The great sights and experiences of Istanbul, the city in two continents

Istanbul has so much to offer that you need to visit this city time and again. In our last issue I had shared with you my experience about the Traditional Turkish Night. Also worth experiencing would be the Sufi Music Concert and Whirling Dervishes Ceremony also known as the Sema Ceremony which is proclaimed as an intangible World Heritage by UNESCO. The Whirling Dervishes trace their origin to the 13th century Ottoman Empire.

The Dervishes, also known as the Mevlevi Order, are Sufis, a spiritual offshoot of Islam. In 1972, Jelaluddin Loras, Sheikh of the Mevlevi Order of America, brought the religion from Turkey to the United States. On December 17, Whirling Dervishes across the world celebrate the birth of Jelaluddin Mevlana Rumi, a mystic poet, who founded the Mevlevi Order. In fact UNESCO will be celebrating the 800th birth anniversary of Rumi this year i.e. 2007.

One of this Turkish Mystic Music and Dance performance can be witnessed at the Sirkeci Train Station near the Seraglio Point beneath the walls of the Topkapi Palace. This train station is also the destination of the famous rail experience known as the Orient Express

The Palace is surrounded with walls around 5 kilometres and the total area is supposed to be twice the size of Vatican.. The Palace which was protected by 28 towers, comprises of 4 enormous courtyards- a magnificent wooden garden fills the outer or first courtyard; the second courtyard had the palace kitchens which now serves as galleries exhibiting imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. To the left of the second courtyard, there used to be the Harem- the secluded quarters of the wives. The third court yard used to have the Hall of Audience, the Library of Ahmet III and here you can find the exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts.

This is the most popular area for the tourists as the collection on display is simply awesome. In the centre of this innermost sanctuary, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle enshrines the relics of the Prophet Mohammed which was brought to Istanbul by the Ottomans. The most sacred treasure is the mantle once worn by Prophet Mohammed. You will also find the hairs from the beard of the Prophet as well as the letter written by him and an impression of his footprint behind a glass cabinet in the anteroom.

Thereafter we went to see Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque popularly known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior paneling of the blue and white Iznik Tiles. The Blue Mosque is undoubtedly one of the famous icons of Istanbul and Turkey along with the Hagia Sophia. Located on the west bank of the Golden Horn, the Blue Mosque is one of the most famous religious monuments in the world. It was built during the first quarter of the 17th Century by Mehmet Aga, the imperial architect and the mosque is unique as it comprises of six minarets and it was considered to be an attempt to rival the architecture of Mecca.

On the other side of the Blue Mosque is the Haghia Sophia which is separated by the Sultanahmet Square , close to the Hippodrome. The ancient Hippodrome was once a gigantic stadium which now is an elongated public garden. The remains however is quite indicative of the scale of the Hippodrome which used to hold up to 100000 people. The road running around the square was used for chariot racing and today you find three ancient monuments which remain- the first one being the Egyptian Obelisk which used to be in Luxor and was brought here in Istanbul by Constantine and was supposed to have been built in 1500 BC, then you have the Serpentine Column which was brought here from Delphi and is believed to be dated from 479 BC and the last column known as the Column of Constantine, also known as the Brazen Column as it is thought to have been covered with sheets of bronze.

After a long walk, we realized it started to drizzle a bit and we went underground to see the Basilica Cistern. This vast underground water cistern is a very unusual tourist attraction and a fine piece of engineering. Located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul, it is one of the few existing architectural examples built during the 6th Century by Emperor Justinian. The Cistern is 143 metres in length and has a width of 65 metres and has 336 marble columns each being 9 metres high.

The capitals of the columns are primarily Ionic and Corinthian styles and the cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a thickness of 4 metres and coatedwith a special mortor for insulation against water. After restoration in 1985 , the cistern has been open to the public since 1987. The experience of walking underground amidst the sounds of dripping water was a total change from the fine architecture that we had seen earlier above ground.

The highlight of the Cistern were the Medusas which were located at the back of the Cistern. There was one upside down Medusa supporting one of the columns and it is believed that the head of the Medusa was placed upside down to ward off evil spirits. Interestingly, a few columns away, there was a second Medusa with the head sideways which was quite mysterious indeed. We were told that certain scenes of the James Bond movie From Russia with Love was shot at the Basilica Cistern also known as the Yerebatan Sarnici or the Underground Cistern. Thereafter we moved above ground to head towards the Grand Bazaar.

