My 27 new best friends and I will be saying goodbye early this morning as they head back to the United States, leaving at 3:30 am for Munich and thence to Chicago. Perhaps it was appropriate that we spent half the day together, viewing still more of the attractions that bring 10-15 million visitors to Istanbul, then the other half of the day in a free for all, doing some of the other things that bring 10-15 million visitors to Istanbul.
All three of the sites we visited reflected the past of the city. The visit to Aya Sophia represented the oldest visit. The church, built on a previous church site, was constructed in the 6th century during the reign of Justinian, who was responsible for many of the great works (and great expenses) of the Byzantine Empire; during his reign, the boundaries were at their greatest, including the reconquest of the Western Empire, i.e., Rome. Justinian (and his consort, the one- time courtesan, Theodora) were, for example, builders of the wonderful chapels at Ravenna, Italy, with their likeness. Justinian’s efforts in Istanbul, however, led to the creation of the largest Church in the world at the time. Emperors received their crowns in ceremonies in the Church, which was one of the last holdouts in 1453. Of course, after the conquest, Mehmet added mosques, plastered over the mosaics, and for the next 400 years, Aya Sophia was a mosque. During the Republic, Ataturk turned it into a museum, partially Christian, partially Muslim. Some of the mosaics survived, but so did the mithrab and the camelskin panels praising Mohammed and Allah. It remains, for me, one of the most impressive sights in Istanbul, partly for what it has meant over time. When you come to see it, it may have more of its original features; about half the building now is being renovated.
Across from Aya Sophia, we visited a still-used mosque, from the 17th century. Western guidebooks usually call it the Blue Mosque because of the plethora of blue tiles in the stunning inside, but it’s really the mosque one of the sultans commissioned to be built (as our guide said most mosques were) in 7 years. Indeed, the sultan ordered the mosque to have 6 prayer towers (minarets), because, at the time, only the mosque in Mecca had 6 minarets; most have only four, but the sultan of Turkey, defender of the faith, was, I think, at the time the overlord of Saudi Arabia, and wanted to demonstrate his authority. Enraged conservatives added three minarets, and now the mosque in Mecca has nine, but the Blue Mosque is the only one with 6.
Not many noticed it, and our guide did not point it out, but connecting the two religious institutions was what had been the center of Byzantine social life, the hippodrome. At one time, it could seat 100,000 people, and was THE place for the Reds, Greens, and Blues and Whites to cheer on their teams, much as soccer fans still do today. There’s not much left from the Byzantine days, save for a few obelisks (the Romans brought them to Rome, too).
The other site was a visit to a 15th century business location, the so-called “Spice Market”, where merchants from Egypt and other exotic places brought their saffrons, teas, and other foodstuffs that makes Istanbul a far more interesting place for me to eat than, say, London. This was where I parted company with the group and began my own “free for all,” because there were a few places I thought I would hit because they were not on my after-trip itinerary.
The first was the Archeology Museum of Turkey, but it was closed, so I wandered toward the Great Palace mosaic museum. One of the problems Turkey finds with any building in the historic district is that the builders invariably find something they need to excavate before they build. That was the case when they discovered the floor of the great palace which had housed the Byzantine rulers. The mosaic covers about 200 feet, and is one of the largest in the world, as befits one of the largest empires in the world.
From there, I wandered the streets of Istanbul, going in the direction of a mosque I really wanted to see for two reasons: it contained the grave of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Sultan who brought Islam into central Europe, being turned back (by rain and snow, said our guide) only at the gates of Vienna, by a combined European force (that was a good application of the European Union!) when the Polish army under John Sobieski turned up in the nick of time. Plus, the architect of the mosque was the famous Sinan, and I wanted to be sure to see one of his monumental buildings. Both expectations were rewarded, and more. To get there I had to pass one of the institutions that brings many people to Istanbul, and many Istanbul people into the streets—the Grand Bazaar, another post conquest institution, a covered market of 4,000 shops that would do China proud—everything from copperware to clothes, utensils to jewelry—low to high prices. The streets were pretty crowded with shoppers and tourists (sometimes one and the same), but every so often would be a gem—the column Constantine brought to Constantinople that once stood in front of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi; Istanbul university, with its combination of classical/Islamic/modern buildings; and tombs of the former Sultans, including Bayazit (the second emperor, who sent his fleet to Barcelona in 1492 to bring Jewish refugees from the expulsion in Spain to the Ottoman Empire),and the late 19th century sultan who courted (and was courted by) Kaiser Wilhelm, whose gift of a fountain is still on the tour routes—especially for German visitors.