Arrived 15 May 2019
I like Istanbul, perhaps I even love it – the old city at any rate; I have not ventured into the new city over the water of the Golden Horn harbour. Exploring the maze of little streets is constantly entertaining, and, sorry Egypt, but after Cairo and Luxor this is so, well, civilised. I walk on clean paved roads, not a mixture of dirt and animal droppings; the occasional salesman invites me to his carpet shop but backs off politely when I am not interested; no touts try to scam me and I don’t view all the food with suspicion. It feels very western – and yet very different: minarets replace church spires, I hear the wailing call to prayer rather than church bells, and the streets are not lined with the same glossy shop fronts seen in every English town but with a plethora of individual little shops and businesses.
And then there are the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market, exotically oriental. The 64 streets and 4000 shops of the Grand Bazaar make up the largest covered shopping area in the world. The shops are tiny yet packed from floor to ceiling with attractively displayed goods, some budget priced and some high quality, but all very tempting: men beware, if you bring your wife be prepared to spend the day – and your holiday budget – here!
The Spice Market is a kind of mini Grand Bazaar specialising in, you guessed it, spices, but also selling delicious looking varieties of Turkish delight and even soaps.
I was looking forward to visiting the famous Blue Mosque, so called because of the extensive use of blue tiles inside. Being a mosque, you remove your shoes before entering and place them in a small plastic bag that you carry around with you. The first thing that struck me inside was the smell of feet. The next was the realisation that 50% of the building was obscured by a platform and curtains behind which banging noises accompanied renovation work. The place was full of tourists, most of whom seemed more interested in taking selfies than in the (largely obscured) splendours of the building. Despite centuries of devotion by the faithful, it was, like many large and touristy churches I have visited elsewhere, difficult to feel any sense of spirituality. I left feeling a little disappointed.
Next on my list was the Basilica Cistern, built by the Roman emperor Justinian (527 – 565) to store water. Descending a flight of steps, only half visible in the dim lighting, you find yourself in a large, colonnaded chamber that stretches away into the eerie darkness. All very atmospheric; apparently scenes from the James Bond film ‘From Russia with Love’ were filmed here. Its building was an expensive undertaking, in more ways than one: hundreds of slaves are said to have died in its construction, and are commemorated by a ‘weeping’ column that runs with tears. It could hold 100,000 tons of water, providing for the city in both peace and siege.
Not far from the cistern is the Hagia Sophia, whose name means Holy Wisdom, the largest building in the world when it was built in 537 AD. A church for over 900 years and a mosque for nearly 500 years, it was established as a museum in 1935 by Kemel Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman empire. Not that it houses museum pieces as such, the building itself being the exhibit. And what an exhibit it is. The towering dome covers a vast open space lit by simple chandeliers. This building too was undergoing restoration, this time with the aid of the highest scaffolding I have ever seen inside a building – or outside for that matter. Unlike the Blue Mosque, this did not detract completely from the sense of awe that the building inspires. I strolled slowly around, soaking up the atmosphere; I liked it.
I had one more religious site to visit: the Suleymaniye Mosque. Perched high on the hill this is yet another magnificent building. It being almost time for 12.00 prayers, I had only a few minutes inside before tourists were ushered out to make way for worshippers. It was, however, enough to appreciate the beauty of the structure and decoration.
My final visit was to the Topkapi Palace museum, the former home and administrative centre of the Ottoman sultans. Like most of Istanbul’s monuments it seems, this one was undergoing restoration and large parts of it were closed. What I did see was well presented and clearly labelled (Egypt take note), but at this point of the afternoon my intense studies of the ancient world were unfortunately interrupted numerous times by the need to visit more modern facilities, so I can tell you little of the exhibits. Suffice it to say, if you are into Hittite pottery, this is the place for you.
I am writing this as I sit outside sipping Turkish coffee, having actually enjoyed eating lunch for the first time for five days. I suspect there will be a price to pay later, but at least I felt like eating and managed to down a good amount. Perhaps I am on the mend. I hope so – tomorrow I fly to Moscow and on Tuesday I board the Trans-Siberian railway, where I will spend four days and nights in a small compartment with three strangers who may not be overjoyed to find their fellow traveller spends half his time in the loo!
Rob's Roads 