Istanbul-Where Cultures and History Meet!

The Walls around the Old City are defined by two names. One is called the Land Wall and stretches from the Marmara Sea (That end marked by a large Marble Tower) across the small peninsula of land that the original Istanbul was built on, to the Golden Horn inlet a distance of 6.5 Km. The Sea Walls were built bordering the Marmara Sea starting at Seraglio Point (mouth of the Golden Horn) and going around the point end of the Peninsula to link up with the land wall at the Marble Tower.

The walls were originally build by Septimiun Severus and Constantine the Great, but those walls are gone. The ruins that are visible today were built during the reign of Theodosius II in 413 A.D. These walls have a very interesting structure. Let us discuss the Land wall first as it was the largest. The first line of defense was a moat, 18 meters wide and 7 meters deep. During a siege, this was flooded. Next came a smaller wall called a Parateichion. It's purpose was to make it hard to build a bridge across the moat or to climb out of the moat. Next was the outer wall with occasional towers (96 in all) built into it. The outer wall was 8 meters high and approximately 2 meters thick. The towers were 15-20 meters high. There was a small distance, then the inner walls were built. This wall also had 96 towers of the same heights as the outer wall but its basic dimensions are different. It was 13 meters high and 3-4 meters thick.

Eight gates were scattered along the length of the wall. One that many people go in and out of without realizing it is part of the ancient wall system is at Topkapi. It is through this gate in 1453 that the Moslems entered, finally toppling the Byzantium Empire.

The sea wall is a single row wall with 9km bordered the Marmara Sea, and 5km bordering the Golden Horn. The part bordered the Marmara was 12-15 meters high with 150 towers and 8 gates. The part bordering the Golden Horn and 100 towers and 14 gates. I find the city walls interesting. First, they have survived for so long and second, they were able to protect the culture living behind them for centuries be that Byzantium or Moslem.

The Hippodrome was first built by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in 203 A.D. It was expanded by Constantine the Great much later. Today, it lies close to the Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque both of which were built later. Many activities have been held here, some for sport like chariot races; some for blood sport like gladitorial contests and then there were the riots and slaughters. In 532 two rival political groups, the blues and the greens began rioting in this area. Justinian’s reign was in jeopardy so his general Belisarius slaughtered 40,000 rebels in the Hippodrome to quell the disturbance. The second slaughter was much more recent. Sultan Mahmut II order the execution of 30,000 rebellious Janissaries in the same place.

The Hippodrome is 400 meter is length and 120 meters wide. It seated 40,000 at its height in popularity. Down the center were a row of columns and obelisks of which only three survive today. They are the Serpent Column, the Egyptian Obelisk, and the Colossus. The Serpent Column is the oldest Greek monument in Istanbul dating to 479 B.C. It was erected by the cities who defeated the Persians in the battle of Plataea. The tradition states that the bronze serpents were cast from the metal in theshields of the fallen Persian warriors. The top is missing, but one of the serpents head is on display in the Archeological Museum in Istanbul.

The Egyptian Obelisk was first erected in Egypt by Thutmose III in the 15 cent. B.C. About 2000 years later Emperor Theodosius I brought it to Istanbul in about the year 390 A.D. It is 20 meters high and is mounted on four blocks which in turn rest on a marble base.

The Colossus was erected by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in 940 A.D. It is made of limestone. It was once covered by bronze gilt panels but they were torn off by the 4th Crusaders who thought it was gold. The holes where those plates had been attached can still be seen.

I love shopping in Turkey. To illustrate that point, I'm going to tell a story about Istanbul which will hopefully entertain and inform at the same time! This was our third time to Istanbul, so we understood the art of bartering a bit better than before -- and I wanted an emerald and diamond ring while I was there! (Since 645,000 Turkish Lira equaled one US dollar, fine jewelry cost between 10% and 20% of what we’d pay in the States!)

There is a covered bazaar near Sultanahmet, in the center of the city, called the Grand Bazaar where you can purchase just about anything. We secretly brought my lighted jeweler’s loop into the bazaar (keeping it hidden in a coat pocket till the right moment.). Anyway, we stopped at this small shop. (They’re all small -- maybe 70 square feet.) I picked out a nice emerald and diamond ring with a Turkish design and asked. "How much?" The store owner, seeing tourists, pronounced "$960 US dollars." That seemed high for Istanbul, so I made a pretense of examining the ring closely and moving it around to find the right light. Then seemingly frustrated with bad lighting, I casually got the lighted loop out of my pocket. Time stood still for a moment while the shopkeeper took in the change in circumstance. I took a good look and discovered the diamonds were not quite white. I said "Oh my, did you know these diamonds are slightly brown in color?" Looking confused and slightly concerned (he was really good at bartering -- a natural actor,) the store owner said "Brown . . . couldn’t be . . ." He took the ring, looked at the tag, spoke several impatient sounding sentences in Turkish to a nearby clerk, they turned to us and said, "There must be a mistake. (I thought to myself, "Oh really . . .") This is our OTHER emerald and diamond ring. Madame knows diamonds... no?!?!?! (This was said more as a statement than a question.) My clerk must have put this one in the case by mistake. This one is . . . only . . . $320 US dollars." After a bit more back and forth, we settled on $175 (which is a very good price) and had a good time sipping apple tea together while the clerk wrapped up the purchase.

