Hodjapasha

Thursday night we had reservations to watch a show performed by the Whirling Dervish. We might use that title irreverently to denote someone or something spinning around in circles, but it actually represents a religious sect that spin in circles out of devotion to God. I found the following explanation of the group:

            “Whirling dervishes perform a dance called the sema. It is a religious dance performed to express emotion and achieve the wisdom and love of God. It originated in Turkey, in the Islamic sect of Sufism, which was founded by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. The Sufis support their knowledge from the Qur'an and the words of their master, Rumi. The dervish considers himself an instrument of God so he cannot direct or retain the power that enters him. Today semas are performed privately in homes or for the amusement of tourists.

            The dance of the whirling dervishes, originated in the 13th century near Turkey. It is performed by semazens (whirlers) that belong to the Mevlevi sect of the Sufi. Sufism is the Islamic practice of attempting to achieve divine knowledge and love though a personal relationship with God. The dance is sometimes interpreted as everything spinning around the sun but most commonly is thought of as a re-enactment of death and resurrection.”

It was explained to us that this was not a performance, it was a religious ritual. Every move or action has a significant meaning and is used as a religious expression. The ritual lasted about an hour. During the course of the ceremony, the spectators were asked to use no photography at all and there was to be no applause.

The service began with several musicians playing softly and rhythmically. Soon they interjected some chanting. The sounds were old world and hypnotic. At an interlude in the music, four dancers slowly entered the room. When the music began again, they proceeded to perform rituals of kneeling and standing and crossing their arms and slapping the floor. The intensity of the music slowly increased as each dancer one by one unfurled their arms and raised them to the sky as they began to rotate. Soon they were all whirling gracefully in perfect unison, as if the movements of each were part of a finely tuned mechanism. They all had the same pose. Their right hand was open to the heavens and their left opened downward, resembling a spout, receiving from above and passing on to others. With their heads slightly cocked toward the receiving hand they continued to rotate in precise harmony with each other and the music. Their whirling slowed, paused, and restarted several times. When the ritual was finished, one by one they gracefully exited the room from where they entered. The musicians then followed suit and the ceremony was over.

It was a simple yet enchanting ritual. It left us with a feeling of beauty and awe, much like one feels after viewing a beautiful sunset or observing some other act of nature that can only be attributed to a divine source. 

'round and 'round we go

After exiting the cistern, we had about 4 hours until our next scheduled event, the Whirling Dervish show. After that we planned to visit a Hamam for a Turkish bath. Both were within walking distance of each other, and both relatively close to where we were. Although a nap sounded like the most enticing thing to do, we decided it would be in our best interest to locate both facilities so we wouldn’t be pressured later should we have difficulty finding them. We made the right decision.

I had brochures and addresses for both places, and even had the desk clerk at our hotel mark the locations on our map. I was prepared. After we arrived at the landmark nearest our first destination, we realized I had accidentally left the brochures back at the hotel. As we walked along the city streets, almost every shop keeper spoke to us in English, and all restaurants seemed to have English speakers as well. So finding someone to help us locate the show should have been no problem at all.

We entered the Information Center which was just across the street. Unfortunately, no one spoke English in there and there were no brochures for tourist attractions. I'm not sure just what kind of information they gave out, but it obviously was not the kind we needed. We then entered the adjoining train station following signs depicting a Whirling Dervish show. It was not the show we planned to see and again, no English speakers. The man in charge of the show kept trying to sell us his tickets. We left the terminal with no success. What we did find there was a public restroom which we were all needing by that time. No success there either, There was a price of 1 Lyra per person and we did not have the exact change and they did not make change.

Bryan wanted to purchase a couple of post cards, and intended to get the change we needed for the toilets. We did, but with the post cards in hand we now had a new problem, we now needed stamps to mail the postcards. Our list of destinations was growing. We asked person after person for directions to the post office yet all of a sudden no one knew a word of English. We kept asking and had a few people point in various directions. We walked around and around several blocks being pointed this way and that by people that really didn't know what we were asking for. Time was ticking and we had walked a couple of miles around in circles and could not find one English speaker. Any other time we were bombarded by people who knew English. Of course the English speakers were always selling something. But when we needed basic directions there were no English speakers to be found.

We eventually did find what appeared to be the Post office, but with so many people in line it looked more like the DMV at the first of the month after people started realizing their Driver’s licenses had just expired. We left still needing stamps.

While wandering around trying to find our way, we ran across a pharmacy. Mark had forgotten to bring his comb, and we had been looking for one for five days. The pharmacy seemed like a good place to find one. While in there, I asked the pharmacist about the Whirling Dervish show. Again she didn't know any English. I adopted the classic look of the dervishes, with arms in the air, and started twirling around thinking she would at least recognize the iconic movements. She did! She started nodding in agreement, so at least we thought we could get our directions from her. Instead of guiding us to the Dervish show, she pulled out some pills and tried selling me medication for dizzy spells.

