Note: this post has been broken up into two for space purposes.
After a very early morning (we took the earliest 5:30 AM bus out of the university and an early train to Tel Aviv), my friends and I arrived at Ben-Gurion airport. A two-hour flight later, we landed in Istanbul! We took a bus with a bunch of middle-aged Israelis to our hotel, checked in, and promptly set out to explore the area of Taksim, where we were staying. This, of course, had to begin with our first Turkish coffees in the country!
We wandered around for a little while longer, and then I went to meet up with David at his hotel! Coincidentally, we happened to be in the same country, in the same city, and at the same time. I got to (re-)meet his family and friends, and it was really nice to see another Brandeisian in a foreign city! Here we are in Taksim Square after dinner:
The next morning, we walked down to Old Istanbul. On the way, we stopped in Galata to visit the tower there (thanks for the recommendation, Jennifer!). For the first few seconds we were at the top of the tower, it rained (of course…why wouldn’t it?), but we were still able to get some great shots of the city.
Here’s the Bosphorus:
The big mosques in Old Istanbul against the backdrop of a cloudy sky:
Here’s the tower from below:
We walked further down towards the bridge to Old Istanbul. Here’s a shot of the New Mosque with all the fishermen on the bridge. They were there, rain or shine, at all times of day!
I was constantly amused by the juxtaposition in this city. For example, in the New Mosque (‘new’ meaning it was built from 1597-1663!), there was an old lamp with fluorescent bulbs. Why not?
Regardless of modern accoutrements, all the mosques we visited were so ornate! Here’s some more of the New Mosque:
We walked up to the Suleimanye Mosque, but it was under renovation. We were still able to see Suleiman’s tomb, though:
Back downtown, we next visited the Sultanahmet Mosque (or Blue Mosque), built to rival the Hagia Sophia.
Next up: the Hagia Sophia! Today, it’s known as the Ayasofya. Built in the 500s, it was originally a church. Turned later into a mosque, all the iconography (of course) had to be removed because in Islam, one cannot represent faces or people. Ataturk turned it into a museum in 1935, so now there are some parts where you can see Christian motifs, and some places where you can tell they were covered up during the Ottoman Empire.
Christian Mosaic uncovered:
Dome, inside of the main area. There are parts being renovated now with funding from Istanbul being named the “European Capital of Culture” for 2010. There were signs everywhere about it!
Here’s a mosaic of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, right next to a sign reading “Allah.”
You can tell it’s a church-turned-mosque because the indication for Mecca for Muslim prayer isn’t centered with the stained-glass windows:
Example of the frescos on the second level of the building that cover up hundreds of meters of mosaic:
Here’s a view of the front of the prayer area from the balcony:
Giant uncovered mosaic on the second floor:
Fresco and mosaic next to each other: (note—fresco is Muslim, mosaic is Christian, in this case)
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