Istanbul: A City Steeped in History
The History
Istanbul’s history sounds like a name-drop of empires. Starting with the Achaemenid empire, to the Greek/Macedonian empire, to the Romans and finally the Ottomans. The city was first called Byzantium, when it was part of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire split into two — the Western and Eastern Roman Empires — the city lent it’s name to the Eastern part of the Empire. Today, we know the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire. In the 4th century AD, when Constantine I became the emperor of Rome, he realized that the city of Rome was past it’s prime. Attracted by it’s strategic location on the Bosphorus strait, controlling access to the Black Sea as well as the Mediterranean Sea, Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium. After the death of Constantine, the city was renamed Constantinople in his honor. It continued as Constantinople until the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453.
With the rise of the Ottomans in the 13th century, Constantinople remained a Byzantine city. The Ottomans could not conquer it due to the fortified city walls. Finally, in 1453, under Sultan Mehmet II, the Ottomans managed to breach the walls and conquer Constantinople. The Ottomans did not change the name of the city. However, over the centuries, a Greek phrase for “In the city” got morphed into it’s current name. The Greek phrase — eis ten polis — became Istanbul.
Visiting Türkiye Today
I had been wanting to visit Turkey for quite a while. The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, seen in popular Hollywood action flicks like “Taken-2” had always intrigued me since 2012. The Pamukkale hot springs and travertines, seem in a Bollywood romcom seemed even more interesting. But first the war in Syria, and then the pandemic, made travel unsafe. The opportunity came during 2022 Thanksgiving. With vaccinations and boosters done, and peace in Syria, traveling to Turkey (now officially called Turkiye) was safe again. Turkiye offers e-visas for those living in the US (citizens and permanent residents). The visa is available from the Turkish government website — https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/. The process was reasonably simple, although the website did have some annoying glitches, and I had to try two times before it worked. With a printout of the e-visa, immigration was a breeze when we landed in Istanbul airport.
An aside on the name Turkey. The country changed it’s official name from Turkey to Türkiye, so disassociate it from the bird turkey. In English the bird is called “turkey” because it resembled the guinea fowl, which was usually imported to Europe via Turkey (the country). Interestingly, in Turkish, the bird is called “hindi”, meaning native of India. This may be because turkeys are actually native to North America, and when Christopher Columbus “discovered” North America, he thought this was India. So both the native American people, and the birds got named Indians. So now we have half the world thinking that turkeys come from Türkiye, and the other half thinking it comes from India, when it is actually a native of the Americas! It was also a coincidence that it was Thanksgiving when we were in Turkey, so somewhere a turkey was spared the dinner table!
The Hagia Sophia
First up in our exploration of Istanbul, was the Hagia Sophia, a.k.a. the Aya-Sophia mosque.
The Hagia Sophia was a Byzantine cathedral when it was built from 532 to 537AD. “Hagia Sophia” is Greek for Holy Wisdom, and when it was built, this cathedral held the record for the largest interior space in the world. There was an older Basilica at the same site, but it was destroyed during a period of riots and revolts. Emperor Justinian then ordered the present structure to be built in 532AD. After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453 AD, this was turned into a mosque. Later, when Türkiye became a republic, this was converted into a secular museum. Recently, in 2020, the Hagia Sophia was again converted into mosque.
The plus side of this is that because it is now a mosque, there are no fees to enter the Hagia Sophia. However, during the Muslim prayer times, the inner sanctuary is cordoned off only for prayers. Once inside the gates, the first thing you see are the remnants of columns from when this was a cathedral. In some of them, the Christian cross can still be seen. It’s great to see that there is no religious fanaticism or bigotry here, and these archaeological treasures are still well preserved, even though they belong to a different religion.
Inside the main dome, the view is dominated by the high ceilings, the low hanging chandeliers, and the huge gold calligraphic medallions. On closer inspection, there are clear indications that this was a cathedral earlier and converted into a mosque. The large central dome had paintings of angels on four sides. All but one of these angels’ faces are now painted over.
The mosque has three stories, and I was hoping to climb to the second and third floors. However, at the time that I visited, there was no way to go to the higher floors. The second floor used to be a tourist attraction as well, when this was still a museum. Perhaps it was closed in 2020 when it was converted back into a mosque. Apart from this, I have to state that even though it is officially a mosque, tourists are still very much welcome inside. Apart from asking women to cover their heads with a scarf or hat, there is no religious bigotry or moral policing inside.
The Blue Mosque: The Scandal of the Six Minarets
Just across the square from the Hagia Sophia is the Blue Mosque, or, officially “Sultan Ahmet Camii”. This was an Ottoman imperial mosque, constructed by Sultan Ahmet in 1609 to 1616 AD.
