Dunnett and Istanbul

Monday, November 09

Dorothy Dunnett (author of the Lymond series) would be proud of me. Over the last two days I’ve been living with Philippa and Lymond as they moved through the Topkapi Palace, the cisterns and the back streets of Istanbul – only 500 years separate us since they were here in the 1400’s when Suleyman the Magnificent was living with his harem, the eunuchs and the janissaries . I finished reading Pawn in Frankincense just before leaving on the trip, and every bit of the intrigue and tragedy of the novel made my current tourist activities that much more meaningful. The other book which has guided me is Orhan Pamuk’s book Istanbul, an evocative reflection of Pamuk’s childhood in the changing world of Istanbul where Western behavior and culture were rapidly replacing the Ottoman tradition.

Yesterday, being Sunday with some things closed, we spent the major part of our day wandering through the archaeological museum and the tile museum. The archaeological museum was amazingly empty, which was delightful for us since we could wander leisurely through rooms without having to duck past tour groups. The most amazing finds were the sarcophagi found in Sidon (then part of the Ottoman Empire, but now in Lebanon), in the late 1700’s by Osman Hamdi who then started the museum in which these ruins are now situated. It took him (and his crew) less than four months to discover and excavate these absolutely intact structures from a large royal necropolis, and to have them transported to Istanbul by ship. What was astounding was that since they had lain undiscovered for over 1900 years, every bit of stonework and carving was complete. Having been through too many Greek museums where heads, arms, noses or feet are missing, it was pure pleasure to see a totally intact un-cracked structure. The only things missing were the silver swords originally held by various warriors. Even some of the color of the original was visible, and the museum had made a small replica of one portion of the sarcophagus in its most vivid colors so that one could imagine the full structure in its full gaudy colors. I was so delighted that I kept commenting on how perfect it all was. The other important sarcophagus found at the same site is that of the Mourning Women which was equally beautiful and complete with the women’s poses very similar to the many stellae seen in the Athens museum. What was wonderful to learn was that Hamdi who is considered the father of Turkish Museums ensured that no artifacts could be taken out of the country… ensuring that their collections would not land up in the British Museum for future generations to fight over.

Another exhibit in the museum which caught our attention was an exhibit demonstrating the archaeological findings which have come to light with the construction of the new underground train system. Just feet below the modern day streets of Istanbul lay the remains of over 2000 years of history. It, of course, leaves modern day Turkey with the issue of how much should be dug up and retained for historical purposes, and how much displacement of 21st century Istanbul should be sacrificed to this history. The exhibit showed artifacts from these digs, and had them grouped by city districts so that a modern Istanbulli can associate his community with that of ancient times.

The last series of rooms in which we wandered were primarily sculptures from other parts of Anatolia including Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Miletus – many of the archaeological sites we’ll be seeing on the upcoming cruise.

Thoroughly foot sore, we whipped through the Tile Museum which while beautiful did not catch our fancy, so we left and headed for the Cistern of the Basilica. To call it a rip-off tourist site would be perhaps too offensive, but it really wasn’t worth it. However, the cisterns of Istanbul played a huge role in my Dunnett book, so we had to see at least one cistern. This one built of a series of Corinthian and Doric columns was the size of two football fields, had just enough water to allow fish to be flitting by in the subterranean, eerily lit area. The cisterns were meant to hold water for the city in time of siege, and this one now serves to demonstrate what the others must have been like. I’m glad we went, but it doesn’t need to be repeated – unlike the museum which we could visit again and again.

Parched and in need of a beer, we went to a sister hotel of the one in which we’re staying - the Orient Express Hotel (not associated with the true Orient Express except in having stolen the name and the theme). Here on their well-advertised roof top we had a beer and a snack while looking at the endless stream of ship traffic on the Bosphorus, and Golden Horn. The view of water is always wonderful, but the streets between the hotel and the water had little to recommend them in the way of view. We wandered back to our hotel, past Sunday strolling tourists & locals, and put our feet up before dinner.

What is interesting is that this is distinctly a Muslim-centered city. Beer cannot be served in many of the lovely open areas because they are too close to mosques; women in the town seem to be dressed in one of three manners – completely clothed from scarf to toe so that only faces are showing; modern dress or pants with only headscarves to demonstrate their faith; or completely modern as we would see any woman in a western culture.

Today, Monday, we had one goal only – Topkapi Palace. The guidebooks said to give it at least two hours, we gave it easily double that time. With the self-guided audio tour, we were able to wander in and out of the various structures, sitting in the warm sunny gardens when we needed a brief rest to absorb what we had just seen, or to re-listen to what we had just heard a minute ago. From 1465 – 1856 this was the heart of the Ottoman Empire where the Sultans reigned as son followed father for over 400 years. It is a conglomeration of buildings, each in its own style, as each succeeding sultan put his mark on the palace. The opulence is overwhelming, be it the tile work, the sculpture or the tapestry. In the Treasury Buildings were some of the most luxurious of the various remnants of this period : the famous Topkapi dagger, made famous in the movie Topkapi, the 200 pound gold candle holders, the spoonmaker diamond; the gold-threaded garments. Going through these rooms reminded me of going through the Tower of London and seeing the crowned jewels. Perhaps the most interesting area for me was the series of rooms holding relics of the Muslim faith. Here one saw a footprint of Mohammed, the arm of Mohammed (coated in silver), a gold case holding the cape of Mohammed, and in one small area an Imam who reads from the Koran 24 hours a day for over 400 years. Now a microphone carries his voice, but to think that this goes on hour after hour, year after year was fairly astounding. (Who keeps him and his colleagues company when the museum closes for the night?).

We enjoyed every minute of our tour and never even got to the china collection, the kitchens, the stables, or the Harem. It just means we have to come back another time. This like many other cities is being added to the places where we need to return. The only question is – when?

From one of the many vista points in Topkapi we caught sight of our ship waiting across the water for us to join it. Tomorrow we go on board and begin the next new adventure. 40 nights sleeping on some body of water makes us both very happy as we contemplate our voyage of discovery.

Best sign of the evening – a sign in the hotel elevator advertising one of the restaurants : “Take an exotic journey around Anatolia’s Flouvers” . We think they meant flavors, but who knows.,