Istanbul Diary - Day 2: SULTANAHMET CAMİ ::

:: SULTANAHMET CAMİ ::

Continued from here

The six minarets of the Sultanahmet mosque are a trademark - I believe it was the only one with so many. And after this was built, the priest were annoyed that it had the same number as the Mecca one, so the Sultan went and put an extra minaret at Mecca, which now has seven minarets.

So, the fourteenth Sultan Ahmet I built this mosque, and relatively speaking for Istanbul, its very new - opened in 1617 - almost modern one would think!

The whole area around the mosque now is Sultanahmet, as is the tram stop. Walk in a little closer, and the view below is in front of you - and we are able to only capture the 4 minarets, with the 3 balconies. The outer 2 have only 2 balconies.

There is a lovely garden all around, and you will find children playing there at all times of the day.
Looks lovely in the evening light as well, which was when we visited it.
And we gasped, because the inside is rather different from the plain and simple outside! I loved the domes and the windows which let in so much light. If you read the expert writing about this mosque, they say that the paint is of poor quality, and the tiles are second-grade, etc etc, (and after seeing the Rustem Pasha mosque, I did see their point), but for a first time visitor, its all quite grand.
And the stained glass windows came from Venice. Actually, the Sultan seems to have rubbed several people the wrong way while building this mosque. The clergy were miffed about the six minarets. The ulema were also annoyed that he used treasury funds for its building (rather than war booty, which seems to have been the general practice at that time.) But what was he to do, he hadn't won any wars, and he was looking for a way to appease the Gods. He had lost Georgia and Azerbaijan to Persia, and Austria had stopped paying their annual tribute, so a sultan has to do something grand isnt it to get his PR ratings up.
More red mosque according to me, than blue mosque, which is what its called.
I quite liked these grand pillars. But the critics refer to them as elephant columns and they are criticised for being too "fat" and taking away from the beauty of the dome. Maybe architect Mehmet Pasha was scared the roof would fall down, otherwise.!

And the carpets, in this and the other mosques we saw, amazing! Plush, thick and soft. Not ragged, worn-out, smelly affairs that one would expect in a well-used public place.

The Aya Sofia seen from the entrance of the mosque, and from which it borrowed and tried to outdo. The mosque is built on the site of the Great Palace of the Byzantines.



If you walk past this side of the mosque and come to the Arasta Bazaar, there is a bit of the Great Palace floor that has been restored, and it is quite something else.
I always wonder why kings, sultans or other people in power have to destroy what a rival does, in order to establish themselves? Wouldn't it have been good if Sultan Ahmet I had built his mosque somewhere else and we also had the Great Palace for posterity?
Anyway, this is the last of the old-style classical mosques to be built in the region.

Istanbul Diary - Day 2 - The Cisterns

Continued from here

Out of Topkapi, refuel at a Divan Yolu eatery, and then we are out on the streets again, deciding to stop by at the Yerabatan Cisterns or the Basilica Cistern.  

This huge underground water tank must have taken some building and planning.  You can still see the watermarks on some of the columns.  There are pipes to take the water out, but they are not used anymore I think.  There were these huge fishes in the water, which is now about say 2 feet deep, and the government has created "atmosphere", with the lighting and background organ music, which kind of echoes through the cave.  All kind of spooky and nice.  

I dont remember, but James Bond was here, reportedly rowing his way between the pillars!

Two Medusa heads have been found at the bottom of two of the pillars, adding to the mystery and spook, one upside down and one on the side.

My theory - Some Roman builder probably had a strange sense of humour, and didn't realise it would lead to so much speculation, excitement and rumour, after a thousand years!

Or maybe he looted it from some temple, and thought this was a good place to hide it?!  

In this book "Pompei" by Robert Harris, one of the bad guys hides his loot in the cisterns at Pompei, I remember!

Istanbul Diary - Day 2 - more Topkapi

Continued from here

I wonder who these were supposed to be - nobility/guards?




Each of the pavillions or halls in the palace now house one collection - costumes, holy stuff, jewels and precious things, porcelain, etc. My favourite was the kitchen. (Surprised?!)

