Istanbul, August 2015

[htmb]

And to think these gorgeous photos were almost lost!

[questa]

Mar 8, 2016 16:46:15 GMT fumobici said:

I



  This report is wonderful obviously. So much exotic detail and color. Perhaps my favorite shot is the one with the shades drawn and the shadows--a photo that doesn't even say Turkey to me, but one that reveals your artist's eye.

After all the fabulous colour and movement, this image stands out for its almost Zen purity. How clever of you to see it in the midst of the optical feast.

And for those who haven't been to Istanbul...there are so many facets of this city...you will find something to love there and leave you in awe.

[bixaorellana]

So true, Questa!

On the day we went to visit Chora Church we also got a look at part of the old city wall and visited the exquisite Mihrimah mosque.

The neighborhood was not immediately promising ~

Is Turkey into tiles, or what?!

This is AN old wall -- it is not THE old wall ~

This old wall is where you park your oto. Beyond the second oto, you can see THE old wall across the street ~

Part of the 5th century wall built by the Emperor Theodosius II ~

Now on to the beautiful Mihrimah Sultan mosque ~

[bixaorellana]

[bixaorellana]

Looking from the other direction, toward the exit ~

I love the discreet collection box -- it reminds me of a cheerful bird ~

Back outside, we sat on a bench and contemplated yet another great old building being torn down.
There was still furniture inside ~

As if the visual treats we'd just experienced weren't enough, on the street we ran into this magician and the lady he'd sawed in half ~

That's it for that excursion, but I will be back with much more of Istanbul,
so please stay tuned to this thread.

[questa]

It is all so clean and shiny, what a good idea to have a "no shoes and wash your feet before entering" rule. (come to think about it...why are Christians the only religion I can think of who don't remove shoes before entering church?)

The huge carpet is striking with the circular pattern repeated on the dome itself (and your sign off) And the arches! pointed and round, in rows or clusters, supporting great weights or as delicate as lace...aren't they such a pleasure to the eye. I'm so glad that you, Bixa, like the same as I, because you photograph them so well.

[tod2]

I repeat what Htmb thought - " and to think these gorgeous photos were nearly lost..."
What a relief to find them!
The bright pink clusters of flowering 'Pride of India ?' trees are going to be even more spectacular when the young trees branch out a bit.
Thanks for snapping those beautiful old cars! Aren't they wonderful.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Questa! That was not only a kind, but an encouraging thing to say, as I know I'm pretty much a fiend for those soaring interiors. It's great to know that someone else likes them too. Going through my pics to choose which ones to post, I'm awed all over again by the beauty of those buildings.

Thanks, Tod! Those two cars were for sale. I guess the restorer was determined to use up that color.
I guess "pride of India" are what I call crape myrtles, right?

A belated thank-you to Htmb ~ I simply failed to see your comment.

To anyone interested: there will be more! Sorry about going slow, but I'm trying to arrange the thread so that each group of photos varies from the preceding and succeeding groups. That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

[Deleted]

I am just now connecting that these are photos that were on another computer that you mentioned in another thread.
Thank goodness!!!!
They  are stunning!!!

T. and I viewed them last evening) well, the ones posted up until then,and both of us were blown away.

I so wish I had a digital camera when I was there.( Not that I could put a candle to your depictions, your eye is exquisite).

You also seemed to have covered a lot more ground than I despite my having been there longer.

I so so loved that city, I hope a time comes when i can return.
It was truly magical in every way.

I have to say that fumobici's post about the picture on the previous page of the curtained/shadowed room is truly one of the more haunting photos I've seen.

P.S. I did get to see some of the whirling dervishes whirl, mindboggling and indeed dizzyying...

[bixaorellana]

Actually, the lost pictures are being interspersed with the ones I had for the purposes of this thread, so "all was not lost", as they say.

Casimira, I can't thank you enough for your very kind words! You are so right that a digital camera is crucial. Really, there is so much to see that I wound up not taking pictures sometimes, the better to take it all in.

I'd like to hear more about the dervishes. We vacillated about whether to go see them or not. There are quite a few venues, many of which are for tourists. Reviews online call the event either "mesmerizing" or "numbingly boring". Quite honestly, after visiting the Sufi house, I realized that I wasn't truly interested.

