Post Card

Postcards From Istanbul

Türk Post, April 2012

4/2
Seattle's departing gentle mist gave way to a violent rain storm on our arrival in Istanbul. This morning the sun was out, and so were we. We "coffeeed" on the 5th floor terrace, looking at the massive Süleymaniye Mosque across the Golden Horn (a bay off of the Bosphorus). We live in the Galata neighborhood, a hillside warren of cobblestoned streets; our flat is a block down hill from the Genoese-era Galata Tower. And our front door even stars regularly in a Turkish TV series.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/3
What's it like? All marketing is at tiny, one-product shops and green grocers; Carmen Miranda hats, optional. Our street is so steep it turns into steps at the end; it's slow going up our hill. Notice downspout, "half pipe" gutters edging street, and streetlight. The woman at the window is airing her duvet, and sunning herself in the midmorning warmth. The "Nostalgic Tram" offers rides on Istiklal St., the upscale, more Western pedestrian mall nearby.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/4
A freezer case at an outdoor market? Containing cute little pastas? Are these manti, the traditional Turkish food? We wondered in English ... and the shopkeeper answered in Turkish. J smiled and handed over some money. After electronic consultation with Turkish connections, it was off to the Spice Bazaar to get the fixin's: yogurt, red pepper, mint, garlic, ... .The result: Lamb-filled pasta with yogurt sauce and chili oil. A delicious, spicy Turkish comfort food. Afiyet olsun!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/5
The amazing Hagia Sophia, described by one world traveler as "the single most impressive building in the world," opened in 537 as the Great Church; the Ottomans turned it into a mosque in 1453; now it's a museum. Holding up its huge stone dome is the problem. (Notre Dame would fit within it.) Designed by Anthemius, so called 'Prof. of Geometry', it has fallen in 5 times, the last was a 1000 years ago. Over the centuries arches and arches have been added to support the dome. Measure twice, cut once, Anthemius!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/6
Did you think we got only one postcard at the Hagia Sofia?! Ha! It's loaded with gorgeous art dating to its first 900 years as a church. (The art was protected under plaster while it was a mosque.) There's Islamic decoration, too. But, going through our 125 photos, we thought we saw on closer inspection, art by others, like M. C. Escher, Mark Rothko, Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Ausguste Renoir. But, maybe we were wrong.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/7
Acting on a tip from a Turkish contact, we tracked down Inci. Behind an unassuming store front was profiterole heaven!! We entered behind two matrons that immediately split up, one going to the back to pay, while the other grabbed two desserts and a table. They ate and were gone almost before we sat down, having gotten their profiterole fix. To keep up with that pace, the first man continually dishes chocolate on to plates of broken-up profiterole. Long may he live!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/8
We attended services at Galata Mevlevihanesi (the Mevlevi Dervish Monastery). The 2 hour religious ceremony included the sect's famous whirling. As they whirled, the men seemed to enter a state of detachment. Not knowing the ritual, we would say it had 4 parts: processional, 3 cycles of whirling backed by a band on traditional instruments, a "benediction" to which many audience members responded, and a recessional.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/9
Wish you were here! Really! We went to Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman Sultans for 5 centuries. It's over the top spectacular! White stone, beautiful tiles, gold everywhere. There is simply no way photographs can convey the beauty, and not just because we couldn't photograph the 86c Spoonmaker's Diamond. So we limit ourselves to a study we found. Its domed ceiling, book cupboards and cubbies, and light make it the perfect place to write computing textbooks.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/10
We've been looking at the outside of the Süleymaniye Mosque since Day 1. Designed by the famous architect Sinan, we think it's Istanbul's most elegant. In our picture you see men gathering for midday prayers and the section reserved for visitors; we are looking towards the women's section. On the staircase (mimber), is where the imam speaks on Friday. As Islam grew, it's said Muhammad needed to stand higher and higher to reach his followers. Out of respect, imams stand only half way up.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/11
Dave introduced us to the (French) term flâneur. Baudelaire defined flâneur as "a person who walks the city in order to experience it", which describes much of our time here. The area around Eyüp Mosque is an example. There, we saw young boys, elaborately dressed, on their way to the mosque for pre-circumcision prayers. Cotton candy vendors did a brisk business. And we met 2 truly delightful ladies who shared their picnic lunch with us without benefit of sharing a language!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/12
We found Peace, Freedom and Love ... on display at Istanbul's Museum of the Ancient Orient: Amazing cuniform engraved tablets, including the world's oldest love poem (2030 BC), Code of Hammurabi (1772 BC), and the Kadesh Treaty, the first peace treaty. "Signed" by Hittite king Hattušiliuš and pharaoh Ramses II in 1269 BC, it's written in Akkatian. The treaty ushered in a sustained peace lasting ... 7 years. It's not much, but it was peace.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/13
We visited the Istanbul Modern, the city's modern art museum. There was no uniquely "Turkish" art in the 20th century. Artists copied Paris or NYC styles. The museum presents a fascinating explanation of this.

Today Istanbul has a HOT art scene. We like Ramazan Bayrakoglu's stitched The Portrait of Alexandra Maria Lara. And this graphic references the fact that Turkey has 2 parts, a European part W(est) of the Bosporus and an Asian part E(ast).

