A Day Full of Old City Istanbul Tourism: Stop 3: The Most Expensive Tourism Ticket in Town

Your pagan gods have no power here. Here: in the Cistern

And the winner for the most expensive tourism ticket in this tourist town of Istanbul (and, for the last time, NOT Constantinople):  the Basilica Cistern.  The cost is more than 2,300 Turkish lira, which puts the price at just under $50 plus in U.S. dollars.

Roman engineering at its finest.

This is, in fact, Roman architecture and engineering. It was built in 532 A,D. (and, again, and this is a crusade for me, it's "A.D." and not the ill-descriptive "C.E.," as the numbering system denoted by "A.D." and "C.E." reference the same event, so let's be clear about what started the numbering system rather than being cryptically and stupidly ambiguous) (rant over). This was during the reign of Roman Emperor Justinian. Keep in mind that, by this time, Rome have fallen to the goths (and, no, I don't mean moody teenagers dressed in black listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees records), so the "Roman" Empire was now based in Constantinople (not Rome). This means the Basilica Cistern dates to around the same time as the construction of Hagia Sophia, the "basilica" referenced in the name "Basilica Cistern." 

In their day, this cistern was completely filled with water. Which would have made tourist exploration decidedly more difficult. Unless you had scuba gear. Which still hadn't been invented even that late in the Roman Empire era.

But now the water is shallow. The space is very humid, but the water is shallow enough for a tourist to walk through comfortably. Por ejemplo:

It is amazing that the Roman engineers built such impressively detailed columns ... even though the dang thing was completely flooded with water and all that intricate craftsmanship would not be seen until 21st Century tourism.

I'm guessing it was all about ego, to show that nobody on Planet Earth out-engineers Roman engineering. Of course, the reason also could be more modest, just like intricate designs in the Gothic Cathedrals that were never seen by worshippers: the design was designed to be seen by God and that's all.

But not the pagan gods:

Here is the smooshed head of Medusa at the base of one of the columns. This is an example of recycling. Pagan statuary was "repurposed" to build and decorate the Basilica Cistern. In a mocking way. Because why not?

So was it worth the huge price tag just so the typical Turista Americana can get his photo op?

Istanbul is generally a travel bargain, so why not splurge to see this one "nowhere else like it in the rest of the world" tourism experience?

A Day Full of Old City Istanbul Tourism: Stop 2: Hagia Sophia

The mosaic image of the Holy Family, with St. John the Baptist (R) inside Hagia Sophia

The next stop was to one of the most historically significant buildings on this or any other planet: Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia was built in the 530's. The crucial design element is the enormous dome. Nothing like that had ever been attempted. And the first two attempts were unsuccessful and the building collapsed from the weight of the enormous dome.

But much like the construction of the Gothic Cathedrals in Western Europe several hundred years later, the builders learned by trial and error. They learned how much they push design to the limits. And the third time was the charm since Hagia Sophia is still standing. And this is earthquake country.

Hagia Sophia started life as a Catholic basilica. The Emperor Constantine had made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and the town that bore his name, Constantinople (not Istanbul) was Catholic Country. The Ottomans conquered Constantinople in the mid 1400'. The Ottomans were Islamic. Thus, the Christian churches -- by this time there had been schism in the Christian Church and Constantinople not only was an Orthodox Christian town, it was the center of Orthodox Christianity -- then were converted into mosques.

Interesting "circle of life" issue. In the same general time period that the Ottomans were converting Christian churches into mosques, you had the reverse happening in Reconquista Spain, where grand mosques, such as the one in Cordoba, were being converted into Catholic cathedrals. 

Hagia Sophia is both enormous and under construction.

This isn't like Sagrada Familia in Barcelona where a hundred years later they are building the initial structure. This is a major renovation. The building is a millennium and a half old. And the renovations are supposed to make it more earthquake proof in earthquake country.

Let's take a break for a tourist posing inside Hagia Sophia.

Break's over. Time to resume the tourism lecture.

 

The renovation project only started recently and is expected to continue, according to my guide, for about 25 years. Given my age -- and let's be real here -- it is very unlikely that I will ever have the opportunity to see Hagia Sophia free of construction scaffolding.

But, then again, when the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, the builders and the financiers knew they would never live long enough to see the completed work.

Below is graffiti:

Thousand year old graffiti carved into the stone by a Swedish soldier. (Crusader, perhaps?) (The crusaders used Constantinople as a base for the attempts to liberate the Holy Land in the centuries before the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.)

But even construction scaffolding does not diminish the size and grandeur of this structure.

Mosaics.

Islam forbids depictions of humans and animals, especially in Moslem holy space, such as a mosque. A lot of these mosaics were plastered over when Hagia Sophia was re-purposed into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. (I definitely appreciate the fact that the Moslem conquerors simply plastered over the mosaics rather than destroyed them. That's why they are still there.)

So Hagia Sophia is a Catholic basilica that became an Orthodox church that became a mosque.  Then, in the 1920's, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk created the modern secular Turkish state, Hagia Sophia became a museum. It was at that time that the plastered-over mosaics were uncovered, a process that still is ongoing even though, a few years ago, the current Turkish president decreed that Hagia Sophia once again would serve as a mosque.