Thinking about what you said about where you stayed & what you saw prompted me to look for a map to post, which I probably should have done earlier.

[bixaorellana]

And now for something completely different.

But first, HERE is a map snitched from a tour company site. After you click on it & it opens, click again for a huge version.

For today's excursion, we'll be leaving from Taksim Square, #8 on the map, which is quite close to my hotel.

This is the Monument of the Republic, featuring Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey ~

On this day, my friend had asked me if I wanted to to go a photography group meet-up. She said, "You need to know it's at that miniature park" and made a face. Undoubtedly because of her high regard for my great refinement and high intellect , she'd somehow managed to miss that this kind of entertainment is right up my alley. In fact, I'd read about Miniaturk before visiting Istanbul and had been harboring a secret, embarrassed desire to see it. So here we go -- off to visit #15 on the map.

It was a beautiful, but very hot day. We got to the ferry station early enough to look around a little ~

And underway on the water again, one of the great cheap pleasures of Istanbul ~

On the other side was the same phenomena of rubble framing scenic vistas ~

We bought our tickets, which are issued in the language you request. That's because you can hold the bar code on the ticket up to a speaker by each exhibit and hear an explanation in your language. But first we had to pee, so were directed into a huge -- larger than an airplane hangar -- building next to the park entrance. We had to hurry, but were fascinated by the very large three-dimensional displays of public works. Even though everything was in Turkish, portraits and framed news articles made it clear that everything was slanted to the greater glory of the current President of Turkey. Apologies for the lack of photos, but do take the opportunity to use the potty and check out the displays if you visit Miniaturk. I snapped the big tulip on the way out ~

And here we are! In a rare fit of mercy, I've turned the photos into a slide show, but the individual pictures are available on request.  

Full screen and HD, please ~

[questa]

Ten out of ten for honesty..."I wasn't truly interested". Nor was I.

Like the spiritual trance dances of Bali, the dance is a communication between the dancer and his/her Deity. Then a few tourists sneak in to the temple to watch and are touched by the experience. So many more visitors attend that the essence of the dance is lost, so to protect it, the dancers offer a display of the original in a more appropriate setting and charge to raise funds for the community, make better costumes and importantly bring back the older dances that were fading from memory.

So when you see a dance...is it real? Yes, but the dancers are dancing for the audience, not for the Deities. Are they really in a trance? Often, some people slip in and out of trance easily, others not so. However in Bali they are regarded by others as if they were.

I also skipped the Whirling Dervishes performances...but if I had been there when the occasional Western woman could have snuck in to experience the real thing, I would have grabbed the opportunity.

[bixaorellana]

Most interesting, Questa -- thanks! Even if I could have sneaked a peek at the real thing, I don't think my attention span would have stretched to watching an hour or more of it, which is how long I believe those things last.

Our bonus word for the day is riwaq, meaning arcade or portico open on at least one side ... often found surrounding and defining the courtyards of mosques ... source

It didn't strike me until I was looking up terms for Islamic architecture how normal the mosque complex configurations seemed to me. Most if not all of the colonial buildings in Mexico are that way -- a central courtyard surrounded by a building with a covered walkway fronting on the courtyard. The Moors brought that style to Spain and the Spaniards imported it to the new world.

If you have a chance, take a look at the video in my last post. It gives a bird's eye view of many vast buildings which the eye cannot take in whole when seeing the real thing.

[htmb]

I'm not sure what to make of the scenes in your last set of pictures. I'm still studying them, but I'm sure they're nat geo quality! Great eye for composition!

[tod2]

It may not be everyones cup of tea Bixa, but I am sure you can add 'Been there, done that, got the T shirt' to your list of travels A lot of work went into setting it up I bet.
The buildings on the hill in the background look like they belong there with one exception...that big building plonk in the center!

[Deleted]

I have never made it to France Miniature, which is exactly the same thing in the suburbs of Paris. But I suspect that I don't need to go.

Going back to the spectacular pictures of the mosques and the huge interior vaults, one of the things that impresses me the most is knowing that this is all in a huge seismic zone so these mosques were either built more solidly than they appear to be or else they have been rebuilt or repaired as often as necessary.

