Of course, there is more to Istanbul than churches and mosques, however beautiful they are. A sampling of our other adventures...
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The underground cistern that supplied water to the city in times of siege. It was built using parts of other buildings: here a head of Medusa has been used as the base of a support column.
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Just outside the gate of Topkapi Palace is the Fountain of Ahmed III. The fountain was surrounded by this elaborate building and gave (free!) water to people waiting to enter the palace. |
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The entry to Topkapi, the Imperial Palace, built in the 15th century. It was a small city unto itself, built around four courtyards and included a school, a mosque, treasuries, etc. Of course, it is also the setting for the 1964 movie of the same name.
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The Hagia Irene Church in the outer (public) courtyard of Topkapi Palace. It was originally built by Constantine the Great and has been restored several times. It is now used primarily as a music hall.
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The elaborate gilded door to the Imperial Council Room.
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It was decorated with not only Iznik tile but gold and other materials as well. The room included a back area where the sultan could spy on the Council; a curtain covered this window to conceal whether or not the Sultan was there.
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| The complex included a library with manuscripts on law and theology. The manuscripts have since been moved to the new Library at Topkapi. |
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The main Audience Hall is where the Sultan would receive reports and visitors. Officials bringing bad news risked being executed--literally the sultan would "kill the messenger."
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| The fountain at the audience hall is, like everything else, richly decorated. It could be turned on during delicate meetings inside to prevent eavesdropping. |
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The audience room itself, where the Sultan reclined on the bed-like divan and ambassadors and other dignitaries paid their respects.
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The Tortoise Tutor.
I saw a tile with this scene early in the trip. I asked our guide, Gökhan, what it signified, and learned the story of the Tortoise Tutor.
It seems that the sultans at Topkapi used to use small tortoises (which are common in Turkey) as moving luminarias. They would attach a candle to the carapace (shell) of each tortoise and the tortoises would wander around providing light.
A problem arose, however, when it turned out that the tortoises liked to herd together. Flautists were therefore employed to teach the tortoises to follow them as they played their flutes and thus spread the tortoises around (as well as to provide music to the guests).
I was so charmed by the story that I spent the rest of the trip checking all the souvenir shops for something that illustrated it. It took me until almost the end of the trip but I finally found this little plaque at a rest stop.
The picture, by the way, is a (poor) copy of a famous 1906 painting by Osman Hamdi Bey normally translated as the Tortoise Trainer, but I prefer Gökhan's translation. |
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Tulips are native to Turkey (form which they were exported to the Netherlands and beyond) and at the time of year that we were there they were just beginning the reach their peak. Topkapi has a large collection of tulips in many colors.
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No visit to Istanbul would be complete without a visit to the Spice Market, where I bought saffron and sumac (a dried, ground berry). I am looking forward to trying Turkish cooking. |
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Even though the weather was not very inviting, we took a cruise on the Bosphorus. Needless to say, property along the waterfront is extremely expensive, even by California standards, and the whole area is heavily developed.
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There are still buildings from an older period, including the Dolmabahçethis palace, which was built by the sultans in the European style in the 19th century. |
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Despite Istanbul's modern air, there are people who still make their living fishing the Bosphorus as the ancestors have for generations.
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The old and the new, the religious and the secular: a modern high rise looms behind Ortakoy Mosque (18th century). |
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The hippodrome near Hagia Sophia. Freezing cold and pouring rain made this a short stop but we did see the Egyptian obelisk of Thutmosis III there. This is the top third of an obelisk that originally stood in the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt.
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This milion (milestone marker) is also near the Hagia Sophia and marked the starting point for measuring all the road miles in the Byzantine Empire. |
