Thursday & Friday, April 20-21, 2023 – Days 120 & 121
The skyline of Istanbul with a few of the 3,113 mosques and their many minarets visible.
Istanbul, known as Constantinople until 1930, is the largest city in Türkiye. The city of Istanbul straddles the Bosporus Strait that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. The Bosporus Strait is also the location where the European and the Asia continents meet, meaning Istanbul is one city on two different continents. This area is also known as the ‘Golden Horn’.
With an official population of more than 16 million, Istanbul is the largest city in Europe and the 15th largest city in the world. Our guides mentioned they have a large number of unregistered refugees living here as well. 99.8% of the population are registered as Muslim. I am pretty sure everyone of the 16 million residents and their relatives were in town on the two days we were there!
Things got really crowded once we crossed this bridge, this is nothing.
We arrived in Istanbul on the last day of Ramadan. Sundown marked the end of Ramadan and the breaking of the final fast (iftar). The celebration at the end of Ramadan’s 30 days of fasting is known as Eid or Eid al-Fitr and is a multi-day national holiday in Türkiye. Public transportation is free during the holiday, so everyone seems to be out celebrating with friends and family. The buses where so full people were standing in the isles and pressed up against the doors… you would not find me in a bus or metro-train here during this time! Because of the holiday, the Grand Bazar and Spice Market were closed during our visit.
The people we spoke with indicated that in Istanbul many Muslims are less strict about following all the traditional religious practices of the holiday, but it is still culturally one of the biggest holidays of the year.
We were reminded that Türkiye is not a Muslim country, they are a country with a Muslim majority. They have a constitutional separation of church and state and have a secular government. However, when asked how the mosques were supported (local congregation tithes? central religious body?) we were told that the government pays for the upkeep of the mosques and the salaries of the Muslim clerics. In all primary and secondary schools, a religious curriculum focusing on Sunni Islam is mandatory. A central government agency, the Presidency of Religious Affairs, determines what will be taught at every mosque each Friday. There is no ‘head cleric’ or papal type structure. There is a move afoot to return to a stricter religious government, but from what we observed, I don’t think the majority of the population would be in favor of moving this way.
Our dock is pictured above. A very new, extremely modern underground Cruise Terminal with above ground, public, high-end shopping and dining venues. You can see white walls that come up while a ship is in port and the walkway for passengers into the underground terminal. (The ramp leading down is surrounded by the black wrought iron railing). As you look up the pier, you see white ‘bumpers’ along its length, these areas can also be made into the same secure area as more ships come in and dock. It’s a pretty cool system that all folds away when no ship is in port and provides a more spacious promenade along the waterfront.
This is the squeaky-clean underground bus garage outside the terminal. The terminal itself was like a very nice airport terminal.
Our first adventure into the city was to take an evening/night tour of the city. We walked to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque. It has been undergoing to multi-year renovation and was set to be opened by the Turkish President the next day as part of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Preparations for the re-opening kept us from getting very close or going in, but it is an impressive sight from afar. This huge mosque, built during the Ottoman period (1609-1616), holds 10,000 worshipers.
Across the plaza from the Blue Mosque is the Hagia Sophia. This was built by the Byzantines in 306 AD as an Orthodox Christian Church, became a Catholic Cathedral after the 4th Crusade in 1204, then the Ottoman’s made it a mosque in 1453. When Türkiye gained its full independence in 1935 it was used as a museum until 2020 when it became a mosque again. On the evening we were standing in the plaza, the men using the loudspeakers to issue the call to prayer were taking turns. One saying a phrase, then the other, then back to the first and so on. Our guide said it was a show of respect at the end of the holiday. What we had heard earlier in the day, in a different section of town, were all the men from the different mosques calling out at the same time, speaking on top of one another.
The Obelisk of Theodosius, now standing in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, was first erected during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmoses III around 1450 BC at the Temple of Karnak in Egypt (where we saw its twin!). It was moved to Alexandria in around 330 BC; then on to its current location in 390 AD. When it was first erected it stood over 60 feet tall, made of solid granite from Aswan. Damage over the centuries, earthquakes and three moves, have shortened it to about 37 feet tall. It is still very impressive, and the carvings look like they were done yesterday!
Just a random picture of 2 of the 100s of Jelly Fish that drifted by our boat this morning.
Our second day in Istanbul we did a tour that took us into a smaller mosque (set up for tourists and the faithful alike), a scenic drive around the ancient city wall and then a boat ride up the Bosphorus Straight. Our first stop was a mosque located in a popular old riverside shopping/dining district. There was nowhere to park the bus (literally nowhere, as in, it doesn’t exist). So, the bus just stopped in traffic as close to the curb (if there had been an actual curb) as possible and we got out as quickly as a bunch of old people can. We stood looking at 4-5 lanes (they were not that organized) of traffic wondering how we were going to cross to the mosque. Well, our guide shouted, “follow me, don’t stop!” and off we went. Traffic was at a near standstill, but drivers were rushing to fill any gap that opened and were not happy to have yet another reason they couldn’t move forward! But, by some miracle, we successfully wove our way through the cars & people and got to the other side. We were rewarded with a beautiful mosque to visit.