[questa]

Kerouac, a bit of both I'd say. I was amazed by the fact that one of the huge cisterns, now almost empty, runs under a corner of Hagia Sophia and then down beside the wall.
The builders of the mosques and towers along the Silk Road would have carried the knowledge of using metres deep foundations of rushes to allow movement without collapse.
I remember one column in Sophia had electronic gadgetry linked to it showing temperature, humidity, movement etc. I asked tech guy when he expected it to fall down (jokingly)and he said "not on my watch".

[bixaorellana]

Tod, I am frankly stunned that everyone would not be as enthralled as I.
But really, it was fun to watch other people having fun -- the little kids thrilled as they towered over buildings, etc. And since we were supposedly there for photographic reasons, I enjoyed trying to capture some of the models in relation to people or to the real skyline.

You keep a-studying, Htmb ~ there will be a test. Seriously, thank you!

Kerouac, your second conjecture is the winning answer. All of those building have endured a shocking amount of seismic (& war & fire, etc.) damage and rebuilding.

Quick example: if you click on the link above in #33 for Mihrimah Sultan Mosque (<-- also clickable), you'll get ~
"... building [the mosque] took place from 1562 to 1565. The complex has been severely damaged by earthquakes several times (including 1719, 1766, 1814 and 1894) ... The dome was further damaged during 1999 İzmit earthquake, and required restoration, along with the upper half of the minaret."

I won't quote any of it here, but you can check out the wikipedia entry on Hagia Sophia, which suffered earthquake damage (often quite severe) in 553, 557, 558, 869, 989, 1344 (which led to parts collapsing in 1346), and 1509. And those were just the earthquakes! Read the full history & you'll be forgiven for thinking "why bother?".
The reason it is still standing is that the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan was engaged in the 1560s-70s to strengthen the building. He is considered one of the world's first earthquake engineers.

While riding the subway in Istanbul, I idly remarked to my friend that it was odd that fear of flying was so common, while subways seemed way scarier. She agreed and cheerfully pointed out what a big seismic zone Istanbul was. More on that later in this report.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks to all who have looked in here and a big apology for having abandoned this thread. Sorry, but I not only got sick, but there were some important things I needed to get done on the computer, so my poor thread fell by the wayside.

I hope you all will accompany me as I take up the thread again. Let's start with some sightseeing on sea and on land ~

[bixaorellana]

It was while wandering on this street that we came across a Catholic church,
something that seemed so exotic in this setting ~

The church was set in a courtyard encircled by buildings which I think were apartments.
Don't you love the suggestion of red brick gothic that still manages to seem Istanbul-ish?

c2.staticflickr.com/6/5683/21625757230_41034bf069_b.jpg

[bixaorellana]

Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as Pera (Πέρα, meaning "Across" in Greek) during the Middle Ages, and this name remained in common use until the mid-20th century and the emigration of its large Greek population.
click text above for more Istanbul history

It was around here that we came upon the fascinating Camera Ottomana <-- click
exhibit, on which I made my first Istanbul thread.

Treasure on the street ~

Treasure down enticing passagways ~

~*~ Yes, there will be more to this thread, so stay tuned! ~*~

[bjd]

Oh good, more pictures. I really like the passage where there are café tables, as well as some of those ceramic bowls in the second last picture.

When I looked at tourist info about Istanbul a few years ago, it seems to me they were still calling the area Pera.

The Catholic church is not so much out of place on the outside, but a typical example of unexciting late 19th century architecture on the inside. And, although I shall be struck by lightning for this, those brown tiles around where the candles are look like a public urinal.

[Deleted]

There was certainly no need to show the plaque to know that the church was designed by an Italian architect. Oddly enough, the red brick buildings around the church remind me more of British university architecture.

Obviously, quite a bit of the European side of Istanbul is full of European architecture. If you hide the signs in Turkish, it would sometimes be hard to guess in which country these photos were taken.

I always love seeing the shopping galleries and streets and what is being sold.

[tod2]

I will definitely be tuned in Bixa - super photos. Those mosaics are amazing. I loved the vaulted ceiling in blue.

