Istanbul, Turkey ... August 30, 2015 ... Day 12

Day 12, August 30, 2015 … Istanbul. This was a very, very interesting day! We’re up early, ate breakfast, then met our tour guide. She was a delightful young lady who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Turkey going back to 632 BC, Muslim customs and traditions and modern life in the country. From the ship we took a tram right into Old Istanbul.

The Old City of Istanbul

Istanbul, called Constantinople until 1930, is home to about 17 million people and is the only city located on two continents …  Europe and Asia. It is a modern city with the definite influence of both Europe and Asia plus its tumultuous past. Its history boasts of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman occupations; but the current country of Turkey gained its independence only in 1923.  It is a secular government; however, well over 90+ percent of the population are Muslim, four-fifths Sunnis.  As a matter of fact, today is their independence day, and we saw huge Turkish flags flying from many of the buildings throughout our meanderings!

Byzantine Hippodrome … While the hippodrome no longer exists, Josephine presented an excellent visualization of what the arena was like as the heart of Constantinople’s political and sporting life. Three different columns, two that came from Egypt, one created locally, that were situated in the center of the chariot-racing track still remain (Think of the movie Ben Hur and Charlton Heston’s famous chariot ride in Rome … same, same).  The one column is made of granite and looks like it is modern-day, not the original 4th century that it is!

The Blue Mosque … This beloved icon of Istanbul was built in the early 1600s by the Muslims to construct a place of worship that would exceed the grandeur of the Hagia Sophia. It has six minarets/spirals instead of the traditional four, which was not allowed at that time because only the mosque in Mecca could have that

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

many. To get around that problem, the Sultan paid to have another minaret added to Mecca! The mosque gets its name from the thousands and thousands of blue, green and white Iznik tiles on the walls, in the arches and on the ceilings of the many domes that create a glow throughout the entire very large gathering room. There are more than 50 different tulip designs (yes, tulips actually originated in Turkey, not Holland!) and 216 stained glass windows. Because people still come to pray here, we had to take our shoes off, women had to have head scarves and all shorts or sleeveless tops had to be covered before entering the mosque.  For the Turkish people, this is a very important building, though it should be noted there are hundreds of other mosques around the city. While Turkey is a secular government, the imams who are the prayer leaders of the mosques are paid by the state, thereby allowing the state to exercise some limits on political speech in their sermons.

Outside the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sofia… This magnificent church was first built in 325 by Constantine the Great; but was subsequently rebuilt two other times because it was destroyed by fire. When constructed, it was by far the largest church in the world (it is now about the 5^th largest). In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Turks the church was converted into a mosque by Suleman. Because Muslims do not allow icons and pictures in their mosques, all of the beautiful icons and mosaics were covered with plaster rather than destroyed because even the conquerors appreciated their beauty. Then a prayer marker was placed in the alter area which pointed east to Mecca. Huge black circles were placed around the church with a  name of a Muslim prophet written in Arabic .  Those plaques are still there. In 1936, when the Hagai Sofia, meaning the Church of Holy Wisdom, was converted into a museum, many of these beautiful works of art were dramatically revealed.  The famous mosaics of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist, located on the upper level, and Mary and Child, located above the altar, are absolutely stunning.

Mary and Child
Above the alter at the Hagai Sophia

The church is a model of Byzantine architecture with a huge dome and marble and pillars from Ephesus. I was taken aback by how large it is and was fascinated how Islam used the building. One reason this building is so dear to the Turkish people is because of its proximity to the Sultan’s palace, accommodations were made so both the Sultan and the princess could attend prayers without being with the other worshipers. The domes, the intricate designs on the columns and arches and the Christian mosaic icons being brought to light all related to a rich and varied history … important to Orthodox, Catholics and Islam.

The famous mosaic of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist
Hagai Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Topkapi Palace … After a delicious Turkish lunch in a small local restaurant, we walked to Topkapi Palace, now a museum but once the treasure-filled residence of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years.   The entire complex was built on the ruins of Constantine’s Imperial Palace and consists of four sections, each with a building followed by a large garden area. First was the greeting area, after which we walked through a beautiful garden with very large trees … a nice respite to the scorching 90+ degree sun beating down on us. Then was the sultan’s government building, again followed by a garden of trees and paths lined with hundreds of rose bushes. The third building complex was the

sultan’s personal living quarters. His wives and concubines lived elsewhere in the Harem Quarter on one side.  Over 800 young women once lived there, all hoping to catch the eye of the sultan.  It was the sultan’s mother who had the power to choose the particular girls for her son’s pleasure!  Many of the young women only served for a few years, after which they left the palace to live a normal life.

The last area housed young men taken from non-Muslim families as young as 6 or 7 years old from all around the empire to be trained as either soldiers (the elite Janissaries) or today what we might call government administrators, financial advisers, etc. The reason non-Muslims were taken was because these men would have no

political backing to revolt against the sultan, and they were provided a very good and stable life working for the sultan, after being forced to convert to Islam. The last garden overlooks the beautiful blue Bosphorus straits and the golden horn surrounding the city.  Temperatures in the winter hover around 35-40 degrees F, sometimes below freezing and sometimes with snow, so this area with its large calming water fountain surrounded by a few beautiful little buildings used for resting, entertaining, etc., was only used in the summer. Women were not allowed back there except when the sultan was entertaining.

One very long building along the side of the complex was the kitchen, cooking for anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 people every day, depending on the activities taking place in the palace.  There were over 1,000 servants who worked around the clock to serve the 5,000 residents living in the palace.  As you can imagine, the inside walls and ceilings of every single building were covered in gorgeous mosaic tiles arranged in many, many different geometric designs. Some of the buildings also had beautiful stained glass windows.  Today, the buildings house various museum pieces.  We browsed through the section that holds many holy relics, including the hair of Mohammad, relics of John the Baptist, the staff of Moses and the head covering of Joseph. Another section housed many of the armaments used in battle over the history of this region … exotic swords, rifles and guns and armor for both men and horses.   Things we did not stand in line to see were the famous Spoonmaker’s Diamond, an 86-carat gem or the famous Topkapi Dagger encrusted with precious jewels or the collections of porcelain.

It’s been a long, hot day with lots of walking, but it was also exciting to visit these historic places and learn more of their history from a resident’s point of view. Plus the people watching of both tourists and locals has been absolutely fascinating.  There is more I’d like to see, especially the beautiful area of the Bosphorus connecting the two continents within the City … but that will have to be for another time!  After some souvenir shopping, we took the tram  back to the ship.

On disembarking we passed the golden Horn into the Bosphorus straits and south to the the sea of Marmara, filled with hundreds of vessels awaiting access either  to the Black Sea through the straits or ports around Istanbul. The congestion requires strict navigation rules including a pilot for all ships.  A quick shower, the Captain’s Circle cocktail hour and a dinner filled with laughter from what are becoming good friends concluded our wonderful day in Istanbul. Now it is time to flop into bed, totally exhausted!

A hazy look at the many ships in the Sea of Marmara
Turkey