A crowded day in Istanbul

Friday, May 22.

The flight to Nevshehir and the Hotel at Ortahisar have been confirmed. We are off next Monday.

After our own light breakfast, we get going for our agenda for the day which is the Mosaic Museum, the Underground Cistern and the Grand Bazaar. At the bottom of the hill, we top ourselves off with a freshly grilled fish sandwich from the market near the bridge. Pity we got it in just plain white bread and not Turkish flat bread. It may just be that what we regard as Turkish bread back home is traditional farmers stuff that locally has fallen out of favour.

We are obviously a little early for everybody else.

That very fine view.

As we enter the tram platform through the turnstiles, we discover that our electronic card has run dry. I am in but Lois is on the outside. What to do. A local notices our dilemma and uses his card to let L through. Thank you. The Turks are not a bad lot. At the other end the ride, we top it up by another 20tl.

Constantine and his successors built a fine complex of palace buildings near the Hagia Sophia. The place was finally abandoned after the fourth crusade in 1204 when the city was ransacked. The ruins were pillaged and materials used for other buildings. Recycling is not as new as we think. As the city grew and developed, the palace site was eventually built over and forgotten about. The various remains were discovered only in the 1950’s when more contemporary building work took place. Some of those remains are a number of the magnificent floors of the former palace. The mosaic museum is not big but quite amazing. Some of the mosaics have been taken up for preservation purposes by very special methods and the latest technologies. Their display and general location is in the area where they were found.

Just as in Riga, I cannot resist photographing this fine skyline.

 Most of us have seen mosaics but these are truly something else. They are paintings with tiny pieces of coloured stone. The detail and the subtlety and detail of rendition of the subject is truly amazing. It can only be appreciated close up. The segments are on average about 3mm square and no more than 2mm thick. To cut and select them for colour is a mighty achievement with technology nearly 1500 years ago. This work is truly unique.

A conjecture of the old palace.

His right eye.

Our next stop is the Basilica Cistern – and a stop it is too. Again there are crowds and queues. I line up and hold our place while Lois sits down. Fortunately, the progress is better than we thought.

Crowds - local and foreign. 

Like everything else of the older era, this place too has a colourful history. It was commissioned by Justinian in 532 to hold some 80,000 cubic metres of water for the Great Palace, delivered by aqueducts from a reservoir near the Black Sea, some 20km away. How far above the ground it was in Justinian’s day, who knows but today it is underneath the city’s street level. When the Byzantine Emperors relocated the Grand palace, the cistern was forgotten about and rediscovered in 1545. However, it was not given any regard until it was renovated in 1985 and opened to the public two years later. It is a most impressive brick vaulted place with 335 columns. There is some shallow water still at the bottom with fish, no doubt for tourist interest. One cannot help but marvel at the achievements of the Byzantines – but at what cost to the local community? The ‘investment’ then is bearing dividends today and will continue to do so for centuries. How willing are we today to commit funds for something from which only future generations will derive benefits?

Just plain column capitals were not good enough, even for a water tank.

The cistern, impressive as it is, did not take too long to admire. As the Grand Bazaar is nearby, we might as well ‘do’ that too as we are not ready to return. The G.B. was commissioned by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461 to cover a large market area of a maze of quite chaotic little trading alleys. Now it is a large formal building but over the years has changed into almost a labyrinth of lanes and ‘malls’. Nevertheless, undeniably, it could be regarded as a forerunner of the huge shopping centres of today.

After finding our way to the entry point, it is such a jam and crush of people that it feels like battling a football crowd. The big challenge is not to get separated as well as get lost. L is helpfully wearing black today. The mass is moving slowly in both directions but it is so dense that it is almost impossible to inspect anything or even pause. It is obvious that most people here are lookers and not buyers. Some trades are obviously made otherwise the shops and stalls would not be open. Yet, even if one wanted to make a purchase, one is bewildered by the selection of ‘stuff’ that it is truly difficult to see the trees for the forest. On top of that of course there is the urging of the sellers and the certain knowledge that you would have to haggle or be ripped off. We are not in the mood for that today. It is not that it is uninteresting but we cannot wait to find our way out. Oh for some air and daylight!

Too much is not enough.

There is still a lot of light and street activity to enjoy. 

Observing worshipers is not a spectator sport but it does make a colourful sight. The mosque is crowded.

Trams are now our favourite and most convenient way of getting around here. Back at Galata, there is still a lot of daylight by which to enjoy observing the other observers, colourful businesses and other activity around here. Dinner at one of the nearby local eateries and we are ready to call it a very full, even somewhat crowded, day.

There is still a lot of movement and interest around Galata.