Istanbul, where the Middle East meets the West

April, 2022

As you may have noted from my previous post, I am in France not Turkey. However I have a special correspondent in Turkey at this very moment. I have adapted her notes and used her photos.

Istanbul was once called Constantinople for the Roman Emperor who did much to open the door to Christianity. His conversion came in 312 C.E. In 313 he helped create the Edict of Milan, which declared tolerance for all faiths. However it was Theodocius 379-95 who in effect made Christianity the official state religion, according to Professor Bart Ehrman https://ehrmanblog.org/constantine-and-the-christian-faith-my-fourth-smithsonian-lecture/

Yet today the city Constantinople, renamed Istanbul in the 1920’s, is swarming with Muslim tourists in a predominantly Muslim country. That change is the story of the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of the Byzantine Empire, the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

It’s Ramadan and everyone is on holiday. Working during Ramadan is difficult. Take restaurant workers. They are around food all day. In busy restaurants they are constantly on the move. One worker, when she heard the early evening call to prayer said, “Oh, thank goodness! Now I can eat.”

Although many do fast as required during Ramadan, it is pretty clear that the Turks are not generally fundamentalists. In Istanbul most of the fancier restaurants serve alcohol. In one restaurant a waiter said it was illegal to be seen serving alcohol. They moved us away from the window. He said the other diners would not appreciate anyone drinking wine until sundown, when at least they could eat. However they were already eating. Maybe they thought that if they could not see the sun from their seat it was the equivalent to the sun setting. Or maybe they were just ignoring the rules, not having to worry about enforcement. No Taliban here. You do see women in full burka, but it seems to be a very small number. Yet Turks treat Western women respectfully and kindly, and even will joke around. 

We visited the Tokapi Palace, one of the most sumptuous palaces on earth. You can visit many of the Sultan’s chambers, including the harem’s quarters. The kitchen, too, is now open for visits.

Coffee pot in the Topaki museum
Coffee pot

Coffee drinking was quite an important part of palace life. It was well established by the 17th century. It was served with sherbet and sweetmeats. There were numerous rooms dedicated to its consumption. Official visitors were served in special settings.

This coffee pot, you will notice, has a filter on it. It appears to work like a French press. You put the coffee in, add the hot water, allow the coffee to brew, and then slowing plunge the filter to remove the coffee grinds. This is notably not how coffee is served in Turkey, except in more Westernized cafes, where it can be much like anything you would get in, say, Europe. Turkish coffee is brewed in a special pot, frothed and then poured into the tiny cup in which it is served, transferring some of the grinds. The grinds settle to the bottom, so you don’t get too many of them in your mouth and none if you are careful. I dislike the flavor immensely as it is sometimes flavored with cardamom, mastic, salep or ambergris- I have no idea what the last three items are but maybe a reader will enlighten me. Per the exhibit, Turks have their own way of roasting the coffee, so perhaps this has something to do with its unique flavor.

Here are some items from the excavation of Troy, also in the Topaki Palace:

WhatsApp Image 2022-04-17 at 10.00.10 AM
From the excavations of Troy
Ottoman Helmut
Ottoman helmet, 1650

For much more on this fascinating city, see my posts here https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/category/blog/turkey-2015/

Hagia Sophia (circa 550), one of the world’s greatest buildings

September 20 2015  Istanbul

Hagia Sophia miniature (4" x 6") acrylics on postcard stock
Hagia Sophia miniature (4″ x 6″) acrylics on postcard stock

 

The Hagia (Holy) Sophia (Wisdom) is a stunning domed building built as a Greek Orthodox cathedral in 537 when Istanbul, then called Constantinople,  was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire(also known as the Byzantine Empire).  Between 1204 and 1261 it was a Roman Catholic cathedral.   Following the conquering of the Empire by the Ottomans in 1453, the Hagia Sofia became a mosque.  In 1931 it was closed and then converted into a museum, which it is still.  The minarets and round domes give it an Islamic setting, and some of the interior maintains that influence as well.  Nonetheless it is an impressive structure, notably the dome, and for 1000 years it was the largest cathedral in the world, replaced in 1520 by the Cathedral in Seville.

Here are some stock photos of the interior.  It is way too dark and large for me to get good photos.   These are mosaics!