[fumobici]

Fantastic stuff and of course beautifully photographed as well. In Italy the covered passageways between the church and the adjacent buildings would be there for the nuns and/or monks to travel from their attached domiciles. It took me a moment to figure out the psychedelic colors bleeding over the effigy in the glass case, and I see it is the reflection of the stained glass windows. I look forward to more of this amazing chronicle.

[htmb]

Love the new pictures, Bixa. I hope this means you are feeling a good bit better.

I'd love to have one of those hanging lamps.

The seagulls in flight over the water pics are wonderful!

[nycgirl]

I'm so glad you have more photos from your trip. These Turkish reports are a delight. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The displays of treats look so tasty, I got a sweet tooth looking at them. I'm also drawn to the dazzling lamps and plates. And I love the pretty stained glass windows and the soft glow of the Mihrimah mosque.

Great job on your photos and slideshow of Miniaturk. I think I would have enjoyed the photo opportunities of the place. Although I wouldn't have documented it as well as you. I'd probably just take a bunch of pictures of myself next to the buildings to try to confuse my friends.

[bixaorellana]

I cannot thank you all enough for your very kind and positive feedback and hope that I will be forgiven my terrible tardiness in replying.

Bjd, your call on the "urinal candles" is very apt & exactly what I thought. It's hard to tell in the dark photo, but that square thing at the top is an exhaust fan, adding to the potty feeling.

I don't think the name Pera has been completely retired, because I was confused until I realized that Beyoğlu and Pera were the same place.

Kerouac, you are so right about the European architecture, and maybe it was because I'm a starry eyed tourist, but there is something so exotic about Istanbul despite its modernity that the familiar-seeming European style architecture didn't make it seem less Turkish, if that makes sense.

Thank you so much, dear Tod. I hope I can entice you back to this thread after having left it for so long.

I appreciate that very much, Fumobici. You have a knack for encouraging me, as I feel you really get what I'm trying to impart in my threads.

Htmb, a bird picture compliment coming from you is the best!!!

NYCGirl, you would love all of it -- the place is a treasure chest for the senses.
Thank you for being open to Miniaturk! Your idea of pictures of yourself there gave me a mental image of "huge" NYCGirl waving a gorilla-costumed Ken doll over a mini minaret. Now you know where to take NYCTot when you go.

=======================================================

I am sure all of you will understand why I've left this thread to one side for a time. The horrible bombing of Istiklal Street happened very shortly after I posted the cheerful photos of the street above. Then, three days later Brussels was savaged with the same kind of attacks. I had no desire to keep posting jolly tourist photos of Istanbul immediately afterward, nor did I wish to draw attention away from the Brussels attack discussion here on the forum.

Of course I want to finish this thread, for my satisfaction if nothing else. There is so much of beauty and interest in Istanbul, I'd like to share my pleasure in it. However, let's not ignore the dark political undertow there, nor the alarming stance and actions of the country's president. For anyone interested, here is a long article on Erdoğan and a scathing opinion piece. Whether or not one agrees with all of the latter, it does sum up Erdoğan's inexorable path.

So, now that all of that is out of the way, I'll turn back to finishing up this thread.

[questa]

Bixa, I understand your feelings here. I have also held back on a touristy thread...it seemed more respectful somehow.

Do you think the bad guys will try to bomb the Christian churches. As you have shown us there are some glorious jewels of Churches and it would be terrible if they went the same way as the Buddhas of Bamiyam.

[bixaorellana]

Snaps from our wanderings ~

A restaurant ~

I hope someone reading this thread will recognize this area and identify it for me. We were there because my friend needed some eyeglass repair, but its claim to fame is as an area full of seafood restaurants. It was absolutely mobbed as you can see. Istanbul's huge cat population obviously knew what they wanted. I took this picture at dusk of an upstairs restaurant because I could see the white cat looking in. When I got the picture off the camera, I realized there were four cats.

More cats. If you want to see cats, go to Istanbul as they are everywhere. There are bowls of kibble and of water placed on doorsteps for them, and we came across at least a dozen of them on a street, politely spaced and quietly sitting as they waited for the ancient man who came along to feed them.

Bet he'd like to have a cat!