We walked a few more bocks still failing to find our show location. We were getting tired and agitated. By that point we had been up and down every street for blocks, multiple times. We were getting increasingly frustrated. Finally I had the bright idea to go into the first hotel I could find and get directions. We were close to our starting point for the days search, and I finally spotted a hotel. Certainly a hotel would have English speakers. Success! The hotel had brochures! At least now we had something to show people what we were looking for.

Thrilled with finding the brochure, we turned the corner and immediately ran into an English speaker asking if we wanted to eat in their restaurant. Before I could even show him the brochure, another guy pointed at the brochure in my hand and then pointed up at the show. We were already there. It was right there in the area where we started, and had passed multiple times. In the true spirit of the show, we had made circles around and around the building over and over again. While we were licking our emotional wounds, we realized we were actually standing at a restaurant where we had eaten the day before. The Dervish show was clearly visible right across the narrow path from where we had eaten. It had been like an Abbott and Costello skit. Our wounds may have been getting worse, but at least we knew where to find a pharmacy.

Exploring Istanbul

After the long tiring day at the Topkapi palace we were all exhausted and slept well. Thursday morning came early with the usual call to prayer at about 6 in the morning and we were finally starting to feeling refreshed. Hopefully the jet lag was behind us. We had our usual breakfast and headed into the old city.

Our first stop was the Blue Mosque. Also known as the Sultan Ahmet Camii (or Sultan Ahmed Mosque), this breath-taking building is one of the most majestic Ottoman mosques in all of Turkey. The Blue Mosque was built in the early 1600s. It was designed as an imperial show of strength to complement the imposing Hagia Sophia, which faces it across Sultanahmet Square.

'Elephant foot' pillar

Unlike the Hagia Sophia; however, it is supported by four 'elephant foot' pillars. The central dome (77 feet in diameter and 141 feet high) is flanked by four semi-domes, making it nearly a square in shape. It is dubbed the Blue Mosque because of over 20,000 handmade ceramic Iznik tiles that decorate the interior. The tiles feature many different tulip, rose, carnation, and lily designs, and the dome is well lit by 260 windows. Unfortunately for us, although we could enter the building, it was under renovation and the entire ceiling and dome was hidden from view. 

Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia, located just across the square. Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum at the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia has always been the precious of its time. Hagia Sophia was chosen as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1985.

Rebuilt by the orders of Emperor Justinian in 537, for 900 years Hagia Sophia had been the center of Orthodox Christianity until 1453 when the city was concurred by the Ottomans. 500 years following the conquest of Muslims, it became a jewel for the Muslim world and as the grand mosque of the sultans. In 1935, Hagia Sophia as converted into a museum of Turkish Republic by the orders of Ataturk, and became one of the most significant monuments not only in Turkey but on earth with its architecture and historical richness.

Again, like everything else we have visited so far, it was under renovation. At least in the Hagia Sophia they were only working on a part of it so the majority was still visible. The building was truly remarkable and just impossible to describe. The walls were covered with both Muslim and Christian pictures, mosaics and symbols. A truly unusual occurrence.

The walkway to the second level in itself was enough to cause marvel. Instead of stairs, a ramp wound around and around in a corridor; the floor, the walls, the ceiling, they were all solid stone. It certainly didn’t feel like we were still in a church, it felt like we were on the way to an underground cistern.

Speaking of cistern, that was next on the list. One of the magnificent ancient buildings of İstanbul is the Basilica Cistern. Constructed in the 4th century, this big underground water cistern was the major water reservoir of Constantinople. The water was transported to this cistern from the Belgrade Forest by the immense Byzantine aqueducts. The cistern is 460 feet long, and 230 feet wide. The Cistern shelters 336 columns, each of which is 30 feet high. The majority of the columns are understood to have been compiled from the remains or ‘leftovers’ of ancient structures and sculpted of various kinds of marbles. The cistern was planned to be filled with water and never viewed by the public, therefore there is no congruity. The column bases and crowns vary and two columns rest on massive blocks with the face of Medusa carved into them. Again, since this was never meant to be seen, the faces were not placed upright. One rests on its side and the other is upside down. This cistern was featured in the James Bond Movie “From Russia with Love” and more recent Tom Hanks movie, “Inferno”.

Eating out

It didn’t take too many meals to learn that dining etiquette in Turkey was quite different than what we were accustomed to at home. The idea of server ‘attention’ is exactly opposite of what the word denotes. Their attention is actually a lack thereof. Meal time for the Turkish people is obviously a public forum in which to gather and talk and relax with very minimum attention from the 'intruding' wait staff.  It appears that their task is to be available to serve but only when requested by the patron. 