Beautiful blue tiles seem to be the common theme in the mosques here in Istanbul. After removing our shoes and we women covering our heads, we were allowed to enter into the mosque. The men here are praying in the men’s area, the ground floor. They are facing the alcove that points them east towards Mecca.
The women’s prayer area is on the second floor which is entered via an external stairway. You can just see the white balcony railing in the top right corner of the picture above, partially hidden by the chandelier.
On Fridays, the holy day for Muslims, the Imam (leader) teaches the scheduled lesson standing 3/4 of the way up the ornate staircase you see in the pictures. He doesn’t stand all the way at the top, as that is where Mohammed taught from, it’s a symbolic sign of respect. The Imam reads in Arabic from the Quran then gives his sermon in Turkish, explaining the text he just read. All the guides we’ve had in the Muslim countries we’ve visited have remarked that the call to prayer, public prayers and the Quran readings are in Arabic, which few laymen speak outside Saudi Arabia. So, much like the old Catholic Masses in Latin, many worshipers are not able to understand what’s being said, until the Turkish part of the teaching starts.
This guy doesn’t understand what’s said either, but he is on the lookout for a tasty treat inside the walls of the mosque. I don’t think he is the best hunter; he was awfully skinny.
After leaving the mosque we had to go back across the road to stand on the side and wait for about 15 minutes until our bus could get back to us. Once we boarded the bus, we attempted a drive around the old city walls. I say attempted because traffic was so snarled up the bus barely moved. There was so much foot traffic and car/bus traffic, and no stop lights. It was utter chaos.
Once we cleared the madness of the city center, we were able to get a look at the ancient city walls. Presidential elections are coming up in a couple of weeks, so these might be political posters on the old city wall.
The walls of Constantinople were a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city since the 4th Century. Many additions and modifications were made over time. These walls are considered the last great fortification system of antiquity and one of the most complex systems ever built. An effort to restore and repair the walls began in the 1980s and continues today.
Returning to the crush of the city center to catch our boat ride was a nightmare. Traffic had not improved one bit. We were to have been at the dock to meet several other busloads of people to board our boat at 5:00 pm, we were late. Once again, no place to park the bus, so we offloaded into a crush of humanity and traffic only to have the heavens open. It poured and few of us had any rain gear with us. As we were pelted with very large rain drops, we had to cross the road again, and this time there were more “lanes” of traffic AND two tram lines. It was raining so hard it was really difficult to see, but we followed where we thought our guide was heading. This time there was a signal (that everyone ignored) and got stuck in the middle of the street with half our group stuck behind us. When we were able to move forward, we crossed in front of an oncoming tram (moving very slowly) only to be confronted by a human wall that looked impenetrable. We did push our way through, got out of the way of the tram and having found our guide, we headed to the dock to catch our boat. Well, it wasn’t there, even though we were late! There was no room under shelter to wait, so we stood in the pouring rain awaiting the boat. Then, the loudest, brightest flash – I sincerely thought a terrorist had taken advantage of the holiday crowds to make a very loud statement. But thankfully, it was a bolt of lightning, hitting so very close to us that the flash and the thunder were on top of one another! It was kind of terrifying and there was no place to go.
We stood in the rain for another 10 minutes or so before finally boarding our boat. We were soaked to the skin. Thankfully we had jackets, so our chests and arms were mostly dry, except for the water that ran off our heads, down our necks into our collars and into our jackets. I’m not sure if we could have gotten much wetter standing in the shower!
Thankful for the mostly warm boat we dried ourselves as best we could. The windows in the boat got all fogged up from the warming wet people, so we went up on the top, covered, deck to see what we could see. We couldn’t have gotten any wetter, but the rain was letting up and the scenery was beautiful.
At the southern mouth of the Bosphorus Straight stands the Ortakoy Mosque. This mosque was built for an Ottoman Sultan in 1854. The two-story part of the structure to the left of the dome was the private residence of the Sultan. The mosque was, and still is, open to the public.
The Galata Tower, built as a watch tower on the highest point of the wall in 1348.
Mansion seen along the Bosphorus Straight.
Beautiful wooden houses also line the water’s edge.
A more contemporary section of the waterway.
Mansion under restoration.
The Maiden’s Tower Lighthouse.
Dolphins playing in the Bosphorus Straight as we returned to our ship. It’s raining again, but I don’t think they care!
A gull of some sort landing or taking off, as we glide by.
Returning to our ship after our trip along the Bosphorus Straight.
We had an eventful two days in Istanbul. We’ve both said we would come back here to explore further. Although, we certainly wouldn’t come during Ramadan or Eid al-Fitr! Next, we are off to Greece.
Just for fun I have tried to imbed the 1953 novelty song by Jimmy Kenney & Nat Simon ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’. It was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans and references the name change of 1930. If the link works, be careful, it’s a catchy tune that will work its way into your brain.