The paatrams were all arranged on display, not unlike what we used in India, and reminded me of my grandfather's home in Coimbatore, where a large joint family would need to be fed, and the kitchens had these huge vessels and ladles.  

Then there were these idly-stand like vessels, which I couldn't figure out, and some large mixing dishes for making pastry!

See the huge chimneys, reminiscent of an industrial-age factory.  As I looked up at them, I imagined the Ottoman kitchen in full swing, with these chimneys letting off smoke, and the clang of dishes, the head cook (I wonder what he was called?) barking out orders, .....  the organisaton probably put our modern day banquet halls to shame.

I looked up from within the kitchen and this is how the chimney looked!

So now, was this a corbeled roof or a real arch? hmmmm...

And the natural light coming in was a lot, because of the arched window spaces.

Coming to think of it, we didn't see a dining hall, I wonder where they ate.  In the harem, we were shown an unimpressive corridor, with a marble slab and were informed that, that was the concubines' dining room.

A huge draw was the Imperial Treasury rooms, filled with unbelievably huge stones.  According to me, most of it was not very aesthetic, or with fine workmanship.  Rather like the American war strategy, they were designed to shock and awe, I think!  It was almost as if there were so many stones, and they all had to be used.  So, okay 20, for this jug then, another 45 on that jar please, and maybe 200 for that chair!  Somebody owned an emerald mine, I'm sure, there were humungous ones.  (We were not allowed to take pictures, so the lack of personal  evidence).  There was an interesting story about one particular huge jewel being found by a layman in a dustbin, and the king of the time (spoilsport!) claimed it for the treasury.  There's Nadir Shah's throne as well - wasn't it looted from India?

The views....

Click on the pictures to enjoy the views in full.  We were lucky to visit the palace on a lovely, clear Mediterranean-like day.  A few days later, the skies turned hazy and cloudy and I''ms ure the views would not have been so picture-perfect.

Golden Horn from the Baghdad pavillion
In the picture is the Galata bridge, with the old city area on the left, and the new business districts on the right.  The right side, across the bridge, was the old Genoese areas.  The Golden Horn is fresh water, and is really the mouth of the rivers flowing into the Sea of Marmara.

The mouth of the Bosphorus straits

You can see the Bosphorus bridge in the background, with the land on the right being the Asian continent, while on the left is Europe.  In the foreground the old Palace walls can be seen

The Sea of Marmara, with the Princes Islands
The Princes Islands, in the background - no motorised transport there, only horse drawn carriages!  We didn't go there, though.

On to the Cisterns!

Istanbul diary - Day 2 at the Topkapi

Continued from here

Since I received an enquiry on my last Istanbul post as to whether we did anything besides eat, I decided that I had to "defend"  myself and show that I did all the touristy things.  

Yes, Padmanabhan in between all the eating, I actually did go to Topkapi, sneaked in a visit to Aya Sofiya, was wowed by the Blue Mosque, cruised on the Bosphorus, went to the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, and was even (unsuspectingly) the scapegoat of a mini leather fashion show!

Day 2 was all about the Topkapi Sarayi.  ( No, its not named after the no 1 brand of Turkish Coffee, but is cannon gate;  top=gate, kapi=cannon and Sarayi is Palace)

An early morning start was advised by our son, since he had done the necessary reading and said that would be these vast hordes of tourists wanting to enter the harem part, and this section is only by guided tour, and there are fixed times, so its better we finish that off fast.  So, that's where we headed first.