After seating patrons and presenting menus, the waiter retreats. For our first several meals, we waited patiently for the waiter to return to take our drink order. That never happened. By the time they finally got back to us, we had long since made our selections and were eager to give them to the waiter in case he retreated for another lengthy absence, which he did. For the first couple days of meals, we never able to give a drink order, as we were never asked. Only when the meals arrived were we able to ask for drinks. 

We did occasionally get a piping hot glass of Turkish tea up front, sometimes without asking. While it was nice to have, they were always served in tiny little glasses. Just enough to sip slowly. Certainly not what we would consider a drink to accompany a meal.

After the food was delivered, the waiter would again retreat for the duration of our stay. They rarely came back to check on us and certainly were not interested in refilling our drinks. They don’t even return to present the check without calling for their attention.

Their custom seems to be that the patron is never rushed or hurried along, and even encouraged to stay and relax, lounging on cushions, and almost always offered large hookah pipes. Each evening as we walked through the small winding corridors of the old city, we peered into restaurants which were filled with people reclining, chatting, and puffing away on the large ornate pipes.

Some other meal facts we observed were that no restaurants ever had female waitresses, only male waiters. Women could occasionally be seen in the kitchens, but never interacting with the guests.

Dinning places were usually adorned in beautifully crafted fabrics, lamps, and cushions. The atmospheres are designed for the patron to relax and enjoy their comfortable settings.

Although the waiters were largely absent for the meal, they were always very friendly, and a common phrases they all knew and frequently used was “of course”, which was usually delivered with a slight nod.

Drinking with meals is apparently not a thing with them except for the

typical tiny glass of hot tea. We were told that the glasses were tiny because the Turkish people like their tea hot, and would rather sacrifice the quantity for quality. Also, forget any ice for drinks. There isn't any. If you want something cold you will get refrigerated at best, and that is not always guaranteed.

What they do have here are french fries. In fact every place has french fries. Everyday, for every meal, with almost everything you order, all the time, breakfast, lunch and dinner, french fries come with most dishes, without asking, like it or not. Even for a typical breakfast of eggs, vegetables and cheese, there are always french fries served with it. And these are not the good homemade kind. They are always the plain cheap ones similar to what you would buy frozen in an oversize bag from Sams. But don't worry about finding the ketchup to go with them. they wont last that long. While a buffet may have an unlimited supply of fries, when they come with a meal there are only a few. They appear to be a garnish to accentuate the meal, not to be part of the meal. 

Topkapı Palace

Wednesday morning we again rose early as the call to prayer echoed through the hotel courtyard before sunrise. After breakfast we decided to visit the attraction closest to our hotel, Topkapı Palace.

The Topkapi Palace is the biggest and one of the most popular sites to visit in Istanbul. It was built in in the mid 1400s by the sultan Mehmet II on top of a hill in a small peninsula, set between the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus strait, with great views of the Asian side. The palace was the political center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries, until they built Dolmabahce Palace by the waterside.

The palace is home to the Topkapi Emerald Dagger, a renowned jewel-studded dagger of mid-18th century origin. The dagger is preserved and displayed for public viewing at the treasury of the Topkapi Palace Museum. Unfortunately for us that part of the palace was under renovation so we were unable to see the original. But we did see the replica on display in the gift shop. 

The popularity of the dagger, as well as the palace, were given a major boost worldwide when it was made the subject of a popular Hollywood heist film in 1964, "The Light of Day."

The palace was vast and half of it seemed to be under renovation. The half that was open was in desperate need of renovation. Still it was fascinating as a hall led to a room which led to a courtyard which led to more halls and more rooms and more courtyards which entered into additional halls and additional rooms and additional courtyards which emptied into multiple halls and multiple rooms and multiple courtyards. 

After several hours the tour gently shifted from reading inscriptions and taking pictures to trying to find the way out. When we finally exited the palace we had a quick lunch and then headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap. The exhaustion of the palace combined with our ongoing struggle adjusting to the time change made for a fast end of the day. Our long list of things to see and do in this massive and ancient global city was reduced by one. Not exactly what we expected. With only two days left in Istanbul we were going to have to move fast.  

Walking tour

On our first full day we had only one thing on the agenda, a walking tour of the city. We were supposed to meet in a location we didn’t know and wait for a person we never met to show us around a place where we’ve never been. Of course all that is the point of the walking tour. 

We were scheduled to meet our guide in the morning, and were a bit concerned it was going to be too early. That turned out to be no problem because all of our sleep schedules were so out of whack that we were up at the crack of dawn. Actually it is hard not to be up at the crack of dawn in a predominantly Islamic society. One hour before sunrise the city-wide loud speakers announce the call to prayer. Five times a day the call to prayer is projected loudly enough to be heard in every corner of the city. The practice is certainly eerie to the unfamiliar tourist. The caller’s voice is slow and drawn out making a droning sound that echoes through the air. It sounds much like a siren that we would attribute to a warning call or alarm back home.

