Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture

A few weeks ago,my friend Hector invited me to accompany him and his daughter on a trip to Istanbul.Now in my mind, Istanbul is one of the most exotic places on the planet. It is the home of two of the greatest empires in human history and occupies one of the most strategic geographical locations in the world. In short, a must see city; an opportunity to visit a city where a visionary leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the modern Turkish Republic in the 1920's. A city where the Romans founded a "second" Rome and where the Byzantines' measured the distance to every known place in the empire from Istanbul.
The above stella was the point inside Istanbul which was the "center" of the Byzantine Empire.

Oh, I said yes; and off we flew via Turkish Airways to Istanbul. Upon arrival we learned we did indeed need a visa; after we were rebuffed by passport entry(after waiting in Disneyland sized lines) and sent packing to the visa line. As I sit here writing this, it is funny to think about the guard shaking his head(probably thinking "dumb" Americans) and pointing the way to the visa line. So we arrived a little late to our hotel, the Senator, no the Best Western Senator; great place to stay and not a bad location.

We are hungry(read grumpy hungry) and so we start walking looking for a restaurant that "looks" good to us. We find the "Mihman" Restaurant; a Central Asian Restaurant located about three blocks from our hotel. The aroma emanating from the restaurant was enough to turn our heads and bodies into the doorway; we had no idea what a treat we would enjoy that night. Our host was of Uygur ancestery and explained to us the cuisine was a mix of Uzbek-Uygur traditional recipes from the families of the owner. I had a "ripped" noodle dish called "menper somen", that was spicy hot and very tasty with spicies I could not identify. Hector had meat kebabs, including liver and Meghann had a meat and leek dish. We also received a history lesson from our waiter/host and were invited after dinner to have lemon tea with the chef. We spent about two hours with our hosts and were made to feel at home, an unknown omen of what our weekend would be like in Istanbul.

The Sea of Marma is today part of the "super-highway" that defines the position that Istanbul occupies. From this perspective a fishing area for the locals and further out ships from around the world traveling to port to unload, pick up cargo and return home. Directly across from this scene are the ruins of the walls constructed by the Romans/Byzantines that defined the limits of Constantinople.
The walls were restored after the Ottoman siege and subsequent conquest of Constantinople in 1453. In time, Constantinople which was founded by the Thracians would once again change names and become known as Istanbul.

Saturday morning we have a half-day tour with Urban Adventures and our guide Klimit(sic?) who is young and full of energy.She informs us we will walk a lot today and see many sights. We are pleased the group is only five; us and two young people from England.There is Emma(originally from New Zealand)and Stuart. We are off to the At Meydani (formerly the Hippodrome, which seated 80,000 people when completed) to see several monuments from Grecian, Egyptian and Byzantine eras.

There are three monuments in the former Hippodrome area; the most remarkable is the "Theodosius Obelisk" that was taken from Egypt by order of Emperor Constantinius(337-361). The obelisk did not reach Constantinople until around 390 AD under the reign of Emperor Theodosius(379-395). It is an amzing monument to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutmosis III with the inscription; a poem dedicated to the pharoah.


The Romans began construction of the Hippodrome between 117-136 AD under the reign of Hadrianus. The Hippodrome would later find "new life" as it was stripped of marble and usable construction materials by the Ottomans to build the Blue Mosque(so called because of the many blue tiles which adorn the walls of the mosque).


Our guide informs us before entering the Sultanahmet/Blue Mosque we must remove our shoes and Meghann and Emma must wear a head scarf.

The architecture of the Mosque is simple in it's understated elegance. It is a remarkable house of worship. It is the most important of all Imperial Mosques in Istanbul.
It has a soaring dome in the center of the Mosque with beautiful tiles in abundance. There are beautiful stained glass windows and massive wrought iron chandliers hanging from the dome above.

Due to the instability(read earthquake prone) of the surrounding region, you can see substantial seismic upgrades inside the Mosque. The roof of the Mosque is supported by four massive pillars called"elephant columns", a direct reflection of the size of the pillars.