Topkapi tips

• It opens at 9 am, and there are really hordes of tourists and school children so dont expect a peaceful communion with history, the Iznik tiles or the fountains
• You enter through the first gate into the gardens, and that's free.  This is where Aya Irene, a maha ancient church is located, all locked up for some mysterious reason.The Aya Irene, origins in 4th century, damaged by earthquakes, and resstored in the 8th century by Constantine V
• You need a 10YTL ticket to enter through the second gate Felicity Gate - which is where all the crowds mill, since no one seems to quite know which queue is for what.  
  The Surre-i-Humayun, Felicity Gate, the inspiration for Disneyland?
• You go through security and your now inside, inside.  I mean really inside - where B is marked on the map below.
• Then I stood in line at the point marked "15", which is the ticket counter to enter the harem - another 10YTL.  This area was like a smokers' corner, as all the desperate sorts took their last puffs - no smoking in the harem you see!
• So, that's Rs 720/- per head, please.  Dont stinge by not going into the seraglio, it is worth a visit, most definitely.
• Another great tool is the audio guide, we rented one for our son (5ytl), so keep a photcopy of some id handy, else they want the original!
• We were into Topkapi by 9 am and left by around 2 in the afternoon - basically because we were hungry, and were suffering from an overload of tiles and gold, but you know, its well worth resting in the gardens for a while, and taking each section slowly.  You can go into the harem only once, but the rest of the galleries you can revisit if you dont leave the Felicity Gate.  
• And dont miss the views of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus from the Pavillions - marked 13 and 14.  (We had a fabulous, clear day and the views were so stunning, I forgot about the tiles and the gold!!)  The sultans had it good, most definitely.
  
  

This floor plan of the Topkapi I downloaded from here.   The Bilkent.edu site has a wealth of information, and there's a great 360degrees virtual tour of the harem as well, at the Topkapi Web Page.

Seraglio similarities

While walking through the harem, I was struck by what a difficult and complicated life the wretched sultan led.  Besides keeping his wives happy, he had to ensure peace and harmony among his concubines -atleast so that they didn't scratch each other's eyes out - and then to top it all there were discontented princes by the dozens, and scheming grand viziers as well.  I remember reading somewhere that at its height, the harem had some 2,000 occupants - eunuchs to keep an eye, wives, concubines, slaves, princes....

However, it did not seem so alien to me, a resident of Tamil Nadu, where the current aging Chief Minister has to do exactly the same.  Keep peace between his wives, their offspring and various assorted cousins and hangers-on.  If you look at it in that way, India today doesn't seem so different from Istanbul of the 19th century!!  The Ottoman Sultan would banish an especially troublesome prince to an inconsequential outpost - shades of Azhagiri?!

In Ottomanian times the Valide Sultan, the Queen Mother, was a powerful person.  Strange - not the wife, but the mother.  As you walk through the harem, The Valide's rooms and quarters are very impressive.  

Not everything is open to the public, so you wind your way, first north than a bit west and then north again before you emerge out.  Its like a warren, and new residents would have had a time figuring out their way around.  Oops sorry, didn't mean to be here, and you would run into a black eunuch guard barring your way I'm sure.

The Sultan on the other hand, had a well-defined "road" to make sure he didn't get lost!
The cobbled path that wound through some of the harem corridors, for the king's horses to have a steady footing.

Domes......

.....and Iznik tiles

Baths and Fountains

I still need to write about the Treasury, the Relic room and the kitchen, so Topkapi will be continued in a second instalment.

Istanbul Diary - Adventures of a vegetarian

Continued from here

Given that food is a long-standing interest in my life, I think I should put down our food encounters of Istanbul!  This roaster is called a doner in Istanbul, and is this huge hunk of meat that is driven through a central stake and then rotates as it is roasted by a side grill.  The specialty of this roast, I believe is that the meat basts in its own fat, increasing the yum factor.

This is what my son had on his first evening out, and that was that.  I think he had it every meal thereafter!  Vegetarian me baulked at what  I thought was a rather poor looking dish.  I do eat fish, so I asked the chap hopefully,"Fish?", so he nodded and directed me to the next counter.  Relieved, I went there and I said,"Two doner, one fish"  So he made out the bill and announced with his fingers 8 lira.  Since the doner were 4 each, where was my fish?  Yes, fish, tamam, he said.  Well, the long and short was that there was no fish.  Maybe fish meant pay in Turkish?!  None the wiser, and still hungry, I set off for the coast, thankful that my son was in a better frame of mind, with some food inside him.  The lovely Sea of Marmara stretched in front of us, but I only had eyes for the corn seller!   Called "misir", the corn was on the cob, and for a grand sum of 1 ytl, I got a corn and filled my stomach, and then enjoyed the view in front of me!

