Istanbul - Of Mosques and Religion (Day One)

*Muslim prayers resounded through the city*

Curses. I woke up, red-eyed, and fumbled for my watch in the darkness. It was 6:15 am, technically 4:15 am UK time. And this was how my first day began amongst others: with the persistent dripping of some leaky pipe directly above my pillow and arriving late the previous night (or early morning, depends on how you look at it) at the Atatürk International Airport. I definitely have to get used to this.

I was staying at the Ayasofya Hotel in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, a very pleasant place to stay, with friendly staff and they offer an amazing package deal. Anyway, after a bit of snoozing, I decided to wake up early to make the most of the day and guess what I saw when I looked out the room window. In direct view and probably line of sight (or sound) was the loudhailer hanging from the minaret of a mosque. Double curses.

I spent the day walking about and visited the Topkapi Palace, the Ayasofya Museum, the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern. Breath-taking stuff. Makes you wonder how people in the past managed to erect structures so spectacular. Probably with less stringent safety regulations and lots of dying. That having said, both whatever I say or even the pictures I took don’t really do justice to the magnificence of these places. If I were you, I would just book the next flight into Istanbul and take a look for myself. It is that worthwhile.

My first stop was the Topkapi Palace and I must say this place is a gem. And the highlights of the place is the Treasury and the Harem. In the treasury is this 86-carat diamond (called the Spoonmaker’s Diamond or Kaşıkçı Elması) that was freaking huge, probably the size of a huge almond or something. And I mean huge. But what was so enduring (or tragic) about it is it’s story: a poor man found the uncut diamond in some garbage dump and brought it to a jeweller who basically exchanged it for 3 spoons (or something of similar value), thinking it was just a piece of glass. Later then did the jeweller realise that, in fact, it was nothing like glass at all. The news of the diamond spread and before you know it, it came to the possession of one of the Sultans. Not your classic rags to riches story. Imagine how that poor man felt.

Anyhow, I also found the Harem section of the palace rather interesting. To sum it up in a single sentence: the Sultan do sure know how to enjoy himself. Guarded by Black Chiefs (eunuchs with Ethiopian origins), the Harem was an entertainment centre exclusive for the Sultan, fully furbished with dancing girls, concubines and even bathing facilities. At the height of a certain Sultan’s prowess, he had as many as a thousand-odd concubines staying in the harem. TaIk about nothing to do for leisure, I wonder where he gets his strength to do other stuff. And what’s more, these activities are fully sanctioned by the Sultan’s mother, the Sultana, who happens to be the head of the Harem. No comments.

I headed for the Ayasofya Museum next. Its first manifestation was the Hagia Sofia, or the Church of the Holy Wisdom, the bastion of Eastern Orthodoxy, when Constantinople was considered the New Rome. And this was where the Great Schism of 1054 took place where essentially, the Catholic papacy and the local Patriarch effectively excommunicated each other due to doctrinal differences. And then, in another milestone in 1453, when the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmed II (at age 21 mind you) conquered the city , it was converted into the Ayasofya Mosque. In more recent history, in 1935, under the Turkish Republic, it was secularised and finally converted into a museum, where it still stands today. And I am deeply impressed by this building and just trying to imagine it packed with thousands fervent in prayer, either in an Orthodox or Muslim setting, sends my head spinning. What glorious times they must have been.

In contrast, the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque), just opposite the Ayasofya Museum and across a huge park with a fabulous fountain (great for photos), is still used as a place of worship. And it is the only mosque in Istanbul with six minarets. Its exterior is by far the more imposing of the two but I find its interior disappointing, although still a sight to behold. The thing about mosques that one has to learn to appreciate is probably the interior of the domes. The intricacies of the mosaic patterns involved and the sheer scale of the construction is just too much to take in at times.

There was also the Basilica Cistern, just a few minutes away from the Ayasofya Museum, a hidden labyrinth located within the very foundations of the immediate area. I must say I didn’t really expect to see such a place in Istanbul and I am indeed pleasantly surprised by it. I think it was built during the Byzantine era as a source of water for imperial buildings or something similar along these lines. First impressions evoked a distant memory of watching an old film where Perseus was attempting to kill Medusa in some dark, dank labyrinth. I would have mistaken this place to be where the actual filming took place. It was that genuine and miserable. Incidentally, the main attractions in this place, apart from the numerous clammy columns supporting the life above, are 2 columns which have bases depicting Medusa’s face in different orientations. Talk about coincidence.