Back to Instanbul, Turkey

Istanbul: Body and Soul

Wednesday 19 October 2011

The perfect way to end a trip to Istanbul is to take care of your body and soul. Of course, this is more significant for Muslims, but surely there is carry over for non-Muslims. We spent the day visiting three different mosques and I ended with a Hamami (Turkish Bath) experience. We are now ready for the next chapter of our trip, Paris.

Wednesday dawned clear and decidedly warmer, Hallelujah, a perfect day for walking. We made our way towards the Grand Bazaar area, stopping in to see the Beyazit Mosque, the second largest imperial mosque erected in Istanbul after Ottoman conquest. It was impressive. Built by Sultan Beyazit II between 1501-1506, he ordered that decoration were to use vast quantities of marble, porphyry (a rock, often purple in colour, with large crystals), verd-antique (dark, dull green, white-mottled or white-veined), highly polished serpentine and granite. Twenty columns were constructed in the mosque courtyard of these materials, mostly salvaged from churches and ancient ruins. The cemetery reminded us of the ancient mosque in Selςuk, near Ephesus, with tombstones decorated with Arabic or flower designs topped with hats worn by the deceased.

At the rear of the Beyazit Mosque were the massive gates of Istanbul University. The university was first established in 1453 as a Madrasa or religious school and became a university in the mid 1800s. We would have loved to walk through the expansive grounds of the University but security guards were admitting only people with approved passes.

We continued to Suleymaniye Mosque, a commanding presence on top of one of the seven Istanbul hills. You find out how steep those hills are when you start walking the city. We didn’t keep track but I am sure we summited several of the hills. Our Lonely Planet told us that the most famous and talented Ottoman architect was Mimar Sinan. He built 351 buildings in Turkey, of which 78 still exist. Suleymaniye Mosque, built from 1550 to 1557 for Sultan Suleyman the Lawmaker (AKA the Magnificent), was not the largest Ottoman mosque but it was the grandest, setting the standards for classical Ottoman style and art techniques. The carved and painted decorations were beautiful.

Right next to the mosque was the Suleymaniye Hamam, built at same time. All Muslims must wash before entering a mosque for prayers, so it makes sense to have a Hamam nearby. This Turkish Bath House is still in operation, open to the public.

The mosque was just a few blocks away from the floating Fish Sandwich restaurants beside the Galata Bridge, and it was noon, the perfect choice for a quick, tasty lunch stop. Across the street was the Spice Market. Who could resist the aromas of the spices and the sight of the artfully arranged displays of produce, including infinite varieties of Turkish Delight candies? We bought a few dried figs stuffed with a half walnut for our desert. Another display of these delicacies called them “Turkish Viagara”. We didn’t get a chance to test the veracity of this claim!

Leaving the Spice Market we joined throngs of Istanbul shoppers spending their lunch hour eating at the small pide and donair shops and picking up merchandise to bring home. There were no vehicles on the street at this hour, just pedestrians and workers carrying goods on their backs to the shops. We made it back to Kapilicarsi Gate where we had started our exploration of the Grand Bazaar nearly a month ago. Tour groups were still in town, intent on entering the bazaar rather than be tempted by the displays of handbags and carpets outside gates, much to the disappointment of the shop keepers.

We continued back to our hotel, near the Little Aya Sofia (Kucuk Ayasofia Camii), which was our last stop of the day. Formerly an Eastern Orthodox Church dedicated to the Saints Sergius and Bacchus, it was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire. It is one of the most important early Byzantine buildings in Istanbul. Due to its strong external resemblance to the larger Aya Sofia, it was believed that the building had been designed by the same architects as a model for the Aya Sofia, but that theory has not been proven. Whatever the true origin, it is still known as Little Aya Sofia. Like all the mosques, it was a peaceful place and simply but beautifully decorated.

I couldn’t leave Turkey without at least one visit to a Turkish Bath. Our hotel recommended Gedikpasa Hamam, built by Architect Hayreddin in 1475. Transportation arrived at the hotel to take me to my 3 PM appointment. Some hamams have mixed male and female facilities but the Gedikpasa Hamam had separate facilities. This meant that instead of wearing a bathing suit, each person wrapped themselves in a woven cloth. The hamam was certainly not crowded. There were only two other women finishing their treatment when I arrived. I started with a sauna, followed by a loofah scrub, a rinse down, and a full body massage and soap scrub. That completed I had a short swim in the slightly cooler plunge pool to complete the experience. I felt relaxed and cleansed; a good feeling.

Our only mistake we made in Istanbul this time was to buy wine in a corner store to have in our room. We had been lulled into thinking all the wine sold in the corner stores was the same quality we had experienced on the island of Bozcaada. The Istanbul offering was so bad we returned to the store to complain that it was skunky. We ended up accepting a substitute bottle that was almost as bad. We recommend sticking to beer in Turkey, except for known wine areas like Bozcaada. Oh well, live and learn.

We did enjoy our time in Turkey and would love to return to explore other parts of the country, especially the Eastern section, provided it is not an active war zone.