What is a Medusa?

According to a narration, Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, the female dragons of the underground in Greek Mythology. Of those three sisters only Medusa with snakes for the hair was positive and had the power to turn those that looked at her into stone. Therefore, it is thought that in that period Gorgon-heads, figures and statues were put with an aim to protecting great buildings and special places and Medusa was also placed to ward off evil.

Still, according to another narration, Medusa was a girl that boasted of her black eyes, long hair and graceful figure, who had long been in love with Perseus, the son of Zeus, a Greek idol. In the meantime, Athene, a female idol, was also in love with Perseus and therefore envied Medusa. For that reason, Athene changed Medusa’s hair into horrible snakes. From then on, whomsoever Medusa looked at, he used to be petrified. Later, seeing her in that form Perseus thought in astonishment that Medusa had been bewitched and then he beheaded her.

Thereafter, he took her head in his hand and exposed it to his enemies and petrified them and thus won a lot of wars. It is thus rumored that after that event Medusa’s head was engraved –either upside down or in an oblique position - in the handles of swords and on the pedestals of columns in ancient Byzantium.

Here I must add that besides the Blue Mosque, you also have the Sülemaniye Mosque built by the arhictect Sinan above the Golden Horn in the grounds of the old palace as a fitting memory to its founder Süleyman the Magnificent. Built during the 16th Century, Sinan wanted to surpass the magnificence of Hagia Sophia and this is conspicuous from its great size emphasized by the four minarets rising from each of the four corners of the courtyard.

A visit to Istanbul is not complete until you visit the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. For us the Spice Bazaar visit was to be done along with the Bosphorus on Tuesday and we therefore went to see the Grand Bazaar which comprises of a labyrinth of streets and passages with more than 4000 shops comprising of goldsmiths, carpet sellers, Turkish Arts and Crafts including hand painted ceramics, copperware, brassware, onyx ware as well as the meerschaum pipes.

It is easy to get lost in the bazaar and therefore you need to keep tab of where exactly you entered for in order to find your way out from the correct route especially if you are travelling with a group. The Grand Bazaar offers you a wonderful opportunity to exercise your bargaining skills and at times you can strike good deals if you bargain aggressively.

After a long day we once again moved to Taksim to enjoy some Turkish cuisine. Istanbul as a city has a great choice of international cuisine and you will find a couple of Indian restaurants as well. However it is worth trying the kebab houses and the fish restaurants especially on the shores of the Bosphorus. There are several kinds of kebabs you could try out including the doner kebab which is the roast sliced meat, adana which is the minced meat on a skewer, sis which is cubes of meat and Bursa which is the doner meat with tomato sauce and yoghurt on bread. For vegetarians you can find stuffed vegetables cooked too. Turkish tea, especially the apple flavoured tea is a great delight too and if you want to be extra adventurous you can try Turkey’s national drink – raki which tastes like anise and is transparent and on adding water turns cloudy.

The best way to enjoy raki ( also known as "Lion's Milk"), is with thin, cylindrical glasses and cold (about 8 to 10 degrees Celsius). One can drink it straight or with water, soda, or mineral water. Although raki, which is a distilled alcoholic beverage strongly aromatized with anise-seed, can be consumed as a cocktail, more commonly it is preferred with "meze" (Turkish hors d'oeuvres and appetizers) such as Russian salad, garlic sauce, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, cold-cuts, fried vegetables and pastries or even shrimps. These are usually followed by entrées such as shish kebab, mixed grilled meats, steak, fish (pan-fried, grilled, or oven-baked) and, finally, fruits and desserts. The overwhelming favourite among the Turks, to accompany raki, is the combination of melon and feta-cheese

The local beer Efes is very popular indeed and probably derives its name from Ephesus- the most famous Roman site in Turkey and you can also try out a Turkish Coffee especially if you know how to drink this very strong beverage. Turkish coffee is drunk slowly and is usually served with a glass of cold water (to freshen the mouth to better taste the coffee before sipping), though sometimes, especially after dinner, with a small glass of mint or liqueur. The thick layer of sludgy grounds at the bottom of the cup is left behind. Turkish coffee grounds are sometimes flavoured with cardamom thus eliminating the need to have the spice added during preparation.