Now some might think he was trying to cheat us . . . I don’t think so. Barter is a way of life for Turkish merchants and they seem to enjoy the sport. The key is for both parties to feel like they won at the end of the exchange. They start high and we start low. They complain they will make no profit, we talk about how little money we have. If both people know you’re looking for middle ground, the system works. So don’t be afraid to smile and give a counter offer -- and if you really don’t want something, a pleasant smile, a raised hand in the stop position, and a firm "NO" will usually send them looking for a more ambivalent buyer. As Westerners, it will behoove us to learn the Eastern rules of the trade! Then, it is great fun!

In the Sultanahmet area of the old city close to the Marmara Sea and across a large garden area from the Haggia Sophia, you will find the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. The Sultan Ahmet Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet, but is more widely known as the Blue Mosque because of the 20,000 plus interior tiles of blue and white ceramic from the area of Iznik. In Turkey, buildings that are 400 or so years old are considered "new". To put that in perspective, Massachusetts was still inhabited by Native Americans!

It was the young (age 20 or so) 14th Ottoman Sultan Ahmet the I, who commissioned the building and as the legend goes he wanted it to be the most magnificent mosque in the world. So, as he left for a journey to Mecca he told the architects to build golden minarets. After he was gone, the builders realized they didn’t have the funds to do golden minarets, so they decided to pretend they had not heard the Sultan correctly and built 6 minarets instead of gold ones. Gold is "altin" and six is "alti". Whatever happened, this is the only Mosque in the world with 6 minarets!

We were touring in the winter so the fact that these large older mosques have no air conditioning didn’t bother us. It was fairly cool. We were told they could be hot in the summer. When we got to the door we were asked to remove our shoes. This is, of course, a very common practice in Islam but left a stranger like myself with the feeling that I was walking on holier than normal ground, (silly as that might sound.)

Once inside, you are struck first by the fact that not only is there a base carpet, but there are carpets on top of carpets. Sometimes they’re "cushy", sometimes not. Then the guide pointed out all the important parts of a Mosque. I’ve listed them below for your reference.

-In the middle of the southeast wall there is a "mihrab" or prayer niche. A pastor/priest called an "iman" or "mullah" in Islam, leads prayer 5 times a day from this spot. -To the right of the mihrab stands a pulpit called a "member" (the Friday pulpit). -In the front there is the tribune where the muezzin calls the believers to prayer. -To the right of this tribune the imam (pastor/priest) preaches before the Friday prayers. -The galleries are reserved for women. -Mosques of the sultans also have a barred balcony for the sultan and his harem to pray.

In this mosque, light enters through 260 windows and additional light is added by large low hanging circles of light bulbs (see picture). Your eyes are eventually drawn to the dome high above you. It is 43 meters high with a diameter of 23.5 meters. It is supported by 4 huge columns (see picture below). This is a huge room and like any huge room a single voice seems to get lost in the soft echos it creates. We struggled a bit trying to decide whether to focus on hearing our guide, or looking around to take in all the beautful colors and strange furnishings. I found myself thinking that the "Iman" or priest must have an excellent voice and a great presentation to keep the interest of his flock.

Like any high steeple church you might find in the U.S. there are additional buildings on the campus. There is the grave of Sultan Ahmet I, a former Koran school building, and a former sultans lodge among others. This is a large complex site and we were very glad for the help of our guide in seeing and understanding what it was.

Haghia Sophia, the name of this salmon colored, mighty, structure means Divine Wisdom in Greek. This building was a basilica of Orthodox Christendom for close to 1000 years. Then after the Moslems captured Constantinople (later to be named Istanbul), the building was a Mosque for the next 500 years.

In 1935, the great uniter of Turkey, Ataturk, made it a museum which then allowed scientific study. Many had been anxious for this, since Haghia Sophia is one of the oldest intact buildings surviving from such an ancient age.

The very early records of the building rely on legends. Supposedly Constantine erected the first basilica on this spot in 325 A.D., which was destroyed by a fire in 404. In 415 Theodosius II reconstructed the church, but it was burned down again in the Nika revolt of 532. Forty days later Justinian I had the church rebuilt. This is the first time we begin to hear about a huge dome with no supporting columns. It was dedicated Dec. 26, 537, and Justinian is supposed to have said, "I have outdone you Solomon!" But 20 years later, in 557, the dome collapsed. In 563 A.D. Justinian I, now an old man, dedicated the rebuilt church. This is essentially the building we see today.

However, various things have been added. In 1317 the walls were fortified. In 1573, right after the Moslems arrived, minarets were added. Extensive restoration was carried out between 1847 and 1849.

In modern days, the American Byzantine Institute cleaned many of the mosaics, which had been covered over when the building was converted to a mosque. One feature that stands out is the hanging collection of large green discs with Arabic writing on them. The names in gold are Allah, the prophet Mohammed, his children, and 5 other caliphs.

There is a great sermon illustration used by pastors to this day about Haghia Sophia. It reflects on the fact that the first bits of plaster to flake off the ancient mosaics supposedly revealed the face of Christ. The final line of the illustration goes something like this, "You can try to cover over, remove, or box Christ out of the world, but he will always break through!"

There are many mosaics in Haghia Sophia---many have been or have become icons. There is a theory about the personal appearance of Jesus based on these and other icons dating back into the Roman period. There are 28 different features of each and all the icons that are the same. Obviously, there are some differences, but it is theorized that the similarities are the result of all of them being copied from one source that was first hand. Interesting isn’t it.

You’ll have to put Haghia Sophia on your list when your visiting Istanbul.

Note: Haghia Sophia is in the old part of the city, the Sultanahmet area, close to the Blue Mosque. Any cabby should be able to get you there easily. Admission is about $5 U.S.