Our breakfast buffet at the hotel consisted of Turkish coffee or tea, and a medley of vegetables, cheeses and breads. They also had eggs and some assorted meats. None of which are pork, since that is not allowed as part of the Islamic diet.

We easily found our way to the assigned location and a few minutes later connected with our tour guide Erol. He was a young slim Turkish guy in his upper 30s. We were his only clients for the morning so off we went on our private walking tour of the city. He led us to all the major tourist areas and provided as much detail and history of the area as we wanted, and perhaps a little more. He also gave us the ins and outs of city life and how to maneuver as a tourist throughout the city.

At the end of the highly beneficial three hour tour, we were left in a popular area of the city to continue the day with our own exploring. The old city streets are all cobblestone, and often so narrow that they are typically designated as one-way for vehicular traffic. We found the street signs to be a bit lacking or confusing, and often not matching up with the names on the map. They frequently use abbreviations for names just as we do in the states.  For example, we will abbreviate the word Avenue as Ave. Not being familiar with the words or what they meant proved a bit tricky at first, so it required some fast learning to decipher it all.

The city was bustling with people. Literally people from all over the world were here, whether residing or just visiting, and we could hear people speaking many languages. We frequently ran into Russians, Germans, East Asians, and also Spanish speaking people. Perhaps the language we have heard spoken the least is English. Those that know it the best are the shop keepers and restaurant employees in the tourist areas. Outside the tourist areas English is infrequently spoken.

We stopped for lunch in a busy tourist spot, then slowly navigated our way back to the city center, and eventually back to our hotel. The town certainly was crowded, and the streets were lined with small shops and restaurants. “We have the best carpets for you, please come in and look.” “Look at our spices, the best in the country, right here.” “Sweets and candies are here for you, the best anywhere.” “The best leather jackets at the best prices for you!” Every step along the way we were being solicited. We found it fortunate that every shop and every restaurant we passed had the best of whatever it was they sold. How privileged we were to be in the best part of the country having the best dealers around. LOL

Interestingly enough the people rarely pegged us as being from the U.S. The first day someone referred to us as Americans stating that they could tell by Bryan’s Levi jeans. Levi’s are apparently still a rare commodity in this area. When we all wore other kinds of pants, we were typically thought to be German, English or from some other European country. Once we were even thought to be South African.

Our afternoon consisted of napping in our rooms, unpacking a bit and trying to adjust to our new environment. We roused for a late dinner and then back to our rooms for a less than quality night’s sleep. The rooms and beds were comfortable enough, but all of our bodies were still having a hard time adjusting to the new time zone.

Restaurant row

We arrived at our hotel about 6:PM Monday night after a sleep deprived 10 hr flight from Chicago. The only thing on our minds once we were settled at the hotel was to find some dinner. Only 1 block from our hotel was “Restaurant row”. The narrow street was lined on both sides for more blocks than we traversed. Each restaurant was adorned in a different style, all plush with beautiful drapes, seating cushions and furnishings and a unique old world charm. We wanted to try all of them. In font of each restaurant stood a vivacious barker, a person that tries to entice the guest into their place. We heard the wildest stories as to why their place was better than all the rest.

Mark has the least tolerance to these hawkers and he has only two responses. He either walks past them completely ignoring even the slightest contact with them, or he immediately gives in to their offer. (As a side note, never ever go with Mark to a timeshare presentation, but that is for a different blog). I, on the other hand, enjoy the interaction with them and listen to everyone’s plea before I decline and move on. Unlike some of our previous trips with similar hawking, these people are impeccably kind. If you decline, they don’t follow you down the street, they acknowledge your choice, wish you the best, and perhaps hand you a business card, and wave you on with blessings. Many of them make their plea with humor, “Please remember when you are ready to spend your money that I am waiting her for you.”

Istanbul is truly a unique experience and a destination unlike any in the world. Turkey is the only country in the world that spans two continents and it does so right down the middle of Istanbul. The Bosphorus river divides the two continents. Istanbul is the only city in the world where you can have breakfast in the morning in Europe with a view of Asia and have lunch in Asia with a view of Europe.

The city is truly a gateway where many cultures collide and meld. It’s not only straddling two continents but it is also part of the Middle East and a Gateway to the Mediterranean and northern Africa. Hundreds of cultures all merge here and many unusual and unique customs and traditions can only be found in this city. It is home to over 13 million people, roughly the same population at the entire country of Belgium.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at one of the restaurants and retired to our rooms for the night. As we made our way back through the crowded restaurants no one was stopping us anymore, as if they somehow knew we had already eaten. Finally one hawker walked up and handed me his business card and said with a very pleasant smile, “I now you already ate down the road but I will be here tomorrow waiting for you.” In a way we found that rather creepy but at least they were friendly about it.