For breakfast the Turkish love to have feta-like cheese, olives, tomatoes, honey, bread and tea. At times they have watermelon and eggs too. One of the finest restaurants to try excellent Turkish cuisine is located in the Spice Bazaar called Pandeli. So you could combine a visit to Spice Bazaar along with lunch at Pandeli although the food is quite pricey.. Pandeli also has one of its branches in Athens, Greece. The following day started with a visit to the Spice Bazaar and the Haghia Sophia Museum and later we were to do the historic Bosphorus cruise before I would take the 1940 hours flight from Istanbul to Kayseri to explore the region of Central Anatolia and specifically Cappadocia.

I was looking forward to visiting the museum of Haghia Sophia. Haghia Sophia which stands for Church of Holy Wisdom was built in 537 AD and is one of the world’s greatest archictectural achievements. It was built by Constantine the Great and later reconstructed by Emperor Justinian. After 916 years as a church, Haghia Sophia was converted into a mosque in 1453, shortly after the conquest by the Ottomans. Apart from whitewashing the paintings and mosaics and removing the Christian icons and statues, the Turks left Haghia Sophia untouched. They committed no acts of destruction as the eighth and ninth century Christian iconoclasts had done. In 1935 the church was transformed into a museum.

There are five doors which lead into the Outer Narthex which is the largest in the centre reserved for the Emperor and members of his family. At the entrance of the Narthex is a mosaic which depicts Constantine and Justinian presenting the walled city of Constantinople and Haghia Sophia to the Virgin Mary. There are several other mosaics which ornate the museum. In the upper galleries known as the gynaceum, there are several mosaic panels representing several royalties including Emperor Alexander, the Empress Zoe and her third husband Constantine IX.

Another indication of reverence in which the Turks held Haghia Sophia is the collection of royal tombs in the precinct. The tombs of Mustafa I, Sultan Ibrahim, Selim II, Murat III and Mehmet III are all worth visiting. After a brief halt at the Hagia Sophia, our next stop was at the Spice Bazaar. Also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, it is the second largest covered shopping complex in Istanbul after the Grand Bazaar. The Spice Bazaar or Market was built in 1660 as part of the New Mosque Complex and has been associated with the sale of spices although you may find many souvenir items including the famous “Evil Eye” or the Nazar Boncuk(pronunced as “bon-dschuk”).

This little magic stone is one of the most popular souvenirs that you may want to pick up for friends and families as it is said to ward off evil. Besides the Evil Eye, you find a wide range of selection of dry fruits which Turkey is famous for as well as Turkish deserts including the world famous Baklava. In short the Spice Bazaar is a must stop place for shopaholics as well as those who want to carry home memories of this wonderful country.

We quickly moved on thereafter to be part of the Bosphorus Cruise which takes you from one continent to another which makes the city of Istanbul unique. Bosphorus is the name of the strait which forms the boundary between the European part of Turkey to the Asian part also known as Anatolia. The Bosphorus is the narrowest strait used for international navigation and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. We took a 90 minute cruise which offered us excellent vantage points to view some of the cities finest landmarks including the Fortress of Europe which was built by Mehmet II in 1452, the 19th Century Baroque style Dolmabahçe Palace and many other palaces as well as houses of some of the rich and famous across the shore of the Bosphorus Strait. We got an excellent view of the Bosphorus bridge which connects the two continents and runs across the strait.

The Bosphorus bridge, built in 1973, is world’s ninth longest suspension bridge extending 1074 metres or 3524 feet and is one of the most photographed places when on the Bosphorus cruise. There is a second bridge which is north of the first bridge which runs across the Bosphorus and was built in 1988. It is known as the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.

After a relaxing cruise, I was on my way to the airport to take the flight to Kayseri and head to ther landlocked region of Cappadocia and Central Anatolia where I reached late in the evening. The best place to stay in Cappadocia is undoubtedly in a cave hotel as Cappadocia has quite a few of them and to know more about the “land of the beautiful horses”- well that’s what Cappadocia is known in Persian, you will have to wait till the next issue of Opportunities Today.

For more TURKEY articles click here