Migratory Musings: 2015

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

Turkey Trot - Turning Blu

Radisson Blu Bosphorus Bedding

We had a lovely view of an alley which really didn't matter as we didn't spend much time in the room anyway.

Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise

Yes, that's my yacht. Why do you ask?

Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square

Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar

D inspects the carpets

Turkey Trot - The Blue Mosque

Created with Google Maps

First up was the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (shown on the map above as the Boukoleon Palace) which is more popularly known as the Blue Mosque due to the vast number of blue tiles that line its interior.

In the seventeenth century Sultan Ahmet I had just ended the war with Persia and wanted to build a big mosque to reassert Ottoman power. He chose to build on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, even reusing the vault of the Grand Palace as part of the mosque's foundation. At the time Hagia Sofia was the primary imperial mosque in the city and this one was built practically next door, designed to overshadow it. It's also right beside the Hippodrome where chariot races and other sporting events were held. Its location is significant as it dominates the city skyline when viewed from the south and its minarets are visible for miles. The mosque has six minarets which was seen as presumptuous at the time because the mosque in Mecca also had six. To keep the masses at ease, the sultan paid for an additional minaret to be built in Mecca so that it would always have more.

Minaret as viewed from the courtyard

One side of the courtyard. It's very difficult to get photos
with a good perspective because the building is massive
yet the walls prevent the photographer from backing up far
enough to take everything in.

There are over 20,000 handmade İznik style ceramic tiles lining the lower portions of the mosque in more than fifty different tulip designs. The tiles at lower levels are more traditional in design with the designs growing more flamboyant the higher up they rise.

The sheer number of tiles used in this building
is a bit mind-blowing.

Some of the blue tiles are much more on the green side
of the color spectrum.

Several photos of the ceiling stitched together

The upper levels mostly have blue paint on the walls but that's offset by the more than 200 stained glass windows that admit natural light. Today there are very large electric chandeliers throughout the main prayer room but it's still amazing how the design allows so much light into such a large space.

Richly designed stained glass windows

The floors are covered in carpet and the design is a grid that makes it very easy to distinguish where each worshiper's prayer rug should go to help maximize the number of men praying at a time. The women's section was quite small by comparison and was actually behind the walkway where we tourists pass through. One improvement that had been made since I was there last was that now there's a separate kiosk where they will loan out head scarves for women. These new ones seem to be made out of material similar to medical scrubs and made to withstand more frequent washings. While not as pretty as the silky scarves we'd been loaned on our previous visit, I felt much better about their cleanliness even though I'd brought my own scarf to cover my head and shoulders.

Floor area with a couple of worshipers

The remains of the Hippodrome of Constantinople are just outside the mosque. Not much of it survives today as it's mostly a parking lot, but this was the area for horse and chariot races. To raise the image of the city, which he had made a capital in AD 324, Constantine and his successors brought works of art from all over the empire to decorate the infield of the U-shaped racetrack.

He ordered the Tripod of Plataea brought from the Greek city of Delphi. The tripod was cast to celebrate the victory of the Greeks during the Persian Wars in the 5th century BC. The tripod was a serpentine column topped by a golden bowl supported by three serpent heads. Unfortunately the bowl was stolen or destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in the early 13th century. The heads remained a bit longer as many Ottoman miniatures from the late 17th century show they were intact following the Turkish conquest of the city but today all that is left is the Serpentine Column itself.

Serpentine Column

In 390 AD Theodosius the Great brought in an obelisk from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt. The obelisk was erected during the reign of Thutmose III in about 1490 BC. It's carved from pink granite and was originally 30 meters tall. Theodosius had it cut into three pieces for transport but somewhere along the way the bottom portion got damaged and so the remaining portion that stands today is 18.54m tall. The carvings on each side celebrate Thutmose III's victory on the banks of the Euphrates River in 1450 BC.

Obelisk of Theodosius

The pedestal is intricately carved as well. One side depicts Theodosius offering laurels of victory. Another side demonstrates how the obelisk was erected: they dug a hole, secured the base and then mounted the obelisk on top of the pedestal.

Carvings depict spectators. Note where over the centuries
water has worn a column into the base.

Here's how you erect an obelisk...

The other item of note at the Hippodrome is the Walled Obelisk that was erected in the 10th century by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. It was originally covered with bronze plates but those were taken by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade. All that remains is the stone core.