That night, we walked up Divan Yolu, looking for places which also served vegetarian, and most of those serving the Doner, did not have any veggie stuff.  There are so many eateries that they habitually employ criers who stand outside soliciting customers, extolling the virtues of their food and restaurant, but everytime we asked "Vegetarian?", they would look crestfallen!  

My son, surprising me entirely, had actually done a lot of internet reading on Istanbul, and was all clued up as to which restaurant we should go to where.  On spying the Pudding Shop, he recognised it as a place with a good review.  And so we went in.  And I discovered ezo gelin, a lentil soup.  Which become my favourite, had it everywhere I think, and each place made it slightly differently, some more spicey others more tomatoey, and I was clever in not enquiring as to what stock had been used!!  I can imagine that in the cold winters, it must be quite an Istanbulli favourite.

They also brought me a fish, which was more than I bargained for.  It was one of those full-fish affairs, with the eyes staring at you and looking rather alive!  I needed my husband's guidance and coaching on how to eat it without crushing all the bones into the meat.  See, fish for me, has always meant a nice fillet, or the meen kozhambus which have chunky bits, with probably a central bone.  That was the first and only full fish meal I had at Istanbul.  But of course, this is a vegetarian's perception, and is completely biased therefore.

The familiar dishes were the kebaps and the kofatacesi, similar to our kebabs and koftas.  Strangely, things like hummus and felafel were missing from the Divan Yolu places, but we did spy them on the menus of the slightly more pricey places - the ones with the ambience and a more European feel.  Situated near Arasta Carsi (Arasta bazaar), on roads like Torun Sok, Mimar Mehmet Aga Caddesi and Kutlugun Sokak (where the Four Seasons Hotel is), these restaurants also had an extensive vegeterian menu, though Continental.  While on Divan Yolu one could easily eat for 4-5ytl per head, in these restaurants you would need around 10-12 ytl per head.

Upmarket ones would also have the criers, though here they would be dressed in suits, shake your hand solemnly and also give you a business card.  A free drink or free hummus at the table would be thrown in!

The depths of salesmanship we encountered was at the Galata bridge, where, unsuspectingly, we walked past the fish sandwich, or balik ekmek restaurants, situated below the bridge, above the water line. (Balik ekmek, or fish sandwiches are a kind of idiosyncracy of Istanbul.  I believe, it started off as fishermen setting up little roasters on their boats, frying the fish and selling them to customers, on-the-go.  It has since become a bit institutionalised, with boats anchored at the south-west end of Galata bridge.  I believe they are at every large ferry station, but we only went past them at Eminonu.) To get back to my original story though, as we walked past the lower level restaurants, we were met by a barrage of salesmen each urging us to go to their shop.  The worst of the lot was at the Yildlizar, the large one to the right (if you click on the pic, you'll see it better), the most fancy of the lot, but also the one who would just not let us go!  He explained how fresh his fish was, then as he paused for breath, I quickly told him we were not eating then and walked on ahead, triumphant in my escape.  I turned back to see husband and son still ensnared.  When they did get out of his clutches, I believe he rambled on about not getting a discount, and Taksim vs Galata, all of which was completely incomprehensible!

So we followed an easy rule, we walked back on the upper side, and went in to the first shop, where we found no selling but a lot of customers!  

I was surprised as to the amount of bread we saw in Istanbul, I mean regular French loaves, not flat bread.  They have a ringed bread called simit,, which according to Orhan Pamuk in his book on the city dates back to Ottomanian times.  I really liked it, it was sweetish, a bit flaky and with lots of sesame seeds to give crunch and flavour.  Then of course there was the flat bread called pide, which tasted a bit like our naan, though I personally prefer the naan.  
But the most plentiful is just regular French loaves, which seemed to arrive in truckloads, really, take a look!  Restaurants would typically cut a loaf into four, and there would be an unlimited supply for each table.  Once I realised this, my miserly ways came to the fore, and I wouldn't order any other carb, but happily chomp down the bread!!