And here is one mosaic that uncovered and obscured.

It is a depiction of the Virgin Mary in the dome, It is covered by fabric so that it is not visible to the Moslem faithful praying on the first floor. It is visible, however, to the tourist horde on the second floor. If you know what you're looking for. Which I did. But only because I had a guide who could point out this sort of stuff to me otherwise I'd have missed it.

And this is maybe the most famous of the mosaics depicting Jesus inside Hagia Sophia.

Why look who's here taking in the scene!

Just another American tourist enjoying tourism.

Even without the scaffolding it would be impossible to take the enormous grandeur of this 1500-year old building.

The Blue Mosque was meant to mock the Christian-built Hagia Sophia or, to use a more positive term that probably better described the matter, the Blue Mosque was designed specifically to pay homage to Hagia Sophia.

The above mosaic depicts two Roman emperors presenting gifts to Jesus. Constantine presents the City of Constantinople. Justinian presents Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia is the major reasons I decided to visit Istanbul.

I believe that is a foot-washing station that is useful now that Hagia Sophia has been repurposed (again) into a mosque. The Islamic directive to get clean before going to church, especially getting the feet cleaned, is a tenet of that faith that I wholly 100 percent support. If only people would clean themselves up before going to church in America!

And when you leave Hagia Sophia, there's the Blue Mosque.

Time to move on to the next stop in this whirlwind tourist day.

A Day Full of Old City Istanbul Tourism: Stop 1: the Blue Mosque

The interior of the Blue Mosque is huge. And blue.

Today was the day for maximum tourism in the area in the historic core of the Istanbul Old City. Four stops in all, none of which were just a quick stop to snap my instagram-worthy photo followed by moving on. Well, except maybe the first stop: the Blue Mosque.

I hired a private guide (from the carpet merchant next to my hotel) (don't ask, it worked) to learn some history and to skip, or at least minimize my time in, the long lines at the various sights.

The line to get into the Blue Mosque was long, but not nearly as bad as Saturday.

The interior was huge. SuperDome huge. And ornate. And blue.

It was built in the 1700's -- which makes it "new construction" for this part of the city -- at the direction of Sultan Ahmet who had correctly deduced that he was somewhat mediocre of a sultan (the king in Ottoman Turkey) so that he had to build something magnificent to have any sort of legacy.

So this is what they came up with.

The place was packed, as the long line would indicate. Unlike the other places I visited today, this is not one that dictates a long linger. You stand in line. You walk in. You absorb the enormity and the beauty of the physical environment inside. What is impressive is the totality, rather than any specific facet of the building. This is not like a Gothic Cathedral elsewhere in Europe with an overwhelming amount of religious art. You walk in, gasp in awe, and move on to the next tourism stop.

But before I move on, I will point out that this mosque has six minarets. Minarets are the tall towers beside mosques from which the call to prayer is issued five times each day. An ordinary mosque has one minaret. Royal mosques have a few. This one has six. Which meant Sultan Ahmet was a somebody. However, this immediately proved to be hugely controversial because, prior to the construction of the Blue Mosque, the only mosque with that many minarets was the primary mosque in Mecca. Solution?  The sultan's architect built a seventh minaret to the mosque in Mecca. The Blue Mosque kept all six of its minarets, but in a way that kept the Mecca Mosque at number one.

A tourist can't go up in any of the six minarets. There is no special ticket to get such access. Not that I would want to climb straight up a minaret if the opportunity presented itself/

Sunrise Over the Bosphorus

Morning view from the hotel roof. Bosphorus on the right. Blue Mosque on the left.

I got an extra huge dose of sleep yesterday, recovering from jet lag and travel-induced sleep deprivation. That meant I woke up before dawn, actually rested. And that gave me the chance to see sunrise over the Bosphorus.

Here is the view from my hotel room balcony, dawn's early light:

The sun kept getting brighter, as the sun does this time of day:

Finally, at the time of my hotel breakfast, the hotel rooftop shows the blue sky and the blue water of the Bosphorus:

More feelin' blue.

I got a very busy day of tourisming ahead and it is time to jump jump jump to it.

Free Walking Tour of Istanbul's Old City

View of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn from the Suleymaniye Mosque

And that was the place where the free walking tour of Istanbul's Old City came to an end, on the grounds of a huge mosque on a hilltop with a view overlooking the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, with the "New City" neighborhood of European Istanbul to one side and Asia to the other. Well, how did I get here?

The meeting point for the free walking tour was a short walk from my hotel.

Which makes sense since the hotel is conveniently located between of the major tourist attractions in Istanbul:  Hagia Sofia (above) and the Blue Mosque (below).

That's the reason I picked this hotel. Location, location, location, as the folks in real estate would say.

So after loading up on cash at the ATM, so I had tipping money for the end of tour, it was off to start the tour.

