Istanbul's Most Impressive and Opulent Sites (Day 55 - GToE)

You know what's really sad about Istanbul? The amount of stray dogs and cats on the streets. There's an estimated 150,000 street dogs in Istanbul. That's just breaks my heart, particularly as I'm sure many of them have rabies or other diseases. So not only are they homeless, but they're also potentially dangerous to humans who are dumb enough to pet them. There are an untold amount of cats roaming around. The cats are mostly very sweet, but I just hate seeing them all over the place. That's one strike against Istanbul. 

Today was all about visiting Istanbul's top sites: Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (eye-ah soh-fee-ah), and Topkapı Palace (tohp-kah-puh). Up until this past summer, I didn't know all that much about Istanbul, but then in July, I read Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, in which the last third of the book is set in Istanbul. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to make this trip to Turkey - to see the locations from the book (Hagia Sophia and the Cistern). Of course, now that I've visited them, I might have to go back and re-read the novel. 

After a terrible night's sleep and being woken up to the Muslim call to prayer at 6:30 am (which occurs five times a day), I was a bit of a grumpy-pants today. But I ate some breakfast and headed out to explore Istanbul. I actually didn't go very far from my hostel. All the sites listed above are about an 8 minute walk from my hostel and are 3 minute walks from each other. I started in Sultanahmet Park which has Hagia Sophia on one end and the Blue Mosque on the other, with a very pretty fountain in the center. After crossing the main thoroughfare, I saw the Golden Milestone, which is a milestone which the Byzantines considered the center of the world. Around the corner from the milestone is...

The Underground Cistern: this vast underground reservoir dates back to the sixth century A.D. and was built to meet the needs of a fast-growing capital city and to provide water in case of a shortage. The cistern covers an area about the size of two football fields and has a forest of 336 columns. The columns are a variety of styles due to them being recycled from earlier Roman ruins around the city. At the far end of the cistern, there are two Medusa heads lying on the ground - one sideways and one upside-down - which have been squeezed under the pillars. At the other end of the cistern stands a stage. The cistern is used as a occasional concert venue. Out of everything I saw today, this cistern just might be my favorite. Maybe because it is so unusual. After seeing so many similar sites (churches/mosques and palaces) over the past 55 days, this site made a very nice change of pace.

Upon leaving the cistern, I walked across the road in order to visit the...

Blue Mosque: Considered one of the world's finest mosques, I was intrigued to get a look at the inside. Built in just seven years (1609-1616), the mosque is technically called the Sultan Ahmet Mosque for the ruler who financed it, but tourists know it as the Blue Mosque because of the rich blue color of the handmade ceramic tiles in the interior. The Blue Mosque has six minarets which is unique. Only one minaret is required for a mosque, but sometimes sultans liked to show off their wealth by adding a few more. After touring the outer and inner courtyard, I made my way the visitor's entrance, removed my shoes, covered my hair with my scarf, and entered the mosque. What awaited me was a intensely decorated interior. In the mosques, women and men worship separately. The main hall is reserved for men, while the women use an area behind barriers at the back or the upper galleries. Humph. More than 20,000 ceramic tiles were used to decorate the mosque. It's quite a spectacle of vibrant color.

I headed back out to check out the Hippodrome, an area which was used for chariot races in the 4th century. There I saw an Egyptian obelisk, the Column of Constantine, the facade of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (which used to be a palace), and a German Fountain. (You reply, "A what?") Yep, a German fountain stands in the middle of the historic section of Istanbul, which is just a little out of place. The fountain was a gift from the German government to commemorate Kaiser Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was then time to visit...

Hagia Sophia: This site is fascinating. Hagia Sophia has the distinction of being the only building to have been used for three different religions: Greek orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Islam. Built between 532 and 537 A.D.,it served as the seat of the Greek orthodox church for 900 years, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum in 1935. This structure is massive. There is a crazy mixture of religions all throughout this museum, a blending of East and West. Christian mosaics sit next to Islamic wall hangings. It's interesting to note that Islam does not allow icon within their mosques, so any mosaic or other artwork that featured humans were covered over with whitewash and plaster, which actually helped preserve much of the artwork within Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia has a legend within its walls: The Column of St. Gregory. This column is a supposed miracle worker. For centuries, please believed this column "wept" holy water which could cure afflictions such as eye diseases and infertility. How does it work? If you place your thumb in a section of this column and if it comes out feeling damp, your prayer will be answered. I placed my thumb in the hole and it came out dry as a bone. Typical. Also located within the complex are the tombs of the sultans and their families. 

It was time for some lunch. I walked across the road to a restaurant where I had some delicious hummus and a perfectly prepared chicken kebab. So tasty!!  Next it was onto...

Topkapı Palace: This large palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Empire's sultans for approximately 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign. This palace is unusual for its various styles of architecture due to it being built over time by different sultans. It is a massive site that rivals all the great palaces. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At its peak, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, and covered a large area with a long shoreline. It contained mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint. Of course, no palace from this region would be without its Harem, which was the first section that I toured. The word "harem" refers to two things: the wives, favorites, and concubines of the sultan; and the part of the palace where they lived. What I learned was that the Harem was not the site of a round-the-clock orgy, but a carefully administered social institution that ensured the longevity of the Ottoman Empire. 

Here's how a harem works: The sultan was the head of the household, a role he shared with his mother (the "mother sultan"). The sultan could have up to four wives, with the first one being considered the senior, most influential wife. Also living in the Harem was a collection of several hundred concubines - female slaves who kept house but were not sexually active with the sultan. From among the concubines (his "harem"), the sultan (or more often, his mother or wife) might select up to four "favorites", with whom he could become more...um...shall we say...familiar. The sultan could only have sex with chosen women, not with anyone he wanted. Every night he spent with a woman was written down. When a sultan died or was replaced, the new sultan's mother (who was almost always a member of the previous sultan's harem) was the only one who could stay. Wives and favorites had to leave the Harem and were given a house and a healthy pension.

After visiting all of these sites, I was utterly exhausted, so I headed back to the hostel to rest. In a bit, I'll head out to catch some dinner. Check out my Day 55 photos on my GToE photo site.

Tomorrow, I had planned to cruise the Bosphorus, but it turns out that it would take too long. I'm not certain now what I'll do tomorrow, other than a visit to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. My shuttle to the airport is at 3:00 pm so I have to come up with something else to do tomorrow. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market won't take too long. Hmmmmm...