Türk Post, April 2012

4/14
We crossed the black line into Asia today. Istanbul straddles the Bosporus, and although the original Asian settlement predates the Byzantine era, it is today a comparatively "new" part of town. The ferry trip takes 15 minutes, costs under $2, and is a sightseeing tour of the city. See the suspension bridge spanning the Bosporus, our neighborhood, the Sultan's (Topkapi) Palace, the Blue Mosque (L) and Hagia Sofia (R), and even Leanders Tower on an Island in the channel.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/15
We've long been friends with Turkish food - who doesn't like kebobs? But we've been surprised by the complexity, spiciness, and great flavor palette of its native form. The key elements are: Pide (left), not remotely like scrawny US pita. It's under Iskendar and envelops its namesake Pida or Pida with egg, both larger than the plate. Yoğurt - not remotely like scrawny US yogurt. Spices - red pepper, mint, sumac, garlic, and grilled peppers enrich everything. Except baklava, which needs nothing.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/16
The Orient Express, known as the "King of Trains and the Train of Kings," connected Paris and Istanbul from 1883-1977, and was the setting for a great mystery. For first class travelers, the owners, Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, built the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul. It's POSH. The train station, Istanbul Gar, is 3 km away, so some guests were carried to the hotel in a palanquin. Agatha Christie wrote much of Murder on the Orient Express while staying at the hotel.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/17
These women are not skinning weasels, but peeling smoked aubergines. It was step two in one of the dishes Julie's cooking class prepared today. Classes were held at Cooking Alaturka taught by Eveline Zoutendijk and Feyzi Yildirim. They prepared lentil bulgur soup, runner beans, zucchini pancakes, lamb stew with smoky eggplant puree, and walnut stuffed figs. Afiyet olsun!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/18
Staying awhile lets us explore. Ex.: the tiny Pera Museum. Its eclectic collection -- portraits of 17th C ambassadors, glazes, 3 millennia of scales and weights -- is a must see. Really! One curiosity is "Tortoise Trainer" by Osman Hamdi Bey, founder of Istanbul's museums. It's a metaphor for Patience. Bey had read about Koreans who train tortoises to walk in a line, and stack themselves up, using the beat of a small drum. Is that possible? We're as mystified as he was!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/19
Like all of Istanbul, we experience the call to prayer 5 times a day. Turkey is 98% Muslim, and mosques dot Istanbul's map more than Starbucks dot Seattle's. In principle, the muezzin climbs the minaret and sings the call to prayer, but with electronic amplification, he sits by the mic, and the speakers broadcast it. With so many mosques in town, they compete. We have developed the following rule: "Solo, the call is melodious, but in the metropolis, it's cacophonous."

Türk Post, April 2012

4/20
We're off to another museum. Buck up! You're gonna love it! The Tiled Kiosk Museum displays -- listen closely -- tiles. In Turkish "tile" refers to both flat and 3d ceramics. So the collection also includes cups,world famous Iznik plates, and bowls. That was pretty painless, wasn't it? We didn't even mention the dome.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/21
Three foods from the Turkish food pyramid have unexpectedly become faves. A salad (apparently just called 'salad') made from cannellini beans, onions with parsley, shaved carrots and red cabbage, served cold; it's a side for Köfte. Lamb casings stuffed with rice, lamb, bulgur, onion and spices; it's rare in the city. Anchovy cornbread of cabbage, green pepper, onion, and parsley, served piping hot and crispy on both sides; find it at a bakery in the village of Anadolu Kavaği.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/23
It's Children's Day, a national holiday. A banner posted at the school across from our flat translates to:
Little Ladies, Little Gentlemen, You are all the roses, the stars and the sparkling joys of our future, the ones who will elevate the nation. Always be aware of your value and significance! And study hard… We have great expectations from you.
-- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish Republic founder, and creator of Children's Day. Today the kids wore traditional costumes to class and performed.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/24
Let's celebrate! It's Tulip Festival in Istanbul, and WA's Skagit Valley ... possibly all they have in common. Turks brought tulips from central Asia. They began shipping them to Holland in the late 16th C. The Ottomans even had a "Tulip Era" (1718-1730), when they ran out of enemies, enjoyed peace, and turned to tulips big time. Gorgeous tulips are everywhere in Istanbul, inside and out. They are a motif. Often, as here, the interior "working parts" of the flower are shown.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/25
What's beneath the Kariye Mosque's whitewash? No one thought to look until about 1950. They discovered magnificent frescoes and mosaics hidden for 500 years, since the time it was the Byzantine Chora Church. At left the Paracclesion is covered with frescoes -- in the far panel Jesus saves Adam and Eve. The golden mosaics fill the rooms with a glow. And in one mosaic the patron of the church (lower left) shows Jesus a model of the church, as was Byzantine tradition.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/27
An advantage to choosing an apartment over a hotel is that we can fix meals. That means marketing, and marketing means fun! There are supermarkets, of course, but we prefer the hands-on stalls; our favorites are "in Asia." The food is fresh, fragrant and interesting. The fish is often restocked while you wait, and we love the bread cart. The down side -- having to choose among 21 different olives.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/28
Prefer sweet? Savory? Can't decide? Have we got the dish for you! Künefe is a classic Turkish pastry of shredded filo dough, ricotta and string cheeses, and loads of butter, pressed into a shallow metal pan. (The sweet part is coming.) Our chef placed the pan on a revolving burner, and cooked it over a low flame. When golden on both sides, he poured on a simple syrup with rosewater, which bubbled and was absorbed. Sprinkled with pistachios, it's perfect!

Türk Post, April 2012

4/29
This store must sell seconds and irregulars. Do they have good prices on "2 Wish" Lamps? For just a little extra, get a lamp with "2 Wishes plus an 8 in 10 chance for the Third". Maybe there's a bin on the street, "Any '1 Wish' Lamp, 5 Lira."

We've probably seen the most remote parts of Istanbul!

And we watched a woman buying bread using the rope-and-basket technique.

Türk Post, April 2012

4/30
Hoşçakal, Istanbul.