The Blue Mosque, like other Ottoman mosques, follow the same architectural pattern, which was inspired from the Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque is called so because of the many blue tiles used in the interior. While there are tiles of other colors as well, the blue and turquoise are dominant. Like the Hagia Sophia mosque, the Blue Mosque is also open to tourists, except during prayer hours. While were were visiting, unfortunately, a metal scaffolding was set up inside for some repair works, which spoiled the view of the ceiling.
There was a brief controversy when the mosque was built, as the architect — Mehmet Aga — built six minarets. The legend goes that Aga misheard Sultan Ahmet’s command for “gold minarets” as the Turkish term for “gold” (altin) and “six” (alti) are similar. Four minarets were built at the four corners of the main building, while two more at the corners of the courtyard. This was controversial, as, at that time, only the Ka’aba mosque in Mecca had six minarets. The Sultan then ordered a seventh minaret to be built to the Ka’aba mosque, thereby ending the controversy.
The Hippodrome: Roman Chariot Racecourse
Bearing testimony to Istanbul’s rich history, the wide street adjacent to the Blue Mosque was the main chariot racecourse during Byzantine times. It’s called the “hippodrome” after Roman for “horse’s way” (hippos = Greek for horse). Right in the center of the Hippodrome, is an Egyptian obelisk complete with hieroglyphs. The Romans had conquered Egypt in 30BC, and this was likely brought over to Constantinople as spoils of war.
The Grand Bazaar : Historic Shopping
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was built soon after the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453. Sultan Mehmet II wanted to encourage trade and boost economic progress in the Ottoman empire, and thus setup this market place. Today, the Grand Bazaar hosts a mind boggling number of shops selling gold, jewelry, spices and textiles.
We explored a few of the interesting traditional shops. One shopkeeper selling scarves, had pictures of Liam Neeson and other celebrities hanging from his walls. Tourists are expected to bargain here, and the merchant’s initial prices are rarely the fair ones.
Basilica Cistern: What Lies Beneath!
Across the street from the Hagia Sophia, is a small unassuming building that serves as the entrance to what is known as Yerebatan Sernici museum. As you enter this, and descend the steps to the basement of the building, you are greeted with the view of a 6th century Byzantine underground water storage structure. This is known as the Basilica Cistern, after the Basilica that used to be here during Byzantine times. The cistern is roughly the size of a football field, and still holds water.
This cistern was built between the 3rd and 4th centuries during the Roman/Byzantine time. The purpose was to store and supply water to the Byzantine imperial palace, and other buildings nearby. The ceiling of the structure is supported by many columns, which create a sense of being in a maze. It is certainly eerie to be in a subterranean structure this large. The cistern is also intentionally made spooky by dim lighting, and installations of modern sculptures. There are also two ancient Medusa heads, used as column bases, installed upside down.
This was probably reused here from a different Roman building. It is not clear why the head was installed upside down. Some say it was to negate the gaze of Medusa (everything she looked at turned to stone), while others say it was to belittle the previous pagan religions by Byzantine Christians.
The Whirling Dervishes
Türkiye is also home to the famous “whirling dervishes”. In Sufi’ism, this whirling dance is a way of attaining spiritual oneness with God. Similar to how Qawalli & Dhamaal is in the Indian subcontinent, the whirling dance is a way to submit to, and attain oneness with God via music and dance.
Pretty much every touristy area in Istanbul has advertisements for shows with the famous whirling dervishes. From stand-alone sessions to part of a night cruise on the Bosphorus. The one we choose was in the Sultan Ahmet area, just off tram station. The venue was in a 500 year old music school, which added to the mystical ambiance of the performance.
Bosporus: The Straits Between Europe & Asia
No holiday in Istanbul is complete without a cruise of the Bosporus. The famous strait separates the continents of Europe and Asia. There are several tour organizers providing boat and yacht tours — ranging from a few hours to a full day cruise.
The one we selected was a simple half-day cruise which took you to the Asian side of Istanbul, and back. Once on the Asian side, you get about an hour to explore before the boat heads back. While the cruise is quite standard, and touristy, I would still recommend it for experiencing the feeling that ancient mariners entering Istanbul would get. The city scape visible from the harbor probably looks quite similar to what it was in the 16th~17th centuries!
Galata: The Roman Watch Tower
One of the final tourist attractions that we visited in Istanbul was the Galata Tower. This was a watch tower from Roman/Byzantian times, however, it was destroyed and re-built in the 14th century.
A steep road leading up a hill brings you to this tower. Unlike the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, this place has ticketed entry so you do have to stand in a line to get the tickets. Once up (there is an elevator for going up, which is mandatory), you can see the view of the entire city.
Like I wrote at the beginning of this article, Istanbul does boast a rich and diverse history, and it is a great place to visit for any history buff. The preservation of historical places is excellent, and the city itself is really clean. The food and street cats of Istanbul are also worth mentioning, but they would derserve a separate post (coming soon…)!
