Turkish Delight on a Snowy Cold Night (and Day)

The weather today was absolutely miserable- a combination of rain and snow that did not let up for the whole day. So I decided to walk over 5 miles outside. Good going, Yadlin!

It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. After a lot of bumbling around and looking helpless  asking for help, and wondering why on earth anyone would think about having to go underground to catch the bus, I filed onto the 87 bus headed towards the Chora Church. I luckily kept an eye out for signs and managed to get off at the right stop. The Chora Church, named for the Greek word for territory or land, was originally built outside the city walls but when they were extended in the 5th century, it ended up inside the wall. According to the Rick Steve's book, "the current church dates back to about 1100 but was damaged by Crusaders in the 1200s. In the early 1300s, the Byzantine primer minister Theodore Metochites was selected as Chor'a patron and he oversaw the church's reconstruction." He was all about creating and financing the creation of the mosaics that are still around today. Interestingly, because the Eastern Orthodox church essentially remained consolidated under the Byzantine Empire, church power was centralized and thus artistic decisions filtered down from Constantinople to all other Byzantine churches. This is why Roman Catholic art in churches is so varied but Byzantine art is typically very similar across the board.

The mosaics in the church are absolutely stunning. Essentially, they tell the entire church story from before the birth of Mary to St. Anne, through the birth, life, and death of Jesus, through to the Final Judgement and the New Jerusalem. The nave was closed for restoration so I missed the middle of Jesus' life but what I did see was breath-taking, both the frescos and the mosaics. Your neck is certainly sore by the end of the tour but I went back through everything twice because it was so spectacular.

After leaving the Church, I made my way through some back alleys until I reached the Walls of Theodosius, built by Theodosius II. There was a steep set of stairs to get up to the top and you could wander, although there were no railings and I was worried I'd get blown away and off the walls. If it had been nicer and clearer, I'm sure the views would have been stunning. After descending from the walls, I walked back the Tekfur Palace, the only remaining Byzantine palace which is currently under renovation, and the Kastoria Synagogue, of which remains only a wall and a gate. Eventually I walked underneath the Egrikapi Gate, which translates to bent gate, leads to some great views of the wall and also houses the Surdibi Cemetery, the legendary burial ground of several sahabe- Muslim equivalent of Christian apostles to Muhammad.

 

synagogue

Erdikapi Gate

cemetary

I began my walk through the Lonca, Balat, and Fener neighborhoods, following a path that wound through back alleys, narrow streets, and very non-touristy areas. It was nice to not be cat-called and propositioned to come into stores every two feet, and I felt like I was seeing the real Turkey. I passed through some mosques, palace ruins, old dungeons, and several different churches, but many were difficult to identify or closed to the public. The first place I was able to enter was the Panagia Blachernae Holy Spring and Church, a Greek Orthodox church with a holy spring believed to have healing properties. It was incredibly colorful inside, a definite change from the colors of the Chora Church. As I walked through the Balat Neighborhood, there was s long market being step up with shoes, clothing, household goods, but also eggs, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and just so much color. Everyone was unloading trucks and hand carts, setting up overhangs to shelter them from the rain, and calling back and forth to each other. I also passed by the Ahrida Synagogue, the only one in the city that can be dated back to the Byzantine period. The last stop was the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the modern HQ of the Greek Orthodox Church Patriarchate is to the Greek Orthodox church as the Vatican is to the Roman Catholic Church, and the inside of the church was very gold and very Byzantine. And there were some disturbing paintings up at the apse of the church.

Panagia Blachernae Church

Ahrida Synagogue

St. George Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

 With the guided walk complete, I walked along the Bosphorus towards the Golden Horn, eventually finding my way to the Rezam Has Museum, where there was a small but extensive exhibit of Urartian bronze jewelry. The Urartian Kingdom was a strong Asian state during the 9th to 7th century BCE and the museum owned some incredible bronze belts, beaded jewelry, decorative pins, snakes, and all sorts of intricately designed pieces. The room itself was also really unique architecturally- it was like being underground in a cistern or something like that.

After getting incredibly lost and wandering around in circles for a while, I finally used the TripAdvisor app to get myself to the Turkish Jews Museum. It was a small museum but it had some really fascinating artifacts and great information about the role of Turkish Jews throughout Turkey, from the expulsions throughout Europe to the similarities between Jewish and Muslim traditions found throughout Turkey. For such a small museum, it was quite well done and there was only one other person there, so I didn't feel rushed at all.

On my way to the Pera Museum, I happened across a contemporary art show curated at one of the small galleries on Istiklal Street called "The Roving Eye." It presented more than 40 works by 36 of Southeast Asia's "most innovative contemporary artists." As there typically is in contemporary art, there were a lot of bizarre pieces but a nice way to spend 30 minutes and get out of the snow.

My last official stop for the day was the Pera Museum, also off Istiklal Street. The top two floors were all dedicated to Polish artists that used the Ottoman Empire and its characteristics. What I loved most about this section was how many different styles were used- no two pictures were the same and the techniques and mediums used were all different. Plus there were some fantastic paintings that would make for some great captions. There was a floor about ambassadors and artwork and the marriage between the two: there were portraits of European ambassadors to Turkey painted in the Turkish style and vice versa. Again, such a wide assortment of techniques and mediums. The bottom floor had an exhibit dedicated to coffee and the different ceramic holders used in coffee ceremonies. The museum had a posh little cafe and I relaxed for a little while reading and drinking some Turkish tea. It was perfect.

Before heading to dinner, I popped into one more exhibit about the Ottoman's role in the First World War with a focus on propoganda. I absolutely love propaganda and so this was so much better than the non-English exhibit from the day before. They had some excellent postcards and posters talking about the unity between the Germans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.

It was dinner time so I found a place down the street and had gozleme, a thin Turkish pancake stuffed with spinach, minced meat, potatoes, and cheese. It was delicious, if not a bit spicy (I think it was the meat) and filled me up more than I thought it would. It was such a great ending to a very wet and cold day and the restaurant was only a block and a half away from home so I could go straight there and take a shower to warm up.