Klimit corrals all of us and leads out of the Mosque towards an important gift to the people of Turkey. It is a covered fountain presented in 1901 by Kaiser Wilhem II to the government and citizens of Turkey. Historically, at this point and time and up into WWI, the Germans and Turks were allies.



Back on the road we wind our way through neighborhoods heading for the Grand Bazaar,Spice Bazaar and thousands of shoppers!This is a great part of Istanbul to walk; you see, feel(lots of people), and smell so much; your senses are on overload and it is so intoxicating, what a moment!

We keep moving uphill(did I mention Istanbul is a little hilly?) passing by a Byzantine monument(Constantinus Column); a clerk stacking oranges, grapefruits and pomegranates like a real life Lego display. Perfect order and balance is his fruit composition. We passby admiring his work and come to one of many Mosques under restoration this year(Klimit says the EU designation of European Capital of Culture 2010 has helped focus much needed work on older buildings). Just past the Mosque is the entry gate to the Grand Bazaar, which was first opened/constructed between 1451-1481.

We do not spend much time at the Grand Bazaar as we have a date(yep, another Mosque) to visit a special Mosque and see Istanbul University. Klimt tells us that Turkey has a rich history of education that was strengthened under Ataturk and that entry into the University is very competetive and difficult. However, no football team! I found it interesting that the University was gated and had security staffing the gate. She explained that many people in the past who were not qualified to be students would attend classes and this security is an attempt to prevent such fraud from occurring.

We continue past the entrance to the University and walk a narrow street adjacent to the campus. Klimit keeps us at a quick pace having already realized we are in need of adult supervision and her job is akin to "herding cats". We pass an ancient Ottoman cemetery behind a fence and raised walls. It has been necessary to take measures to protect these historic sites from urban growth.

We head towards coffee/tea at a cafe below ground level, located next to an old madrassa, that is next to an extensive Turkish bath house. The tour come a complete circle as just over the buildings is the Egyptian Spice Market(named thusly as spices first came from Egypt to Istanbul from other parts of the world).


Klimit wants to first show us one of her favorite Mosques; she says it is the Mosque of the Grand Vizier and has more blue tiles than the Blue Mosque. So after Turkish Cola Zero(too many variations in this part of the world!), we head over to this Mosque. The Mosque is located on the second floor and access was through a somewhat narrow staircase. The Mosque is beautiful, relatively small compared to the others we have visited. It has incredible tiles that are vibrantly colored even today.

The balcony for the Grand Vizier commands the space inside the mosque. Klimit theorized that the Grand Vizier must have accepted "incentives" (read bribes) in his position to have built such a grand Mosque.


We now join the throng in the "running of the spice gauntlet", with merchants on both sides of the narrow street hawking their goods.We pass first through nuts and olives and oils; then soaps of all shapes and scents and where I meet the most amusing gentleman selling soap. When asking him questions about the soap he is answering in very poor English, however, when I ask him to take his picture, he does not hesitate to state,"wait a minute while I get my hat"!!Here he sits with his hat, pretty smug!


The spices were piled high in huge bins and the odors from the open air shops was unbelieveable. The merchants rapidly dealt with customers and looked for the next person who wished to make a purchase. The bins contained for example; curry,cumin, paprika, pepper, tumeric, and saffron upon request. The colors rich and pleasing to the eye.


After the spices we passed through the candy vendors and on into the pathway towards the Grand Bazaar and our meeting with the Pashmena sellers. Klimit had set us free as we had finished our tour with her near the market. It was a great time, with a very informative and patient guide.

Now we are on a mission to get Martha a black/grey pashmena that has to be about 5'x1'. This will turn out to be a herculean task that only Hector can accomplish(kinda Greek/Roman players). We search the first day with no luck for Martha's pashmena (the saga continues); that said the rest of the group scored for important people in their lives and we went away from the Grand Bazaar feeling somewhat victorious in our "haggle-battle'' with the pashmena vendors.

We decide to walk back to the hotel and with Meghann's assistance Hector is able to guide us back to cold beer and a great dinner at the hotel.We talk about our first day and all we have seen, we all agree it was a perfect day; knowing that tomorrow we have a full-day tour...to be continued.