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Phyl wanted to go to
Coşkuner navigated right into the center
of the old city and then found our hotel.
Turkish men, at least this one, experienced, professional driver, are
not afflicted with AMOS. AMOS - American Male Ostrich Syndrome. He stopped often and asked for
directions. It was necessary. The hotel was buried on a short street at the
end of three other short streets. Each
of these streets dead ended at one or both of the places that we needed to
turn. You had to have been there several times before to find it. Coşkuner found it.
The location of this
hotel was excellent. It was less than a
5 minute walk to the Hippodrome. The
area was reasonably quiet. The staff were
Turkish. That is to say their
hospitality was superb.
We met our tour
guide, Erol Alton, at the hotel. He
outlined our agenda for the next four days.
And off we went.
Now, we know why
Phyl wanted to come here. The center of
There are two
obelisks that remain from the time of the races. One is from
One of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World was the Mausoleum at
On the
Mosques serve six
functions:
Place for prayers
and religious study. There is a large hall and space to
kneel. There is a fountain for ablutions
before prayer. This physical cleansing
of hands, feet and face before entering for prayer is both symbolic and functional.
Kitchen to feed the needy.
Clinic to provide medical care for the needy.
Administrative
services to record births,
deaths, marriages, divorces and titles of ownership.
A
Bazaar to pay for it.
That’s right. Each mosque has a
shopping mall. They rent the space and the
revenue supports the functions of the mosque.
The Grand Bazaar of
Istanbul has 22 entrances, 64 streets, over 3,500 shops, 25,000 workers and its covered just like Galleria, well almost like
Galleria. There is almost no parking
space. Six hundred 50 years ago when
they built the Grand Bazaar, parking was not a problem.
The Blue Mosque has
it all: tremendous size, awe inspiring grandeur, delicate richness,
commanding location. The mosque that we
visited in the
They both had the
presence of God. You would have to be
spiritually dead not to sense it.
There’s a story
about
Pretty soon the same
man jumps up and shouts, “Right on, God!” Everything stops. The priest looks over the rims of his reading
glasses at the head usher. The usher
stiffly marches down the aisle and stands at the end of the pew where the noise
maker is standing. The man sits down and
the service continues.
Pretty soon the same
man jumps up and shouts, “Hallelujah! Praise God!” The
usher says’ “Sir, you must sit down and be quiet.”
“But, I got
religion.”
“Sir, in the
Episcopal church, we don’t ‘get religion’”.
I suspect the Sultan
Ahmed Mosque and
Beside the other end
of the Hippodrome, also on the
This museum has it
all: tremendous size, awe inspiring grandeur, delicate richness, commanding
location.
Unlike a museum
which is a building that provides a space for displaying artifacts, this museum
is the artifact. The importance of its
contents requires some explaining. Being just 1500 years old and in continuous use
most of that time, there are many layers.
The challenge of
bridging the gap between East and West, Islam and Christian, is probably
greater than its previous task of bridging the gap between God and man. With God’s help, all things are possible. What better name could you pick for such a
task, Holy Wisdom.
The Romans
recognized a flaw in the location of the city.
Yes, it controls probably the most important sea route of their
world. The problem is sea water is
salty. The fresh water supply was at
best limited. The solution was to build
some cisterns and an aqueduct. Just 19
kilometers (12 miles) away there was a good supply of fresh water. Never mind that it was not downhill all the
way. Just build a bridge, 1 kilometer
(1/2 mile+) long, a two tier structure, for the
water. Fortunately, the arches of this
structure are big enough to allow the passage of a modern tourist bus. As for where to store it, they had to fill in
some low places in order to have a flat track for the chariot racing. You aren’t going to have chariot horses
running up and down hills. The cistern
that we visited is 140 meters long by 70 meters wide and 10 meters high. That’s longer and wider than a NFL football
field with endzones.
It has 336 marble columns supporting the roof. City buildings, today, use that roof as their
foundation.
The Sultan’s Palace,
Topkapi, just happens to sit on top of another such
cistern. Isn’t
it interesting how good infrastructure is hard to imagine and easy to use.
Just try to float
the bond issue to turn the
A drive up the
Lunch
Erol suggested a
hotel restaurant for lunch. Phyl and I
were ready to sit awhile and let our minds and legs catch up. It had been a full morning.
This small 5th
century church is nearly full of mosaics and frescoes. The quality and extensiveness of this art
work is fantastic and overwhelming. I
say, “nearly full...”
Unfortunately modern day crusaders, tourists, have picked off just a few
of the pixels. All that can be reached
without a ladder are gone. It must be
better to have them secure in
Another
drive through the city. Good thing it is Coşkuner is driving and
not me. I still have a valid French Permis de Conduire.
This mosque has it
all: tremendous size, awe inspiring grandeur, delicate richness, commanding
location. It was built in the mid 16th
century, about 50 years before Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
Beautiful
Another
drive through the city. Good thing it is Coskuner driving and not
me. I still have a valid French Permis de Conduire, although I’m
thinking of turning it in for fear I might do something wrong and get sent to
Istanbul to drive.
Mr. Professor, can
we stop now? My brain is full.
This was just the
first day.
PS There’s a good
web page at http://www.sanalistanbul.com/index.htm for pictures and details on
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