ISTANBUL (Part II)
Istanbul is believed to have been inhabited since 5500 BC.
Being strategically located on the Mediterranean,
it was vulnerable to invaders from different countries in Asia and Europe who
periodically occupied Istanbul from time to time. The first recorded occupation
had taken place in the late seventh century BC when the Greek ruler Byzas
established his kingdom here and named it Byzantium. Emperor Constantine the
Great of Rome conquered the place in 306 AD and renamed it Constantinople. He
also made it the capital of the second Roman Empire. He was the first Roman Emperor who devoted in
spreading Christianity in his empire and was sometimes referred as Saint. Tradition and ethnicity make the city so unique
that one is bound to brush with History at every nook and corner of the city.
The way the major heritage sites have been maintained is really commendable.
The Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s brilliant novel ‘My Name is
Red’ paints a vivid picture of Istanbul during Ottomans rule in the late
sixteenth century. It is a thrilling murder mystery and takes place during the
reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat III (1574 – 95).The story revolves around miniaturists,
artists who used to paint and embellish books and manuscripts. The highly
skilled amongst them were hired at Sultan’s workshop and were paid highly in
silver coins. The unique style in his writing is that the entire book is in
first person and how each individual including a dog saw and
felt about Istanbul during that period. Through their eyes there are mentions
of narrow alleys, ornate horse drawn carriages, dervish houses and even coffee
houses. One could find mentions of Golden Horn, Suleymanye Mosque, Farrier’s Market
also. The following passage in the book describes the beauty and exotic nature of
the city during that period.
‘I ended up watching
the snow as it fell into the Golden Horn from a spot beside the Suleymanye
Mosque. Snow had already begun to accumulate on the rooftops facing north and
on sections of the dome exposed to the northeasterly breeze. An approaching ship,
whose sails were being lowered, greeted me with a flutter of canvas. The color
of the sails matched the leaden and foggy hue of the surface of the Golden Horn.
The cypress and plane trees ,the rooftops, the heartache of dusk, the sounds
coming from the neighbourhood below, the calls of hawkers and cries of children
playing in mosque courtyards mingled in my head and announced emphatically
that,hereafter,I wouldn’t be able to live anywhere but in their city.
So vivid and convincing is the description that when I
walked the streets of Istanbul I was taken on a time machine and could visualize
how the city looked and behaved over four hundred years back.
Suleymanye Mosque mentioned in the passage was constructed
in the 1550s by Suleymanye the magnificent. Today it is the second largest
mosque in Istanbul and one can get a good view of the mosque from Galata Tower.
The building is a blend of Islamic and Byzantine architecture as the supporting
half domes are similar to Hagia Sophia which was a Byzantine Church and later
converted to mosque of ‘Aya Sofia’ by the Ottomans. In 1935 The mosque was
converted into a museum by Kemal Pasha to bring in secularism to perhaps the
oldest surviving basilica.
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Hagia Sophia |
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The six paintings shown above decorate the wall in the passageway to Aya Sofia and recount the history of the cathedral turned mosque,Constantinople and Istanbul | | |
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Another view of Aya Sofia |
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A closer view of a ruined structure |
It is said that the Roman Emperors were fond of building Squares
bearing their names on the main thoroughfare. These squares used to be
equidistantly located and decorated with monuments and surrounded by various
buildings. The first square on the main road assumed special significance for
being surrounded by the Great Palace, Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia. Known as Sultahnahmet
Square it was earlier known as Agusteion Square. Among the surviving squares
Forum of Constantine can also be seen on the same road. This square was built
by Emperor Constantine, the founder of Constantinople. After coming out of
Hagia Sophia if you turn left and walk seaward along the Sultahnahmet Square
you will come to an open air café on your right. On turning left from there , a
brief stroll along shops selling Turkish handicrafts will take you to the main
gate of famous Topkapi Palace – a Royal township built by the Ottoman Sultans
over the years and used as their main administrative centre for almost 400 years.
Started by Sultan Mehmet (Mehmet the Conqueror) the palace was completed after
his death. Buildings were added over the centuries by different rulers of
Ottoman regime. That’s why I called it a township. More so because unlike any
other palace I have seen this one has a cluster of buildings of simple design
nestled in sprawling courtyards and surrounded by
gardens. The entire compound stands on a hillock providing a commanding view of
the Sea of Marmara. Since potable water used to be a scarcity in Istanbul the
Turks had put up a lot of fountains as they always believed that running water
provides cleaner water in contrast to Romans’ concept of building cisterns
during the Byzantine era. One such famous fountain the ‘Fountain of Sultan
Ahmed III’ can be seen at Topkapi Palace. As Istanbul was a favourite location
of Ian Fleming, the sixties James Bond movie ‘From Russia with Love’ renamed
‘From 007 with Love’ was partly shot in the famous Basilica Cistern.Even the latest Bond movie Sky Fall, released in 2012, was shot in Istanbul.In fact the movie opens with a thrilling chase scene through historic streets of Istanbul. Daniel Craig,as Bond, is also shown biking through the interior of Grand Bazaar which happens to be the oldest and largest covered bazaar in the world.