Another great discovery was Ayran, a thick buttermilk (salt), and it is obviously very popular, because every grocer has it and almost every restaurant sells it.  That was a pleasant surprise, to see that other places also have this habit of having thayir or moru with their meals.

The one diner to which my son and I kept returning was Bereket Halk Doner, discovered on Istiklal Caddesi at Taksim.  This is a Turkish fast food chain, where you take your tray walking past the food counter, loading it with all that you want, and then you pay for the portions and take it in to sit and eat.  It seemed to be popular with the locals, and I loved it because everything was on display so you saw what you were getting!  Also, there would be atleast 3-4 veggie dishes everyday.  With the language problem though, I did not get the local names for the dishes.  My favourites were a channa gravy, brinjal and tomatoes and (will you believe it) pasta with curds!!  Like thayir saadam!!

Turkish delights - bazaar style and deli style, take your pick.  My favourite shop for these sweets and turkish figs, and dried apricots and other such goodies was Malatya Pazari!  We discovered it just the day before we were to leave, and for me, a grown 40+ woman, it was like being in Willie Wonka's chocolate factory!  I was so enthralled I regretfully forgot to take pictures!!  You are free to taste, and my son and I went berserk for a while.  Different varieties of Turkish Delight, lovely dried figs of different types, dried mango, papaya, long cylinder-like halvas, salted almonds....  When I think back now, I deeply regret not having bought more from this shop!!  I think this was one instance where if the salesman had been slightly more English savvy, it would have really helped.  They were very helpful, but we just couldn't understand each other, and also some of the packed products were not labelled.  So when we came back to Madras, opened and tasted, the sense of regret was even more!

And how can I forget the baclava store, Baclavaci Said, where we had those delicious pista-filled baclavas.  Oh and the variety - with almonds, hazelnut, dried fruit, chocolate, and god knows what else.

I also tried the Turkish Coffee, though only at the Hyatt, where I think (and this is only my suspicion) they probably adjust it for international tastes, because he asked me if I would like it medium or strong, and then of course we had a communication breakdown since I was trying to tell him I would like it in the authentic manner, and that was just too big a word for him to get, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, "You choose", there was instant relief, and "I get you medium, with sugar."  It was nice but not great, or maybe I didnt have it right.  Always willing to give it another try.  I've actually brought some powder back, so maybe one of these days, I will try to follow the instructions on the packet...  Just maybe.

And how I can forget Dondurma, Turkish icecream, made from goat's milk.  There are icecream stall everywhere selling this stuff.  But what's interesting is that the chaps selling it are all showmen!  Since this icecream melts slowly, they kind of toss it into the air, before putting it into the cone, then they take it out with a spatula, and its sticky consistency makes it easier for them to do some thingamajiggery with it!!

If you are a vegetarian and do not like brinjals, then, as my nephew would say, you would have "a bit of a problem".  But the tomatoes are so luscious and the fruit variety and quality is amazing - tasted fresh cherries for the first time here, and had some delicious fresh apricots and strawberries as well.  And the streets also have water melon sellers and banana stalls.  So, with a little bit of adjustment, you'll be well fed, even on a budget.  Not-so-tight budget, and no problems at all!

I really liked this set of photos  of food in Turkey.  Take a look. 

Yet Another Diabolical Bird ID Quiz

Yet Another Diabolical Bird ID Quiz

Oh come on! You mean people can actually id with this?!

It is diabolical, from 1,000birds.com

An answer to Gardenia's tag

Gardenia had tagged me to answer a few foodie questions, and so here are my answers, finally. Sorry for the delay!

What’s your favourite table?

Its not a table, but the lovely floor and banana leaf lunches we used to eat at my grandparents' place in Coimbatore

What would you have for your last supper?
Lets see now, gulab jamuns and ice cream definitely, dark chocolate, my own home-made chocolate cake, and probably one of every kind of sweet that Grand Sweets makes!
What the hell, its my last supper anyway!

What’s your poison?
All that I like they say is not good for me. Sigh!

