With a jerk, flight EK219 made its final approach to Ataturk Internat-ional Airport, waking most of the passengers with a start in the early hours of a warm summer day.
Soon there was an announcement that the plane would be landing in Istanbul shortly and the passengers were reminded to fasten their seat belts and remain seated on their seats till the plane came to a stop. This announcement, all over the world, ironically seems to change the normally sober and staid passengers into demons and I was not disappointed here as well. While ‘No smoking’ and ‘Fasten seat belts’ signs are still on, they acquire a new personality, aggression writ large on their faces, they get up to retrieve their luggage from the overhead compartment without any consideration to their fellow passengers. Having retrieved their luggage, they stand and block the aisle waiting for the plane to stop and the gates to open.
In a short while the gates were opened and the passengers started moving out slowly. The concourse was overcrowded but the immigration staff worked efficiently and the rush was disposed off quickly. I was out of the immigration in 20 minutes, I walked to the luggage carousel and picked my suitcase. Taxies were lined outside the hall and I hired one to take me to my hotel in the Sultanahmet area, which is the centre of the old city. Within an hour, I was inside my room, on the top floor of the small boutique hotel which had a great view of the Golden Horn in the distance, The Haga Sophia Cathedral and the Blue Mosque, right in front of the hotel. The location could not be better and the room was clean and comfortable.
Istanbul is an old city with a population estimated between 12-15 million. It is the only city in the world that is straddled on two continents. It has been the capital of the Byzantine, Roman, Christian and Ottoman empires in its colourful past. All these cultures have left an indelible mark on the city and its history. It is full of forts, palaces, bridges and mosques.
The 19th century saw a construction boom in western style of architecture reflected in the palaces and villas, constructed along the Bosphorus during the reign of Sultan Abdel Mejid and saw the emergence of art nouveau under the Balyan family of architects, one of whom was the chief architect of the Dolombahce Palace built in 1864. Today, Istanbul along with Vienna, Barcelona and Brussels is considered the art nouveau capital of the world.
The area I was staying is called Sultanahmet and contains the famous Blue Mosque whose official name is Sultanahmet Mosque, The Cathedral of Haga Sophia, The Hippodrome, The Aquaduct and The Topkapi Palace. The Grand Bazaar is at a ten minute’s walk and I could visit on foot all the above-mentioned places within a day. Having showered and eaten, I was out in the square which led me to The Hippodrome, built by Roman Emperor Septimus Severus. It measured 480 metres by 117 metres and could contain 100,000 people. The walls of the arena were adorned with sculptures. Chariot races were held here for the entertainment of the populace. Emperor Theodosius erected an Egyptian Obelisk in 390 AD and placed it in the centre of The Hippodrome in an ornate square pedestal. The pedestal is engraved with scenes of chariot races with the figure of Emperor Theodosius displayed prominently.
I walked along with the crowd towards the magnificent Sultanahmet mosque, commonly known as the Blue Mosque because of the liberal use of blue and white Iznik tiles inside the main hall, which are set ablaze when the sunlight filters through the 260 stained glass windows. This creates a surrealistic but spiritual atmosphere for the visitor. The dome soars to a height of 43 metres, which is embellished with Quranic inscription in the nastaleeq style of calligraphy in predominantly blue and gold letters. It is the only mosque in the world with six minarets.
The mosque is situated in a huge courtyard which has five gates leading into an inner courtyard. The inner courtyard is surrounded by covered porticos consisting of 26 columns and 30 domes. There are three entrances to the main building of the mosque which is 51.65 metres wide and 53.40 metres long. The main dome sits on four massive pillars which are 5 metres in diameter and are called Elephant Legs. The stained glass windows with their dominant blue colour complement the 21,000 blue Iznik tiles with floral motifs, covering the walls of the Prayer Hall.
This mosque, work for which started in 1609 and completed in 1616 under the supervision of Master Architect Mehmet Aga, a student of Master Sinan, the greatest architect of the Ottoman empire, whose magnificent 16th century mosque Sulemaniye had set the highest standards for mosque architecture in the entire Muslim world. Sultan Ahmet ordered his architect Mehmet Aga to built a mosque that should surpass in architectural beauty and splendour the great Sulemaniye and the great Cathedral Haga Sophia. There is a huge garden laid out between the mosque and the Cathedral. The garden holds a light and sound show every evening with the backdrop of the Blue Mosque.
The garden was full of tourists, locals, children, vendors who were busy selling, playing, walking, gawking, eating, relaxing and enjoying life. The muezzin was calling the faithful for the noon prayer and the hum of the voices suddenly stopped in deference to the plaintive cry of the muezzin. A young couple sitting on a bench, holding hands was looking into each other’s eyes, oblivious of the world.
I joined the throng of the people moving towards the Cathedral. Built by Emperor Theodosius in the 4th century AD, it burned down in AD532 and was rebuilt in AD537 by Emperor Justinian. It has a magnificent dome of massive proportions, measuring over 30 metres in diameter and 55 metres in height. There are four minarets on all the corners which were built by Sultan Mehmet, in 1453, when he captured Istanbul from the crusaders and converted it into a mosque. Sultan Mehmet ordered his imperial architect Master Sinan to change the Cathedral into a mosque.
Sinan designed and erected four slender minarets on all sides and strengthened the outer walls with sloping buttresses. These changes succeeded in hiding its Byzantian character, and from the outside it looks like a mosque but inside its real character is immediately visible. One sees a classic ground plan of a huge Basilica measuring 75 metre by 70 metres. The central dome, with a height of 55 metres, creates a massive hall supported by 107 Doric columns of gigantic size. The amazingly simple plan creates space and serenity.
The mosaics, most of which were destroyed in the 8th century on the orders of Emperor Leo III during the Iconoclastic Period, were restored by order of Empress Theodore in AD843, an event which is celebrated till now by the Orthodox Church. Some mosaics from 10th century are found on the upper floor and the main apse of the Cathedral. When the Cathedral was converted into a mosque, the faces on the mosaic were covered, which have since been restored to their original glory.
A broad flight of stairs leads to the upper floor which has a running gallery looking down into the main hall. The only Muslim symbol inside the Cathedral is the carved mehrab from the front wall and the Names of Allah, the Holy Mohammed (Peace be upon him), the four Caliphs, Hassan, Hussain and Fatima engraved above the mehrab. The mosaic on the apse depicts Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus Christ. She is sitting on a bench with her feet resting on a stool and the infant Jesus has his right arm raised in blessing.
Another mosaic of brilliant colour pertains to the 10th century on the main entrance, which shows Jesus seated on a jewelled throne, with his right hand raised in benediction and the left hand holding the book of Gospel. He is flanked on his right side by Emperor Constantine IX, offering a money bag and on the left side Empress Zoe, holding a scroll in both hands. The quality of the mosaics and the brilliance of the colours after a passage of thousand years is remarkable. Haga Sophia, once the largest building in the world, is the fourth largest cathedral in the world after St. Paul’s Cathedral, in London, St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome and The Duomo in Milan.
So much can be said in praise of the beauty of The Sulemaniye and the Eyup Sultan mosques, the architectural wealth and affluence of so many other sites of Istanbul. However, it is best to leave it for some other time due to the limitation of space.
With a jerk, flight EK219 made its final approach to Ataturk Internat-ional Airport, waking most of the passengers with a start in the early hours of a warm summer day.