Walled Obelisk

I always find the Blue Mosque fascinating and picturesque. The sheer size of the building and the vast number of tiles lining it are just awe-inspiring when you consider the construction tools of the day. Likewise, the fact that an obelisk carved 3500 years ago is standing and appears to be in fantastic shape is just amazing. The first half of our busy morning was complete and it was time to move on to the next attraction.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Turkey Trot - Putting on the Ritz

Turkey Trot - Overview
Turkey Trot - First Class
Turkey Trot - Are We There Yet?
Turkey Trot - Ephesus
Turkey Trot - Mary's House and Basilica of St. John
Turkey Trot - Swissotel Efes
Turkey Trot - Taking the Bus and Priene
Turkey Trot - Putting on the Ritz
Turkey Trot - The Blue Mosque
Turkey Trot - Topkapi Palace
Turkey Trot - Hagia Sophia
Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar
Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square
Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise
Turkey Trot - Turning Blu
Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

Our alloted time in Izmir was up and the next day T came to escort us to the airport for our flight back to Istanbul. Our driver brought us curbside and T escorted us through the gleaming Izmir terminal. It was only six months old when we went through it so the shiny was still present everywhere.

T made sure we went to the correct ticket line and checked to be sure we had our boarding passes before leaving us at the security checkpoint. There wasn't much of a line either at the ticket desk or at security as each point had plenty of stations open.

Once we were airside we wandered a bit, looking at little shops and such. Izmir may be the only place where I've actively looked for postcards and never found them. Neither did I find them at the airport so I ended up with a little magnet as my souvenir.

We still had time to kill so we made sure to visit the facilities before getting aboard the plane and this was the only place I experienced where the airport was poorly designed. Whereas a US airport will have a dozen stalls or more, this restroom had only three and one was of the hole-in-the-ground variety. Additionally there was quite a line of ladies waiting and it made me glad I hadn't waited until the last minute. Sometimes I wonder what architects are thinking when they design public buildings!

Soon enough we boarded Pegasus Airlines back to Istanbul's domestic terminal. As before our plane was parked remotely and we had to take a shuttle bus back to the terminal itself. Then we had to wait an inordinate amount of time for our luggage. We speculate that part of the delay had to have been that the tugs had to spend a lot of time waiting to cross the taxiways safely as our bus had encountered the same thing. Finally we got our bags and met up with a new guide, M, who escorted us to our hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul.

While we'd paid for our nights at the Swissotel, our stay here was free thanks to C and me using points earned with our Marriott credit cards. The hotel is on the side of a steep hill but it's in good proximity to Taksim Square and the Bosphorus Strait. It's also right next door to a new football stadium that was still under construction. I would not want to be staying on the stadium side on nights when events were being held there as I suspect the lights would be quite bright.

Entering the hotel your luggage and handbags go through an x-ray machine and people go through a metal detector. It's sad that even at such a luxurious hotel this process is still required. But once inside the lobby has an immediately calming effect as it just oozes quiet luxury. Marble floors, tastefully decorated and with welcoming drinks of water or pomegranate juice, depending on the time of day.

Front Desk

Lobby Bar

Beautiful Finishing Touches

Stairs leading up to shopping area

After checking in we were escorted to our room and the rollaway was brought up shortly thereafter. As it was meant to be just a room with (large) twin beds, it was a bit of a tight fit but, hey, the price was right.

Twin Beds. We moved the lamp and chair in the corner
to fit in the rollaway bed.

View from our room

Once entering the door there's a small hallway with the bathroom on the right and the closet on the left. In the closet were our robes and slippers.

There was a chair in the corner that got displaced for the rollaway but we also had a desk with its own chair and a combination TV stand/mini-bar and even then there was some floor space left over where we could put our suitcases.

Desk and chairs. TV stand on the left.

We loved the bathroom. It was probably two-thirds the size of the bedroom. A tub ran along the left wall while straight ahead was the vanity. There was only one sink but that meant more counter space for all our stuff. On the right was the toilet room and the shower. My only complaint was that the hairdryer was in a lower drawer and permanently plugged in there. I got quite an arm workout trying to make the cord stretch all the way up to my head. Maybe I should have just sat on the side of the tub to dry my hair.

Bathroom vanity

Big ol' tub

Shower stall

Outside there was a pool with loads of chairs and an outdoor café. There was also a pool inside along with Turkish baths and a full spa and a gym though we did not use any of these.

