This is the Blue
Mosque in Istanbul. It was built directly across from the Hagia Sophia,
after the Muslim Turks took over the city. The new rulers wanted to
show they could build something as majestic as the Christian Hagia
Sophia.
Like many great Turkish mosques, this one was designed by an Italian
named Sinan. It is the only mosque in the world with exactly six
minarets. |
Interior of the
Blue Mosque. Most trips to foreign countries involve lots of
traditional sight seeing. Usually, the places that are famous are
famous for a reason. This is certainly the case with the Blue Mosque,
my favorite building in Istanbul. An important part of traveling,
however, is getting beyond the well-worn path of the average tourist.
Usually, all you have to do is take a few steps down a less-travelled
street.
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One of many ferry
stops around Istanbul, a city on the water. There are three main parts
of Istanbul, all separated by water. There are bridges, but ferries are
still a better option for many Turks. Sometimes "getting there" is as
much fun as being there for a traveler. The ferries in Istanbul are
cheap, relatively easy to understand, and reasonably quick, especially
for people without a car.
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After a few days
in Istanbul, our group went by boat and then by train south to the city
of Izmir. From Izmir we ventured further south to the modern city of
Kushadasi, site of the historic town of Ephesus, an important Greek
outpost. This is one of several public theaters, amazingly well
preserved. Jenny and Dave sit in the lower left corner of the picture.
Dave is almost certainly reading his Lonely Planet guide book!
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Dave and Jenny at
Ephesus.
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Aditya at Ephesus.
In both of these pictures you can see that the well-equipped traveler
usually carries a backpack! Yes, you look like a tourist (which you
are), but some things are too important to leave at the hotel—water,
guide book, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, film, passport, money.
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Aditya, Jenny,
Dave, and Derek, relaxing in Kushadasi. Note the large water bottles.
Staying hydrated can be a challenge, so you have to buy water before
you need it.
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After much
wrangling with the tour bus companies, we moved east to Konya. Contrary
to what you might think, carpet shops are a great place to meet people.
Often they are staffed by young men home from college—in the summer at
least. Derek bought a carpet here and we spent a while sharing tea (a
necessity in a carpet shop) and chatting about Turkey with the
proprietors.
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In Konya, we met
up with a woman from Damascus, who was traveling by herself. She wanted
someone to visit some sights with, and we were happy to oblige. As
a Muslim and a Middle-Easterner, she could explain many things to us
that we would have otherwise overlooked.
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Aditya in a
beautiful carpet shop. He made the excellent decision of buying not a
carpet but a donkey bag. It is much more interesting than a carpet and
also much cheaper! You can see how much effort these guys put into
making their shops nice looking places. All of the items on the floor
were put out for Aditya to look at. When you shop, they throw out
scores of possibilities, in the hope that just one special one will
catch your eye. It usually works.
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After Konya, we
moved on to Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey known for its
interesting features, such as the cave-dwelling troglodytes. We stayed
at a spectacularly clean and beautiful hotel for $7.00 per
person—without question the best value I've gotten in accomodations. In
the
U.S. for what we got, we would have paid $100 or more.
Here Aditya follows our hired tour guide on a hike through the valley.
We hired this guide and a van for the day from a package tour place.
Many of the sites were spread out, and it would have been nearly
impossible to see them all in one day with public transportation.
Another great value.
Saving money is not my primary concern when traveling, but I think it
shows how cheap -- in the broadest sense -- traveling can be. I've paid
pennies for things that are easily worth much, much more. How do you
put a price on unforgettable experiences? And, ironically, the cheaper
options are often more interesting!
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This is the front
gate of a caravanseri, in the middle of the countryside. In the old
days of the caravan trade, these wayside stops were scattered all over
the Middle East, offering a place to stay and a chance to get
provisions for the travelers and merchants on the trade routes across
the region.
This edifice is typical of Muslim architecture, with the arch inside a
rectangular frame. This feature can be seen, in mosques as well as
non-religious buildings like this one, from Morocco to China.
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After our days in
Cappadocia, Derek, Dave, and Jenny returned home. Aditya and I
journeyed south to Damascus, Syria. Damascus is one of many places in
the Middle East with a well-preserved old city. This section is a bit
more modern, however, with its metal roof. Notice the large picture of
Hafez al-Asad—the then president of Syria—hanging overhead. His
image was all over the city. Asad died in 2000 and was replaced by his
son Bashar.
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The Omayyad Mosque
in Damascus, in the heart of the old city. It was constructed at the
beginning of the 8th century, after the arrival of the Muslims,
following their expansion from the Arabian penninsula. Previously on
the site had been an Aramaic temple, a Roman Temple to the god Jupiter,
and then a Christian Byzantine church. The mosque was built from
scratch and has stood for 1300 years. For years after its initial
construction, Christians and Muslims worshipped on opposite sides of
the same site, sharing the space.
Saladin, famous for repelling the crusaders from Jerusalem in the 12th
century, is buried on this site.
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Another street in
the old city, under the modern roof. But, it is Friday, and all the
shops are closed! There are open shops, in the Armenian section.
Armenians are Christians, and their businesses are open on Friday and
closed on Sunday.
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In Damascus,
Aditya and I met two friendly Syrians who demonstrated the much-vaunted
Arab hospitality. They made us an amazing meal at their house, and also
invited us to their relatives' house in the southern suburbs. Just to
the south of that point lies the Golan Heights, in Israel, which used
to belong to Syria. Five years previously, Aditya and I had stood on
the top of the Golan Heights looking down into Syria, where we were now
visiting. Two very different perspectives.
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Aditya studies the
guide book, our constant companion. After five days in Damascus, we
went back north to Aleppo. Unfortunately, we only stayed here one
night, since we were exhausted by this point and wanted to get back to
Istanbul. Aleppo has much to see, and we did our best to pack in a full
day, but I would love to go back.
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This is the souk
(marketplace) of Aleppo, one of the most famous in the Middle East. It
is completely covered, and, like many of its counterparts in other
places, has been completely fitted for modern commercial life. These
souks are like our shopping malls, only much bigger, in terms of the
number of shops. And instead of four or so major "streets" they have
scores and scores of passageways. You will get lost. And it will be a
good thing.
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The citadel of
Aleppo. We paid the gatekeeper a small fee and had the place completely
to ourselves. This fortress sits on top of a hill that dominates the
city, like the Acropolis in Athens. It was designed, like all military
architecture, to repel an attack. You can imagine the difficulty any
would-be conquerors would face. The style may seem stark, but inside
the square section at the top is a beautiful room, decorated like a
palace. This is a recurrent theme in Islamic architecture. The outside
of a building does not always indicate the quality of what is on the
inside.
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After leaving
Aleppo, we crossed the border back into Turkey and stayed the night in
Gaziantep, a large industrial town. Here I am standing on the citadel,
a smaller version of what we had just seen in Aleppo. As we were
exploring the citadel, suddenly the call to prayer rang out across the
whole city. Hundreds and hundreds of mosques began the cry "Allahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar!" It was an unforgettable symphony of sound,
echoing over miles of urban landscape.
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Once back in
Istanbul, it became our goal to explore as much as possible in our
final week. We began by visiting an island to the south of the city
where cars are not allowed. The island is known both for this and for
its old wooden buildings such as this one. It seemed to be a popular
site for young Turkish people to visit—a chance to get away from the
city and do something different. The majority of tourists were Turks,
an excellent example of how easy it is for westerners to get off the
beaten path, if you put forth just a little effort.
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At the hotel in
Istanbul. Aditya studies the map, prepping for yet another day of
non-stop walking and touring. Our travelers' fuel is conspicuous in the
foreground—countless bottles of water and various drinks.
"Yedigün"
became a favorite.
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A Roman aquaduct
in the western part of Istanbul.
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I have never seen
more on-the-street commerce than in Istanbul. People were selling
things everywhere. They just put down a blanket and then cover it with
stuff. After three weeks and a few days of asking me for the time,
Aditya finally bought a watch here!
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