Mosaic from Hagia Sophia
Mosaic from Hagia Sophia

 

220px-Empress_Zoe_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia

220px-Hagia_Sophia_Imperial_Gate_mosaic_2

hagia sophia interior 1

 

hagia sophia interior 2

 

Istanbul Modern is another pleasant surprise

The Istanbul Modern is another pleasant surprise in a city full of them.  The artists on exhibit when I visited yesterday were mostly Turkish, some trained here and others in the US and I think one or two in Germany.  Most of the work is representational but very creative in a modernist sort of way, as you can from the photos I’ve placed below.

The installations made sense-  how unusual- and were interesting as well- also unusual. One was a young man playing make-shift drums, another various people lip synching Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah.’   Behind thick sets of hanging strands of fabric hangs a geographical globe with stars and planets on the walls, while in another section is a political globe.    In a third room a face of a woman is projected onto a mannequin.  She is singing.
Not so pleasant is the getting there.  There are large signs and even an arrow pointing tot the enntrance.  The large signs do not point anywhere except for the one with the arrow, which points down a lonely, shabby alley.  I walked past it thinking this could not be.  But it was.
The location challenge came after I ran across an angry confrontation a few hundred meters from the entrance.  There was angry shouting and a man banging hard on the hood of a van.  There was pushing and shoving.  The police arrived.  I heard four bangs, someone with a notepad came running toward me.  I then turned around and scooted back a hundred meters, and crossed the street.  A security guard told me it was not gun shots, just more banging on the van I suppose, so I went on.  Traffic had piled up between me and the scene so I felt reasonably safe.
Here are some of the pieces I found interesting.  The first is fabric sewed onto canvas, probably my favorite, which given I am not a fabric art fan in general, is a strong endorsement:

Istanbul Modern fabric
Istanbul Modern fabric

Istanbul Modern
Istanbul Modern

IMG_9333IMG_9334

Istanbul Modern
Istanbul Modern

Istanbul Modern
Istanbul Modern

 

 

Miniatures and sketches from Istanbul

Istanbul has had its moments of beauty and grandeur.  You can relive a bit of it’s heyday in the Hagia Sophia, the Archaeology Musem and the Topkapi Palace.

 

Topkopi Palace (mini, acrylics)
Topkopi Palace (mini, acrylics)

[wpecpp name=”Topkapi Palace” price=”50″ align=right]

The Topkapi Palace, home of the Sultans, his harem and the eunichs since circa 1450:

Topkapi Palace Entrance   (mini, acrylics)
Topkapi Palace Entrance (mini, acrylics)

Topkapi Palace Courtyard (mini, acrylics)
Topkapi Palace Courtyard (mini, acrylics)

 

 

While we waited to get into one of the rooms at the Palace (we thought it was the main entrance, but we’d already passed it.  It was just one of the rooms!) I sketched a section of the lovely old wall.

 

 

Turkish woman in bus:

 

Haggia Sophia, a World Heritage Site, noted for its architecture and mosaics

September 20 2015  Istanbul

The Hagia (Holy) Sophia (Wisdom) is a stunning domed building built as a Greek Orthodox cathedral in 537 when Istanbul, then called Constantinople,  was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire(also known as the Byzantine Empire).  Between 1204 and 1261 it was a Roman Catholic cathedral.   Following the conquering of the Empire by the Ottomans in 1453, the Hagia Sofia became a mosque.  In 1931 it was closed and then converted into a museum, which it is still.  The minarets and round domes give it an Islamic setting, and some of the interior maintains that influence as well.  Nonetheless it is an impressive structure, notably the dome, and for 1000 years it was the largest cathedral in the world, replaced in 1520 by the Cathedral in Seville.

hagia sophia 1

 

Here are some stock photos of the interior.  It is way too dark and large for me to get good photos.

hagia sophia interior 1

These are mosaics!

220px-Apse_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia_Virgin_and_Child

 

Aya_Sophia_Mosaic

 

 

220px-Hagia_Sophia_Southwestern_entrance_mosaics_2

220px-Hagia_Sophia_Imperial_Gate_mosaic_2

 

220px-Empress_Zoe_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia