Two videos from the day:
1.) Me making a wish on the "wishing column" at the Hagia Sophia. My wish? Muslim-Christian peace, understanding, and togetherness - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvrJoW6XN7s
What would your wish be?
2.) The dome, ceilings, prayer area, chandeliers, walls, and decor of the Hagia Sophia. Photos just weren't doing this place justice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDrZE-XYS1c
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 2 - Istanbul
Day 2 - Istanbul
Weather - 85 degrees and sun
Plans - Hagia Sophia visit, Bosphorus Strait cruise, paper Ebru marbling, Turkish tiles, dinner on the Bosphorus at Villa Bosphorus.
Hagia Sophia (Ayasophya)
Well our first day with planning was an eventful one. The first thing we did was go to the Hagia Sophia, one of the most recognizable holy grounds in the world. The current structure, which is the 3rd on this site, was completed in 557 AD. The Hagia Sophia (meaning "religious place of wisdom") wasn't just the biggest church in the world, it was the biggest building in the world for 100s of years.
After it was conquered by the Turks in the 1400s, it was converted into a mosque. It was Mehmet the Conqueror's crown jewel to defeat of the Byzantium Empire, and he immediately (overnight) had his artists cover the Christian idols in plaster, since portraits of humans and God are forbidden on a mosque. They also converted the altar (which faced the east) to the mihrab (which faces now the southeast, towards Mecca), and actually allowed the cross and other symbols to remain.
It is utterly amazing. I have so many photos (40+), but I'm just going to share some of my favorites. I'll describe each below, too. The first photo (upper left) is the Sultan's private quarters at the mosque. I thought this was probably my favorite photo. In the second photo (upper right), you can see a leather & gold hanging medallion that says "Allah," which to us looks like a "w" and an "l."
In the 3rd photo (bottom left), you see the mosaic of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, which overhanged the alter before replaced by plaster. The final photo is of the mihrab, facing Mecca, with the Ottoman stained glass in the background.
One thing I learned about the culture while here is that the Turks aren't really fans of deodarant. There were a lot of them, and it was a hot day. It was different for me, let's just say that. Also, they're really persistent to tourists, and the one's who know English well will bargain with you and use wordplay to get you to buy things. They're pretty good at it, too, but I convinced a guy to give me 12 postcards for a $1 after bothering me for at least 2-3 minutes. They also let stray cats wander all over the place. You think it'd be disgusting, but apparently they care for them & revere them so much they even let them walk on the alter / mihrab in the Hagia Sophia.
I also have an awesome video showing the entire ceiling and main prayer area, and I'm glad I captured this because the photos don't do the spectacular site justice. I also have a video of a thing in the Ayasophya called the "wishing column," where you spin your hand in a crevice in the back entrance of the prayer area, and I, of course, wished for a place where Muslim & Christian worship isn't so segregated. The Hagia Sophia shows how they can co-exist, and we can all stand to learn from it.
Bosphorus Strait cruise
Yep, this was a lot more awesome than I thought it'd be. The views were great, and Ohran, our travel guide, hooked up a microphone and speakers and gave us an explanation of all the things we saw. This guy knows his stuff. I'll, again, attach some of my favorite photos and try to explain:
The first shot (upper left) is of Cynthia, Mark, and me with the Rumelian Castle in the background. Mehmet built this fort in the early 1400s to put a stranglehold on Constantinople, as it is at the shortest distance (800 meters) from the European - Asian divide of the city. The 2nd photo (upper right) is of the Bosphorus Bridge, which was built in the 1980s. It's amazing that this city of 12 million people has only 2 bridges crossing the Strait, while Harrisburg metro (and <100,000 residents) has 4 different bridges.
Probably my favorite thing of the cruise was just snapping photos of the houses and neighborhoods of Istanbul. It really was just an awesome site, over and over again. Down below, one thing that astonished me was that with all this prime real estate, the Turks built a ton of atoparks (kids' parks) right on the Strait. The one we parked our boat on had an outside gym, and here you see Mark and me doing hip abductions.
Also, at the Atopark, Mark did his burpees for the day. The polis were laughing their heads off watching him do it, slapping their knees and everything - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RoPzoCDJFk
Ebru Marbling, Turkish tiling, & dinner
I'm no artist, but the marbling was fun and intense. We all received a lesson on how the Ebru came from Iran and how they did it (mixing different liquids in the water that didn't allow the paint to blend together), and how they used different brushes and, more importantly, shears, to make different shapes and backgrounds. The young artist was awesome at this, and then we all got a crack at it. I made a sun for Devin.
It was amazing to see a photo of First Lady Bush on the wall doing the marbling like we did. And while we waited for the others to finish, we had çay (tea) and chocolate / banana wafers outside on the owner's back lawn, my 3rd & 4th cup of the little cup of tea for the day.
Tiling and dinner were both slightly above average, which made it stand out differently from the incredible day. Dinner was an incredible view at the Villa Bosphorus (I sat first next to the Strait, and it splashed up near my feet), but the Turks like dill a lot. They also like bread a lot (I fed my 3 pieces to the fish, and they gave me 5 more). They also like sebring fish a lot, and while it's good, this was the 3rd time in 4 days that I had fish. The cheese appetizer, however, was the most awesome thing I've ever eaten from a dairy aisle, and the desserts of fresh Turkish fruit (watermelon, apple, grapes, and the juiciest peaches) were both phenomenal. And check-out my sunset photo (below right)
The tiling artists do great work (below left), but the shop was small and since I'm no artist, I felt puckered out after the Ebru marbling.
Tomorrow we head back into the city to visit the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque. These are probably the 2 things I'm looking forward to the most on the trip, so I'm excited!
Fun fact:
Did you know that the Turkish word Istanbul has evolved, over time, as a derivation of the word Roman word Constantinople? When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city, they didn't like the amount of syllables in the word, so they shortened it to 'Stantinopolis, and then to 'Stanpol. However, proper Turkish struggles to have two consonant sounds next to one another, so they add the "I" (actually pronounced "ee") to the front of it, to create Istanbul ("EE-stahn-bol").
Weather - 85 degrees and sun
Plans - Hagia Sophia visit, Bosphorus Strait cruise, paper Ebru marbling, Turkish tiles, dinner on the Bosphorus at Villa Bosphorus.
Hagia Sophia (Ayasophya)
Well our first day with planning was an eventful one. The first thing we did was go to the Hagia Sophia, one of the most recognizable holy grounds in the world. The current structure, which is the 3rd on this site, was completed in 557 AD. The Hagia Sophia (meaning "religious place of wisdom") wasn't just the biggest church in the world, it was the biggest building in the world for 100s of years.
After it was conquered by the Turks in the 1400s, it was converted into a mosque. It was Mehmet the Conqueror's crown jewel to defeat of the Byzantium Empire, and he immediately (overnight) had his artists cover the Christian idols in plaster, since portraits of humans and God are forbidden on a mosque. They also converted the altar (which faced the east) to the mihrab (which faces now the southeast, towards Mecca), and actually allowed the cross and other symbols to remain.
It is utterly amazing. I have so many photos (40+), but I'm just going to share some of my favorites. I'll describe each below, too. The first photo (upper left) is the Sultan's private quarters at the mosque. I thought this was probably my favorite photo. In the second photo (upper right), you can see a leather & gold hanging medallion that says "Allah," which to us looks like a "w" and an "l."
In the 3rd photo (bottom left), you see the mosaic of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, which overhanged the alter before replaced by plaster. The final photo is of the mihrab, facing Mecca, with the Ottoman stained glass in the background.
One thing I learned about the culture while here is that the Turks aren't really fans of deodarant. There were a lot of them, and it was a hot day. It was different for me, let's just say that. Also, they're really persistent to tourists, and the one's who know English well will bargain with you and use wordplay to get you to buy things. They're pretty good at it, too, but I convinced a guy to give me 12 postcards for a $1 after bothering me for at least 2-3 minutes. They also let stray cats wander all over the place. You think it'd be disgusting, but apparently they care for them & revere them so much they even let them walk on the alter / mihrab in the Hagia Sophia.
I also have an awesome video showing the entire ceiling and main prayer area, and I'm glad I captured this because the photos don't do the spectacular site justice. I also have a video of a thing in the Ayasophya called the "wishing column," where you spin your hand in a crevice in the back entrance of the prayer area, and I, of course, wished for a place where Muslim & Christian worship isn't so segregated. The Hagia Sophia shows how they can co-exist, and we can all stand to learn from it.
Bosphorus Strait cruise
Yep, this was a lot more awesome than I thought it'd be. The views were great, and Ohran, our travel guide, hooked up a microphone and speakers and gave us an explanation of all the things we saw. This guy knows his stuff. I'll, again, attach some of my favorite photos and try to explain:
The first shot (upper left) is of Cynthia, Mark, and me with the Rumelian Castle in the background. Mehmet built this fort in the early 1400s to put a stranglehold on Constantinople, as it is at the shortest distance (800 meters) from the European - Asian divide of the city. The 2nd photo (upper right) is of the Bosphorus Bridge, which was built in the 1980s. It's amazing that this city of 12 million people has only 2 bridges crossing the Strait, while Harrisburg metro (and <100,000 residents) has 4 different bridges.
Probably my favorite thing of the cruise was just snapping photos of the houses and neighborhoods of Istanbul. It really was just an awesome site, over and over again. Down below, one thing that astonished me was that with all this prime real estate, the Turks built a ton of atoparks (kids' parks) right on the Strait. The one we parked our boat on had an outside gym, and here you see Mark and me doing hip abductions.
Also, at the Atopark, Mark did his burpees for the day. The polis were laughing their heads off watching him do it, slapping their knees and everything - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RoPzoCDJFk
Ebru Marbling, Turkish tiling, & dinner
I'm no artist, but the marbling was fun and intense. We all received a lesson on how the Ebru came from Iran and how they did it (mixing different liquids in the water that didn't allow the paint to blend together), and how they used different brushes and, more importantly, shears, to make different shapes and backgrounds. The young artist was awesome at this, and then we all got a crack at it. I made a sun for Devin.
It was amazing to see a photo of First Lady Bush on the wall doing the marbling like we did. And while we waited for the others to finish, we had çay (tea) and chocolate / banana wafers outside on the owner's back lawn, my 3rd & 4th cup of the little cup of tea for the day.
Tiling and dinner were both slightly above average, which made it stand out differently from the incredible day. Dinner was an incredible view at the Villa Bosphorus (I sat first next to the Strait, and it splashed up near my feet), but the Turks like dill a lot. They also like bread a lot (I fed my 3 pieces to the fish, and they gave me 5 more). They also like sebring fish a lot, and while it's good, this was the 3rd time in 4 days that I had fish. The cheese appetizer, however, was the most awesome thing I've ever eaten from a dairy aisle, and the desserts of fresh Turkish fruit (watermelon, apple, grapes, and the juiciest peaches) were both phenomenal. And check-out my sunset photo (below right)
The tiling artists do great work (below left), but the shop was small and since I'm no artist, I felt puckered out after the Ebru marbling.
Tomorrow we head back into the city to visit the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque. These are probably the 2 things I'm looking forward to the most on the trip, so I'm excited!
Fun fact:
Did you know that the Turkish word Istanbul has evolved, over time, as a derivation of the word Roman word Constantinople? When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city, they didn't like the amount of syllables in the word, so they shortened it to 'Stantinopolis, and then to 'Stanpol. However, proper Turkish struggles to have two consonant sounds next to one another, so they add the "I" (actually pronounced "ee") to the front of it, to create Istanbul ("EE-stahn-bol").
Day 1 - Evening Dinner @ Acadia Hotel
Last night's dinner wasn't just any dinner. The food was great, but the view was even better. I took these photos from the 9th story of the Acadia Hotel on Monday night. Seriously:
The Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque), pre & post sunset
Ayasophia (Hagia Sophia), pre & post sunset
Dinner's view and the view looking back at me.
The Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque), pre & post sunset
Ayasophia (Hagia Sophia), pre & post sunset
Dinner's view and the view looking back at me.
Monday, June 20, 2011
tourIstanbul, Day 1
Day 1 - Istanbul
Weather - 80 degrees, partly sunny/mostly cloudy with the most beautiful cool breeze I've ever felt in my life!