(Please note: when I said "loading up on cash," I was not joking. It's like the Weimar Republic here when it comes to paper money. The largest denomination bill is the 200 lira note. That sounds respectable. In the U.S., we're not printing any Grover Clevelands ($1,000 bill) or William McKinleys ($500) anymore. But 200 Turkish Lira is worth a little more than $4.00. Which means the largest denomination bill in circulation here is a four-dollar bill. Which means you have to got to have an extremely thick wad of paper to have any purchasing power in a place that is not fully committed to credit cards and electronic payment. So if you're carrying enough cash in your front pocket for a day's worth of consumption, people will think you're happy to see them.)

First stop on the tour: the German Fountain.

This is next to the Blue Mosque. It was a "thank you" gift from Germany to the Sick Man of Europe, the Ottoman Empire, for being Germany's wing-man during the First World War.

This area is the old Roman Hippodrome:

They don't run horses through here anymore. The tourist horde would frighten them. And at the far end of the old Hippodrome is:

The Egyptian obelisk, a.k.a., the Obelisk of Theodosius, which I believe no one calls it other than a few pedantic travel blog writers.

It is impressive, especially when you consider that this is only the top 60 percent of the original Egyptian obelisk. The original obelisk was carved from a single piece of granite and was so enormous than when it was shipped out of Egypt to its new home, the entire obelisk could not be shipped. No ship was big enough to transport the whole thing. So they improvised.

The base is very Roman:

While the writing on the side is Egyptian. Quick, break out your Rosetta Stone and do a quick translation from the Google translator of its day.

Next is the Serpent Column, Yılanlı Sütun, which used to have the head of a serpent.

Now it is merely serpentine. Constantinople (not Istanbul) was once the center of the civilized world so the treasures of the ancient were brought here and put on display, a function later usurped by places such as the Louvre in Paris or the British Museum in London. Centers of global power always seem to collect the treasures of the world.

Obelisk and minaret visible in one photo:

We then walked to the Blue Mosque. "To," not "in," because in the morning hours, the line to get into the Blue Mosque is huge.

The colloquially called "Blue Mosque" is actually called Sultanahmet Camii, or the Sultanahmet Mosque. Sultanahmet was an Ottoman Emperor from the 1600's who built a lot of this part of town. The blue tiles inside give this mosque its more familiar name, as the interior is more blue than the exterior.

The exterior is the popular photo for tourists. And here is one of said tourists getting a souvenir photo taken with the Blue Mosque in the background:

With the Blue Mosque being off-limits due to extraordinarily long queuing, we instead entered a much smaller mosque from the same era on the same grounds.

Keep in mind that, in Islam, the word "mosque" is used like we Christians use the word "church." Both words generally mean a spot where the faithful gather for worship but, practically speaking, nearly always refers to a building, rather than a site, where said gathering occurs.

The interior of this mosque was small and ornate:

Those are not coffins or graves. Those are cenotaphs, which are monuments to those buried elsewhere. The smaller cenotaphs are for children.

Time to get back onto the tour. There are many more mosques to see,

And columns:

This is, I believe, the Column of Constantine. Named for the man for whom Constantinople (not Istanbul) is named. So, contrary to the popular song, apparently you can go back to Constantinople. (BTW, that is the tour guide for my free walking tour on the bottom left. He had a name at the time.)

Next mosque up: the Nuruosmaniye Mosque

Cats aplenty throughout Istanbul. The reason? The prophet Mohammed was a cat lover. So in Moslem cities, stray cats are everywhere and they appear to be well taken care of.  Stray dogs?  You don't see them.

This mosque is new construction, relatively speaking. It dates from the mid 1700's, rather than the 1600's.

The chandelier hand low because it is used to be oil-lamp lighting, not electricity. 

It's nice, but give me the 1600's over the 1700's when it comes to Istanbul interior design.

Next up: the nightmare part of the tour: the Grand Bazaar.

Shall we enter?

This surprised me. I was expecting more of a "bazaar" atmosphere with stalls thrown up all over the place, with cloth roofs, and amazing and sometimes frightening smells. Instead, it was a shopping mall atmosphere. A huge crowded shopping mall, with storefronts. Only imagine that this is a shopping mall with an overwhelming number of Zales and Kay Jewelers and carpet salesman. I was expecting sensory overload of the scent of spices fresh off the Silk Road. Instead, I got Black Friday at the Galleria.

The tour ended at a mosque on a hill.

The Suleymaniye Mosque, which is a tourist destination primarily for the view:

Again, you can see the Bosphorus, the narrow strait that separates European Thrace from Asian Anatolia, separating what we once thought were two continents but we now know as a single giant landmass that we still call two continents out of habit. You also can see the Golden Horn, the narrow passage of water on the European side of Istanbul separating the Old City to the south and the New City to the north.

I planned to take a short rest and head out to a museum later in the day. Didn't happen. The jet lag and time zone shift and the lack of sleep caught up with me so when I went back to the hotel, I fell asleep. It's now 10:00 p.m. as I post this and, for the time time, I feel wide awake. That does not bode well for getting a good night of quality sleep. At least my tourist neighborhood goes silent after 9:00 p.m.