Tombs

One of the sights that really surprised me in my exploration of the area were the tombs of the various Ottoman sultans that were scattered throughout the city and open to visitors. While I had heard about the palaces and monumental mosques I was unaware that the tombs were so widespread and easily accessible and I had fun touring as many as I could. The first thing that I learned after visiting a couple on the side of the Aya Sofya is that in the interior they are pretty much all the same. The coverings of the sarcophagi are almost all green textiles with a turban at its head. The sultan would almost always be the biggest and was surrounded by various family members that were buried with him. In addition to the various sultans, some tombs were also kept important Valide Sultans (Mother of the Sultan) who wielded a good deal of power from inside the harem in various periods of the empire. The interior of the tombs also featured the beautiful tile and woodworking that was on display everywhere else in the city's monuments and it was fun to see so many different types of decorative arts as I wandered from one to the next.

Blue Mosque

Easily my favorite spot in Istanbul so far is the Sultanahmet Camii, also known as the Blue Mosque, that occupies the spot directly across from the entrance to Aya Sofya. Equally beautiful inside and out, it gets its nickname from the mostly blue Iznik tiles that decorate its interior. I spent a good deal of time on the first day enjoying the shady spots in the courtyard and relaxing in the public area of the interior. After hearing the tour guides for both the English and Arabic speaking tour groups, I have to admit the Arabic groups received much better information. Any tour guide that goes into how the construction of the mosque fit into the finances of the empire in the period after the death of Suleyman gets an A. I did get some funny looks for listening in, but I still can't tell if this was because they were wondering if I understood any of the Arabic or because I was very obviously eavesdropping on a tour that I didn't pay for! I enjoyed this area so much I used my little free time Sunday morning for a return trip through interior and bought my first all Arabic Quran in the little bookstore outside its walls. That will be my next big reading project if I can find some time around my upcoming general exams. Many of the places in Sultanahmet were beautiful, but this is probably the one that I will make a point to return to every time I go back to Istanbul.

Aya Sofya

"Önce kiliseden camiye çevirdiğimiz, şimdi muze olan Ayasofya. İki dinin çocuklarına tapınaklık yapmış bir mabet."

Given its prominence in the view from my breakfast table at the hotel (and its physical proximity) I decided Aya Sofya would be a great place to start the day. The quote above from a Turkish novel I have (slowly) been reading references the long history that transformed the structure from a Byzantine church, to a congregational mosque hosting Ottoman Sultans, to a museum showcasing its importance to Christian and Muslim visitors. The interior is beautiful and features a mix of more traditional mosque elements with some older byzantine mosaics. Since it is now a museum and not a functioning mosque visitors are no longer required to remove their shoes before entering, but given that the interior still featured the mihrab, minbar and other mosque elements I never quite got over the feeling that my shoes didn't belong. The space seems like it would be a very peaceful one with about two hundred fewer tourists wandering through, but it was still large enough that you could find some space to just appreciate the atmosphere.

Istanbul - General Overview

With this being my second summer in a row in Turkey, I decided I couldn't leave the country without visiting its biggest, most discussed city, Istanbul. Luckily, the coordinators opened up a three day weekend for us to explore the region on our own so I was able to make the trip happen. I booked a ticket on the high-speed rail line from Ankara to Istanbul and was able to share a hotel room with some friends from the program that put me right in the middle of the most historic part of the city, Sultanahmet. I have been told several times since my arrival in Ankara that the best part about that city is the high-speed train to Istanbul. While I may not be ready to give up on Ankara, I can now vouch for the fact that both the train and Istanbul give it plenty of competition.

We left for our Istanbul vacation on Thursday afternoon, which would allow us to settle in by Thursday night and free up Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday to explore the city. While this sounds like a good amount of time, Istanbul rivals Rome for its size and the density of its historic sights, and having spent at least 10 days in Rome without putting a solid dent in my knowledge of the city, I knew I was in for a whirlwind tour. One advantage I had this time around was that the sights that I most wanted to see were concentrated in a fairly small area around my hotel and, now that my Turkish is much better than my Italian, even those things that were less easily accessible to the average tourist were within my grasp. I planned out an itinerary for the first day that took me to the Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), Suleymaniyye Camii, innumerable smaller mosques and tombs of Ottoman Sultans, the Islamic Arts museum and the Istanbul Archeological museum. Day two was taken up with exploring the massive Topkapı Sarayı and taking a boat tour up the Bosphorus before hitting the Grand Bazaar and settling in for some relaxation before my final day. In between all of this there was plenty of time to enjoy the small cafes and restaurants scattered throughout the city and to partake of some nargileh (water pipe) and Efes (Turkey's best beer) while catching a World Cup match or two.

Sultanahmet can be a little overwhelming for more than just its historical monuments and museums. All of these attractions also bring in tourists and backpackers by the hundreds, most of whom appeared to be staying on the same street as my hotel. As a result, I heard more English spoken in the two days I stayed there than in the previous month of staying in Ankara. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that if I still tried to use my Turkish the response from the local waiters, bartenders, and shopowners was positive and I ended up having a great time hanging out with the guys that ran the bar across the street from the hotel. I am still pretty glad that I'm spending the summer in Ankara, but I've caught the Istanbul bug and I can't wait to make it back there. There are still plenty more areas of the city calling for my attention and I look forward to exploring them all. I've decided to break up the descriptions of the places I visited so I can include more pictures of each, so I hope you enjoy the guided tour of my two days in the city.

Pictures: (1) The view of Aya Sofya from my breakfast table.
(2) A view of the Blue Mosque from the Islamic Arts Museum.
(3) View of Galata Tower and Bridge from Eminönü.
(4) Me and the Bosphorus from Topkapı.
(5) The gateway to İstanbul Üniversitesi.

Ankara throughout the ages: Part Three - Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi -

(Next up is Istanbul, but given that I took about 500 pictures and visited as many sites, it might take a while to narrate and post everything. I will try to do so before I leave for the weekend, but realistically I may not get it done until I come back. Rest assured, there is more coming!)

Ankara throughout the ages: Part Two - Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi -

Ankara throughout the ages: Part One - Ankara Kalesi -

Despite an abbreviated week due to our three-day weekend in Istanbul, we had a full schedule of outside activities planned for this week. With visits to the Ankara Citadel (mostly dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods, though parts of it predate and postdate that), the first Turkish Grand National Assembly building (dating to the first days of the republic and the backdrop to a famous picture of Ataturk seen all over town), and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (housed in an old Ottoman caravansaray and featuring a number of items from the various Hittite excavations around the country), our cultural excursions took us on a whirlwind tour of the various periods of Anatolia's history. While each of the trips was very interesting and enjoyable (no unscheduled detours this time), I don't have much in the way of narration and will save my energy to recount the big trip to Istanbul that has overshadowed the previous week in my memory. For now, enjoy the pictures!