Indoor pool

Cardio machines

Turkish bath

The staff was just fantastic here. Everyone was so polite and helpful. We got good advice from the concierge about places to eat within walking distance and even the bellboys welcomed us back each time we returned. I can highly recommend this place and would be happy to return.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Turkey Trot - Taking the Bus and Priene

Kebabs for everybody

Then we made it to Priene. It was an ancient Greek city of Ionia and was built overlooking the Aegean. Today, just as happened with Ephesus, it is no longer a coastal city due to harbors filling with silt and due to earthquakes. It's believed it once had 4000-5000 residents, so not a major city but it was known for its Hellenistic art and architecture.

How the coastline changed over centuries

Priene "coastline" today

We climbed a small hill through the city gates to find the agora not far from the entrance.

Priene City Gate

Agora

The theater is in rather good repair, considering its age and lack of tourist money. We speculated on who the special seats might be reserved for.

Theater Stage Area

Theater Seating

It also had a church that was a three-aisled basilica called the Bishop's Church. It was built of stone re-used from older buildings and dates to the 5th-6th century AD. It was abandoned around 1300 AD.

Bishop's Chair?

Bishop's Church with the friendly dog who followed us around

Perhaps the most famous thing in Priene is its Temple of Athena. Construction began in the 4th century BC but not completed until the reign of the Emperor Augustus (27 BC - AD 14). The statue of the goddess was based on the one in the Parthenon in Athens. The building featured Ionic columns, which now lie in pieces around the area though some have been reconstructed. There were 11 columns on each side of the building and six columns on each end.

Column pieces. Note the hole in the center used
to help keep the columns erect.

Reconstructed Columns

Looks like an elephant's toes but they represent eggs
which are symbols of fertility, which Athena represents

Graffiti or meaningful carving? My ancient Greek's not so good.

The nice thing about these ruins as compared to Ephesus was that we could climb on them and touch the carvings made thousands of years ago. It's hard to believe anything we construct today will last as long as the things we see here.

After leaving Priene, M drove us around Kuşadası and we stopped for ice cream at a shop in a new outdoor mall where M was friends with the proprietor.

Then it was time for us to catch the bus back to Izmir. Fortunately we arrived at the bus station just in time to catch the bus so we didn't have to wait very long. The real fun began when we got to the bus station in Izmir and had to find where to catch the shuttle bus back to the hotel. If we'd followed the directions exactly as they'd been given to us we'd have had no problems but we got a little confused and ended up wandering for about 15-20 minutes before we found the correct spot - only to arrive just as the shuttle was leaving. There was nothing left to do but wait 30 minutes for the next one. It was a harmless learning experience and we got a tour of the station so it was all good.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Turkey Trot - Swissotel Efes

While we slept in a bit, we did make sure we were up in time to visit the breakfast buffet. And oh. My. Goodness. We were officially spoiled for the rest of the trip. It would be hard to imagine any kind of breakfast food that was not included on this buffet. The photo below doesn't even include it all though most of the stations are represented. The dining room was large and they had the sliding doors out to the patio opened. Fortunately we'd missed most of the business people as they'd already left for work or their conference so it was relatively quiet. We were reminded, however, that the rest of the world doesn't have the aversion to smoking that we do as the smokers were relegated to the patio, driving the rest of us indoors.

Our room was upgraded from the standard size to one slightly larger since we needed a rollaway bed. While we'd hoped for twin beds, we made do with a king for a few nights so we could have that larger room. We faced the hotel's courtyard which contained a large grassy area and the pool - which had a café underneath it! We had good intentions of eating there but never did.

In the evenings we really enjoyed walking along the waterfront and dining at one of the dozens of al fresco restaurants there. There were so many choices we had a hard time deciding each night. Running between the restaurants and the Aegean Sea was a large grassy area where people would gather to chat or have a picnic in a very family-friendly environment. The stray dogs that are all over Izmir (they appear very well cared for and have excellent manners!) would wrestle with and chase each other and then come by for a pat on the head. We thought it was an excellent use of the land as the people took obvious enjoyment from it.

After dark we noticed one of the hotels had this design on the waterfront side. It's the Turkish flag and the silhouette on the right is that of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. Though he died in 1931, his name and image are very present in modern Turkey.

Migratory Musings

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Turkey Trot - Turning Blu

Friday, June 5, 2015

Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Turkey Trot - Hagia Sophia

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Turkey Trot - Topkapı Palace

Tuesday, May 19, 2015