Name your three desert island ingredients.
curd, rice and carrots

What would you put in Room 101?
Duh? Dont get it.


Which book gets you cooking?
None. Love t see the pcitures and get fat, though.

What’s your dream dinner party line-up?
I'll skip this.

What was your childhood teatime treat?
Ragi hurittu

What was your most memorable meal?
Visited an in at the base of Mt Fuji, Japan, and when they heard that my mom and I were vegetarian that put out such a spread for us, that we were so touched.

What was your biggest food disaster?
Buying the wrong pasta brand once and ending up with a gooey, starchy mess, which had to be served to my brother. Can you imagine a worst disaster than that? ! Serving an inedible meal to your older brother?! He's sworn off pasta ever since.

What’s the worst meal you’ve ever had?
Probably a recent breakfast on Gulf Air.

Who’s your food hero/food villain?
Food villain - the people who ruin cauliflower
Food heroes - In my case heroine - oh my mom, definitely

Nigella or Delia?
I know neither.

Vegetarians: genius or madness?
it doesnt matter

Fast food or fresh food?
fast food for those junky cravings and fresh food for health

Who would you most like to cook for?
Probably my husband - he's so easy to please, uncritical and doesnt send me into a flap

What would you cook to impress a date?
Best that I dont cook, to impress, I mean

Make a wish.
That I can eat sweets everyday of my life, and suffer no ill effects for it.

Istanbul Diary - day 1

Will we, wont we?

This summer, I seem to be carrying a holiday jinx.  First there were uncertainties about our train tickets to Melghat, and this time it was whether the Turks would process our visas in time!  Tickets were booked, as also hotels, but the Delhi Turkish embassy - reportedly snowed under by a rush of Indians wanting to visit their country - would not even accept our applications until two days before departure!  Luckily, Vijay and his efficient team at eTravel Value  kept us posted, picked up the visas from the Turkish embassy in Delhi, sent it to us by Jet Cargo, so that we could travel as planned.

Travelling from Chennai

Gulf Air was the only viable option, Chennai-Bahrain-Istanbul, with the least hours spent on the commute, so that was the route we took.  Each leg is roughly four hours.  To their credit, they didn't lose our bags and they kept to time, but the in-flight service was truly mediocre.  The wierd thing was that every flight they would go through this charade of giving you headphones and when you tried them on they wouldn't work!!

First impressions

We arrived around 3pm local time, and there were no immigration forms to fill (wow!). The hotel had sent a car, and we were whisked into the city in less than an hour. Highways, huge apartment complexes, but not so many trees. Orderly traffic, and minimal horning - is it only us then who are so rude and impatient?

I was completely taken in by the Pierre Loti Hotel. This small, hotel had a certain atmosphere, the rooms were well appointed, and we had a great view of the street below.
The tram was at our doorstep, and the road that it ran on was called Divan Yolu Caddesi, and was the main street for the old town. Filled with eateries, souvenir shops and everything a tourist needs.
Soon we were down, walking the streets, and everything was around the corner!

To our right was the Blue Mosque, with its characteristic 6 minarets, and a bit further down to the left was the Aya Sofiya - church/mosque/museum!

Big it was, but I thought to myself, its not all that great looking from outside - a bit rustic and unsophisticated, so what's all the fuss about. A subsequent visit inside and I changed my mind!

Around the Topkapi complex, a few cobbled streets, narrow one-ways and down the hill, we chanced upon a garden restaurant, where my son had his first doner ekmek, which started a love affair that lasted through the trip.

And then we hit the Kennedy Cadesi that circles the peninsula and gave us a great view of the Sea of Marmara!

Much like us, there were vendors selling corn (misir), a local bread called simit, nuts and even water! The view was gorgeous and we kept walking wanting to see what was around the next bend! the only problem with this was that we had to walk back as well, and this time it was uphill.

On our way back, we saw a familiar sight - these cars with the Tata symbol, and I must say I was rather pleased on seeing them!

9.00 pm - and the sun was only then beginning to set. Our body clocks were still on Madras time, and so we dropped off to sleep, with much anticipation of the next day.

Continued here