Plans - Dinner @ 7:00pm
Today we arrived at Istanbul Ataturk Airport exactly on time, which was 9:10am their time, 2:10am back home. Jet lag, nagging kids, and just an irregularity in my circadian rhythm have really thrown off my sleeping pattern. Currently at 5:00pm I'm trying to snag a nap, but the hotel I'm staying at believes that the air conditioner works when "you can hear it." To which I snappily replied, "oh yeah, you guys get paid smell it, don't you?" I have to reset my patience timer.
Aside from that we had plenty of time to kill prior to our 7:00pm kick-off dinner. In trying to stay actively awake for our hosts and not succumbing to the ever-increasing need to nap (I hear zombies in my head yelling, "SLEEEEEP"), we took a day trip out for some lunch and then did a little site-seeing.
In downtown Istanbul we're between two districts, and the busiest of all is Taksim. This is where we ate lunch with the locals, which had awesome food. Thank god one of the Turkish Cultural Foundation people (Hulia) ate with us, because I pretty much just sat there (as did Mark & Cynthia) because of our language barriers. I wish that's something I'd better prepared for already, because we had delicious lunch (I had fresh meatballs with sweet potatoes, peas, and greenbeans soaked in lemon juice) and I want to continue that (Attaching photos), and I especially don't want to feel like a schmuck when I order their delicious tea.
Afterward we took a taxicab ride down to a real cool place call the "Minaturk." Essentially, to an American it feels like a mini-golf course (with all the minarets from the mosques feeling very windmillish), but, in reality, they architects have taken 50 or so of some of Turkey's most famous sites and reconstructed them on a 1/20th scale. (Attaching photos of me at the Sultanate Mosque mini, Cynthia, Mark, and me at the Parliament mini, and a mini of the Helecarnassus Mausoleum (which was once one of 7 Wonders of the World and now is destroyed) and the Church of the Virgin Mary, which used to serve as the Pope's meeting ground when the center of Christianity was based out of Istanbul (not much remains of this, but we will see it in Ephesus).
For a real good laugh, check out Mark doing burpees between the mini Hagia Sophia and the mini Ataturk Airport - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1aEeE98fw
After we returned to the area (in rush hour, which, I will say is like I-83 but with bat-crazy drivers who take twists and turns to God only knows where) and then went to the Ataturk National Memorial, a tribute to the "Father of the Turks," Mustafa Kemal, who is the founder of the Turkish Republic and kinda like their George Washington. While we were there, Mark decided to do burpees for a viral video project people are doing, and while it was stinking funny, I'm not sure if we made friends with the Turks there because of this. I like the memorial because on one side it showed him as a valiant fighter for the Ottomans, as he was their most successful general in defending Turkey, while on the reverse it shows him leading a new secular country of Turkey, dressed in western clothing and having women in his cabinet. It's a real neat statue that the pigeons seem to like as much as the Turks, though.
Mark doing more burpees at the Ataturk Memorial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1aEeE98fw.
Now, off to dinner. Our hosts have said it's going to be great. I hope it sets the tone for a good night sleep!
Weather - 80 degrees, partly sunny/mostly cloudy with the most beautiful cool breeze I've ever felt in my life!
Plans - Dinner @ 7:00pm
Today we arrived at Istanbul Ataturk Airport exactly on time, which was 9:10am their time, 2:10am back home. Jet lag, nagging kids, and just an irregularity in my circadian rhythm have really thrown off my sleeping pattern. Currently at 5:00pm I'm trying to snag a nap, but the hotel I'm staying at believes that the air conditioner works when "you can hear it." To which I snappily replied, "oh yeah, you guys get paid smell it, don't you?" I have to reset my patience timer.
Aside from that we had plenty of time to kill prior to our 7:00pm kick-off dinner. In trying to stay actively awake for our hosts and not succumbing to the ever-increasing need to nap (I hear zombies in my head yelling, "SLEEEEEP"), we took a day trip out for some lunch and then did a little site-seeing.
In downtown Istanbul we're between two districts, and the busiest of all is Taksim. This is where we ate lunch with the locals, which had awesome food. Thank god one of the Turkish Cultural Foundation people (Hulia) ate with us, because I pretty much just sat there (as did Mark & Cynthia) because of our language barriers. I wish that's something I'd better prepared for already, because we had delicious lunch (I had fresh meatballs with sweet potatoes, peas, and greenbeans soaked in lemon juice) and I want to continue that (Attaching photos), and I especially don't want to feel like a schmuck when I order their delicious tea.
