turkish delight

Night has crept over the Bosphorus, and right now I'm looking out over the black waters, reflecting the light from buildings on the other shore. Istanbul, a late arrival to my list of destinations, has more than matched my expectations. Coming here for the Byzantine History, I also embraced the Turkish Culture that defines this city at the intersection of two continents.

Istanbul in flower.

When the train finally arrived at the station yesterday, three and a half hours late, I gathered into a protective cocoon with some of my fellow English-speaking passengers. Together, we navigated our way into town, before going our separate ways. My hostel is, as most hostels and hotels are, in Sultanahmet, the tourist section of Istanbul. Defined most prominently by the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Sultanahmet is densly populated with camera-wielding foreigners and the touts that prey on them. I cannot count the number of times I've been approached by a smiling Turkish man who offers a "Hello my friend" before enquiring as to my nationality and my opinion of Istanbul. Most of these people are just trying lure you into a rug store, or a dinner joint, and my initial reaction was just to ignore them. However, as I got used to the approach and the tactics, I would often engage the touts, politely but firmly turning down their offers to "get some great deals on carpets". The touts are generally good about acknowledging these dismissals, and maintain a friendly and polite attitude.

My first stop in Istanbul was the Blue Mosque. Formally known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, it is the national mosque of Turkey, and one of only two mosques with six minarets - the obelisk-esque towers surrounding mosques from which the faithful are called to prayer. This extravagance was seen as looked on as presumptive, as only the Ka'aba in Mecca had as many minarets. The Sultan of Turkey addressed this by paying for the construction of a seventh minaret at the Mecca mosque, which obviously removed any stigma of over-excess from the mosque's construction. It is a very impressive building, taking most of its architectural inspiration from the neighboring Hagia Sophia. Unlike the older building however, the Blue Mosque continues to be used for religious services, during which tourists are discouraged from entering.

The view from the Hagia Sophia, with the Blue Mosque in the background.

After leaving the Blue Mosque, I spent some time looking around Istanbul before finally making my way to the Art & Archaeological Museum. While the overall presentation of the museum was very impressive, I was a little disappointed by the limited Byzantine offerings. Rather heel-sore after walking around all day, I made my way back from the museum to the hostel, where I had signed up for a Turkish Barbecue.

Byzantine Emperor Valantinian II, a quite forgetable emperor

I headed up to the roof terrace, which overlooks a fantastic view of the Bosphorus and the Blue Mosque, and there I proceeded to acquaint myself with all the English speakers I could find. Before the night was over, I had lost 3 games of backgammon to a girl from Canada, quizzed a group of Israelis on "Level B" English words (those, according to their upcoming exam that are somewhat challenging), and argued the impact of the European Parliament with some guys from the Netherlands. As the evening wound down, I was left chatting with the two Canadian girls and a handful of the Israelis that had fallen asleep. All in all, a good night, though I need to work on my backgammon game.

Watching the moon rise over the Bosphorus.

The next morning was dedicated to Byzantine history. After grabbing breakfast, I set off for the Hagia Sophia. The Turkish Government allows its citizens to visit the church, turned mosque, turned museum, for free. Foreigners, regardless of student status, have to pay a rather hefty entrance fee, but I would have endured half a month of indentured servitude if it meant getting into the building I had learned so much about. It was incredible. Unrivaled in its own time, even stripped of its gold mosaics and decoration, the vastness of the interior is enough to overwhelm the modern visitor. I lingered there for a long while, examining every nook and crannie, appreciating some of history behind the few remaining mosaics. Eventually, I headed back out to the streets of Istanbul, on my way to the Cisterns.

The Hagia Sophia, the Holy Wisdom, the heart of the Byzantine Empire.

Naturally, there was construction going on, but it almost helps you to appriciate the size of the space.

That's the Empress Irene on the right, farther right (not in the pciture) is the immiage of her son, who she would go on to blind so brutilly that it killed him.

Like the Hagia Sophia, the Cisterns of Istanbul were constructed by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century A.D. Famous for their use of classical Roman Medusa heads, turned upside down and placed as stands for the columns to show their impotency in the new Christian state, the Cisterns are equally inspiring and eiry. Originally used to store water within the city, the space has now been drained so that only a meter of water covers the surface, leaving exposed hundreds of illuminated columns supporting the vast subterranean space.

I believe there's 196 of these collums spread out over the space of the Cistern.

Take that you symbol of the pagen gods!

Leaving the Cisterns, I headed back to the hostel to transition to an afternoon spent exploring Turkish Culture. In a kind of baptism of fire, my first experience was the Grand Bazaar, a collection of the 500 most invasive shopkeepers you will ever come across. It was a heck of an experience, and though I came out of it with no purchases (in my one attempt to buy a tiger tooth, I was unable to talk to storekeeper down from the $100 asking price) I did manage to hold onto my wallet in the famously pickpocket-friendly bazaar. Carrying on with the Turkish experience, I stopped in a bakery to try some Turkish Delight and Baklava. The former was nothing like what I would have expected, and the latter was - here it is, for the record - better than its Greek variant.

Departing from my pastry-heavy lunch, I went into one of the rug store to enquire about the purchase of a rug. Even if you don't intend to buy a rug, haggling with the Turkish salesmen is a unique experience, and I would recommend giving it a try. If nothing else, the experience may help to prepare me for everyday interactions in Egypt. I next made my way to the famous Spice Bazaar, where saffron and rosewater perfumed the air of the indoor market. Strands of spices hung over their ground variants, sharing counter space with all manner of sweets and dried fruits. In addition to its spices and sweets, the Spice Bazaar is also famous for its excellent deals on Russian and Iranian caviar. I made some inqueries at one of the stands, and found that the rumours were in fact true, and I was soon presented with an array of caviar. I had hoped to be able to purchase only enough to sample, but this was unfortunately not possible; and while the deals were very good, I was not about to spend the equivalent of $90 on a 200 gram jar of caviar, even if such a jar would cost upwards of $750 in the United States.

The Spice Bazaar.

Instead, I bought more Turkish Delight, the consumption of which is probably to blame for my current stomach discomfort, some dried fruit, a glass of pomegranate juice, and cooked corn, which seems like a rather popular snack in this part of the world. Making my way back to the hostel, I lingered for a while getting things in order before stopping by Sultanahmet to photograph the now illuminated Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. I shook off some persistent touts before making it back to the hostel, where I plan to spend a relaxing evening, that I might wake up early enough to see the sun come up over the Bosphorus. We'll just have to see how that goes.