Spoonmaker’s
Diamond in the rubble, and then sold it to a jeweler for a small sum of money.
When it was later discovered that the rock was in fact a diamond, a dispute
arose and both the commoner and the jeweler were brought to the sultan’s
palace. The resolution? The sultan kept the jewel for himself and paid the two
off! Ha!
Grand Bazaar
& Rooftop City View
We met our friends Sarah and
Anand at the Grand Bazaar, which truly is grandiose. Before walking around this
Bazaar, Sarah took us to some rooftops where we saw the breathtaking, panoramic
city view of Istanbul, both the east and west sides with the glittering
Bosporus in the middle! It was almost sunset time, so we were able to take only
a few noteworthy photos. There was a long line for one particular rooftop dome,
where people posed against the brightly-lit city backdrop—I’m sure many of
those photos will become people’s Facebook profile pictures soon! After sunset,
we walked around the colorful and bustling bazar, which everything you can
image—scarves, board games, jewelry, pottery, clothes, home goods, trinkets,
kitchenware, etc. Tourists flock to this inside bazaar and enjoy coffee and
meals in between their shopping. Shopkeepers murmur “hello, how are you?” to
lure you into their stores and you have to be strong not to make eye contact
with every shopkeeper. Later that Saturday night, we had Indian food, which was
amazing! I had been craving chicken curry, vegetable biryani, and samosas,
since there is no ethnic food available in Antalya. The night before, we had
eaten Chinese food to satisfy our noodles and spring rolls’ craving.
Süleymaniye Mosque
So, while the Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque were
both spectacular, I have to admit that Süleymaniye Mosque was my favorite
mosque. It is located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, is the largest mosque in
the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. Built by chief Ottoman
architect Mimar Sinan at the order of Sultan Süleyman, this mosque blends
Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements. For example, it combines tall,
slender minarets with large domed buildings supported by half domes in the
style of Hagia Sophia. It is my favorite because upon entering the tall gates,
I was awe-struck by its splendor and holiness. It is located away from the city
center, and therefore draws pious worshippers. The red and beige color scheme
of the interior felt more like a church than a mosque. Check out striped
semi-arcs, it’s so unique.
Galata Kulesi
Before catching our flight
on Sunday afternoon, we met Sarah at the Galata Kulesi ("Tower"). It
is a high, blue cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and offers a
panoramic view of Istanbul’s historic peninsula. We had breakfast at a rooftop
restaurant next to the Galata Tower, and enjoyed the gorgeous view of the
Bosporus and the peninsula. We then sipped some cappuccino and taxied to the Havataş
bus stop, where we caught our bus to the Sabiha Gökçen International
Airport. We got home around dinnertime. It was a fabulous first trip to
Istanbul!
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