Afterward we took a taxicab ride down to a real cool place call the "Minaturk." Essentially, to an American it feels like a mini-golf course (with all the minarets from the mosques feeling very windmillish), but, in reality, they architects have taken 50 or so of some of Turkey's most famous sites and reconstructed them on a 1/20th scale. (Attaching photos of me at the Sultanate Mosque mini, Cynthia, Mark, and me at the Parliament mini, and a mini of the Helecarnassus Mausoleum (which was once one of 7 Wonders of the World and now is destroyed) and the Church of the Virgin Mary, which used to serve as the Pope's meeting ground when the center of Christianity was based out of Istanbul (not much remains of this, but we will see it in Ephesus).
For a real good laugh, check out Mark doing burpees between the mini Hagia Sophia and the mini Ataturk Airport - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1aEeE98fw
After we returned to the area (in rush hour, which, I will say is like I-83 but with bat-crazy drivers who take twists and turns to God only knows where) and then went to the Ataturk National Memorial, a tribute to the "Father of the Turks," Mustafa Kemal, who is the founder of the Turkish Republic and kinda like their George Washington. While we were there, Mark decided to do burpees for a viral video project people are doing, and while it was stinking funny, I'm not sure if we made friends with the Turks there because of this. I like the memorial because on one side it showed him as a valiant fighter for the Ottomans, as he was their most successful general in defending Turkey, while on the reverse it shows him leading a new secular country of Turkey, dressed in western clothing and having women in his cabinet. It's a real neat statue that the pigeons seem to like as much as the Turks, though.
Mark doing more burpees at the Ataturk Memorial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1aEeE98fw.
Now, off to dinner. Our hosts have said it's going to be great. I hope it sets the tone for a good night sleep!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
12 Hours to Go
In just 12 hours I'll be on the journey of a lifetime for what, to toddlers, will be the length of their lifetimes (are we there yet?!).
Beginning tomorrow with a 7:00 am wakeup, I'll be on the move until approximately 5:00pm THE NEXT DAY Istanbul time.
And my most endeared "souvenir," my lovely girlfriend Devin, who I'll miss dearly over these next 2 weeks.
But Turkey awaits! Tam yol ileri (full speed ahead)!
Beginning tomorrow with a 7:00 am wakeup, I'll be on the move until approximately 5:00pm THE NEXT DAY Istanbul time.
- Tomorrow my Harrisburg companions (Mark Hafer and Cynthia Hartman, both teachers at Harrisburg High School) and I will be hitching an Amtrak train to JFK in New York City at 8:45am.
- We should arrive at JFK by 2:30ish, and our flight leaves at 4:45 pm, EST (Turkish Airlines TK2, if you're tracking at home).
- Our flight is of the 16 hour variety, arriving in Istanbul at 9:30 am, EST - however, when you remember that Istanbul is 7 hours ahead of our time, it'll be about 3:30 pm there.
- Approximately 34 hours after my first travel, I'll be at sit down on the bed of my first hotel stay - The Lamartine Hotel in the center-city district of Taksim. The link for the hotel is here -
http://www.lamartinehotel.com/.
And my most endeared "souvenir," my lovely girlfriend Devin, who I'll miss dearly over these next 2 weeks.
But Turkey awaits! Tam yol ileri (full speed ahead)!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Midnight Express
Yesterday, I watched Midnight Express via a recommendation from Dennis Pechart. Dennis, you're a friggen jerk - my heart was pounding the whole time while I said, "things are different in 2011 compared to 1978, things are different in..." over and over again.
In fact, part of my tour's purpose is to introduce me to the "real Turkey," not the one presented to us through the Ottoman Empire or films like Midnight Express.
However, if you've never seen the film, here's a trailer for you:
In fact, part of my tour's purpose is to introduce me to the "real Turkey," not the one presented to us through the Ottoman Empire or films like Midnight Express.
However, if you've never seen the film, here's a trailer for you:
Monday, June 13, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)