We meet in Istanbul, part 1: exploring the city

The last stop on Bobbe's Mediterranean adventure was Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. To celebrate the conclusion of her trip, I flew down to Istanbul to see her, and we explored the city together. As you know, this was not my first trip to Turkey -- I visited the beautiful beach city of Dalyan back in June. But it was my first trip to Istanbul, which is a magnificent city that I enjoyed visiting very much.

Istanbul is located on two continents. Europe is divided from Asia by a series of straits. A strait is a very narrow body of water that separates two landmasses. Can you find a map of Turkey? Imagine that you are going north from the Aegean Sea toward Istanbul (as Bobbe did on her ship). The first strait you come to is known as the Dardanelles. Later, you will reach an even narrower strait called the Bosporus. If you keep going through the Bosporus, what body of water will you enter? What countries can you visit if you continue on in your ship?

Istanbul was built on both sides of the Bosporus. All of the most famous tourist sites are on the European side of the strait, but many of the people in Istanbul live on the Asian side. Today, the two sides are connected by a bridge. In the old days, however, people had to take a ferry to get across to the other side. Can you imagine having to commute from one continent to another just to get to work in the morning?

Here is a photograph of Bobbe on her ship entering the Dardanelles. She had to get up early in the morning to see the straits before her ship docked in Istanbul.

Bobbe poses in front of the European side of the Dardanelles.

Istanbul is a city with a very long and exciting history. Because it occupied such a powerful position above the Bosporus, it was easy to defend. In the year AD 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine decided to build his capital city here. He named it Constantinople, after himself. (The right to name cities after yourself is one of the perks of being emperor) Constantine was famous as the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. For the next 1,200 years, Constantinople was one of the centers of the Christian world.

When the western half of the Roman Empire started to crumble, the eastern half remained intact. Based in Constantinople, the so-called "Byzantine" Empire was one of the dominant world powers for another thousand years. In 1453, the city was finally captured by the Ottomans, who called the city "Istanbul" and made it their capital. Under the Ottomans, the city continued to thrive.

I would like to point out that you have already read about the Ottomans on my blog several times. You saw a photograph of a square celebrating the ouster of the Ottomans from Lebanon. You also read Bobbe's explanation of the unfortunate Ottoman decision to store ammunition in the Parthenon.

I want you to appreciate how many different vibrant cultures – Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Turkish – have contributed to the city's landscape over the course of nearly two millennia.

From this picture, you can see what a commanding position Istanbul is in.

I look out over the Bosporus toward Asia.

Here you can see one of the many, many beautiful mosques in the city. I am standing in front of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosporus, which is yet another waterway that contributed to the city's impregnable location.

I observe the maritime commerce of the Golden Horn.

Istanbul's Roman heritage gave it many advantages. One of these advantages was a complete plumbing system in the oldest part of the city. The nearly 1,700-year-old Roman plumbing still works, although today it is used as a museum. Here is a picture of the underground cistern where the water was stored.

The underground Roman cistern in the heart of Istanbul.

Do you know the story of Medusa from Greek mythology? Medusa was a woman who had snakes for hair. She was so ugly because of the snakes that anybody who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. Down in the cistern, there is a famous column with a carved image of Medusa's head on it. Isn't it impressive to put that much detail into an underground water cistern?

I pose with the upside-down head of Medusa on a column in the Roman cistern.

When the Ottomans took over Istanbul, the Ottoman sultan Mehmet II moved his family into the great palace where the Byzantine emperors had previously lived. Over the centuries, the Ottomans made spectacular improvements to the palace, which is now a magnificent and opulent place. Here Bobbe and I are together at the entrance to the Topkapi Palace.

Bobbe and I pose outside the Topkapi Palace.

The Topkapi Palace doesn't look very much like the kind of palace that you would visit in, for example, the United Kingdom or France. That is partly because the weather is so much nicer in Istanbul. It is also partly because the Ottomans had a very different architectural style. The Topkapi Palace is full of a seemingly endless series of courtyards decorated with ornate columns. Here is a picture of Bobbe in one such courtyard.

Bobbe in Topkapi Palace.

What do you notice about the decoration in this courtyard? It is very ornate, but it is all abstract. Islamic art does not allow pictures of humans. A European palace would be full of great portraits and statues. But in the Muslim world, the greatest buildings are filled with patterned tiles, intricate carvings, and lots and lots of beautiful calligraphy. You can see all of those features in the above photograph. Remember this idea -- it is going to come up again both in my next post from Istanbul and in Bobbe's first post from her subsequent adventure.

Of course, on this blog, we make a point of telling you what we ate. The food in Istanbul is great. I had grilled lamb and Bobbe had grilled chicken. Remember what Bobbe told you about Turkish food always coming with a tomato on the side? She was right.

I eat some Turkish lamb.

Bobbe eats some Turkish chicken.

Bobbe and I both really enjoyed Istanbul. It was also a lot of fun to get to travel together.

Stay tuned for our upcoming post about the great religious buildings of Istanbul.

--Benny