As we walked towards the palace compound we saw the Church
of Hagia Eirene one of the first churches built during the reign of Emperor
Constantine. Then in one of the courtyards we found centuries old hollow trees
and tulips in bloom. I always carried an impression that Holland is the land of
tulips. But Istanbul completely broke the myth and later on I found out from
one of their tourist brochure that the first tulip bulbs were sent
abroad from Istanbul in the Ottoman period. We bought tickets and self audio guide to
enter the palace courtyard which is surrounded by residences for Sultans, the
Royal staff , palace kitchens with tall chimneys, a hospital, harems ,the mint
and the treasury, mosques etc in other word a township with all infrastructure
and amenities for the Royal families and their staff. Most of the buildings and
rooms have now been converted into museum where we saw large collection of
robes and ceremonial garments used during different periods, weapons, shields,
armours, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts, murals, Ottoman treasures, jewellery
and thrones. One such throne saddened me as the throne was robbed by the
butcher Nadir Shah when he plundered Delhi during the Mughal period and gifted
to a Sultan when he came to Istanbul. Another thing which kept me wondering were
the gigantic sizes of some of the robes. The last exhibition hall which I
visited is a place where all sacred relics of the Prophet Mohammed, the door
keys of the Kaaba in Mecca and so on. When you enter this hall you would hear passages
from Holy Koran being chanted and this is on for 24 hours. After that we
entered the last courtyard of the palace. From there we enjoyed the panoramic
view of the sea, the metro running at the bottom and a bistro at a higher level.
We enjoyed the mellowed heat of the evening sun and the gentle sea breeze as we
walked back through the sprawling gardens and courtyards after leaving the Royal walls.
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Outside the main gate of Top Kapi |
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Birds in Top Kapi compound. Sparrows are larger in size compared to the Indian Sparrows. |
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Two street dogs caught playing in Top Kapi compound. An unusual sight in an European city as we did not see street dogs in any of the other European cities we visited. |
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A view of busy Sea of Marmara from Top Kapi |
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Inside Chamber of Islamic relics |
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Carpet from Ottoman era |
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Sultan's robe |
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Robes from Sultan's wardrobe |
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Way to Top Kapi Palace |
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Top Kapi palace compound |
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A view of Marmara sea from Top Kapi palace |
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Tulips on way from Top Kapi Palace and Roman Quarters to Arasta Bazaa |
After a hearty breakfast on the cozy terrace of Ida Hotel we
decided to visit Blue Mosque. Coming out of the hotel we turned left, sauntered
a few yards on the cobbled path of Cankurtaran Mh. And then the first right
hand turn brought us to Arasta market which was about a stone’s throw. At the
dead end of the market there were steps which lead to the colossal but
grandiose Blue Mosque. I remember that during my childhood days I was awed by
the beautiful pictures of Blue Mosque and learnt that the mosque is located in
the city of Istanbul. In fact the mosque symbolizes Istanbul as nowhere else on
the planet one could find a mosque so different in looks. The mosque was built
by Sultan Ahmet in the early seventeenth century and because of the priceless
blue tiles used extensively for building the mosque it is popularly known as
the Blue Mosque. The grandeur of the mosque is in its architecture. Shallow
domes cascading down on either side of the central dome like ripples present a
stunningly awesome view. The interior of the mosque is equally awesome. Entry
is free and one has to take off shoes and carry them in plastic bags provided by the staff over there.
Women have to cover their heads for entering inside. The entire floor inside
the mosque is covered with rich red carpet. Billions of footfalls have taken
place over the centuries but the carpet looks immaculate. Even the color has
not faded a bit. We also saw the prayer which took place at the cordoned off
central portion of the interior. After exiting the mosque we came to the
beautiful courtyard where Sultan Ahmet’s tomb is located. The garden at the
courtyard also blooms with tulip. From there we came out to the huge park of
Sultahnahmet Square and relaxed with a cup of tea and enjoyed the majestic view
of the mosque which was a dream come true for us.
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Way to Blue Mosque through Arasta Bazaar |
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Blue Mosque |
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Courtyard in Blue Mosque premises |
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Ceiling in Blue Mosque |
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Islamic calligraphy in Blue Mosque |
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A portion of carpet which is laid in the entire area inside Blue Mosque |
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Prayer area inside Blue Mosque |
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A portion of decorative ceiling in Blue Mosque |
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Inside Blue Mosque |
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Glazed fenestration with artwork in Blue Mosque
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