Sultanahmet Mosque

The mosque from afar.



The view of the mosque through the trees near the metro line that runs right in front of the mosque.



Approaching the mosque.



Different view.



Outside the mosque.



The view of the dome through the main entrance while climbing the stairs that lead inside.



Right outside the door.



Inside the perimeter of the mosque.



In the main courtyard.



A closer look.



One of the six minarets.

Approaching the Sultanahmet Mosque (Side facing Hagia Sophia)

The grand Sultanahmet Mosque visible over a fountain.



Approaching the Sultanahmet mosque from the side. Hagia Sophia is exactly opposite this side.



Closer still.



That's me outside the mosque. Picture taken by a Chinese tourist. There were loads of them around.



Just outside the side entrance.



That's me outside the side entrance. Picture taken by a woman (origin unknown)!



Sultanahmet Camii (pronounced 'jami').



The door to the mosque.



The side of the mosque.

The Sultanahmet Mosque

The inscription on top of the main door



Facing towards the front of the mosque. You immediately notice the huge and elaborate chandelier in the middle of the praying area.



A closer look at the chandelier.



From the side, the front of the mosque. Notice the elaborate windows!



Another view.



The stairs from where the imam gives his sermon.



The imam's domain!



A view of the domed ceiling.



The windows.



This is to the side of the mosque. People can sit here and read the Quran.



Same area.

A History of the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofia)

Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom is the mother church of all Eastern Christians of the Byzantine liturgical tradition both Orthodox and Greek Catholic. Early accounts suggest that the site of this, the grandest church in Christendom, in the first millennium had been the site of a pagan temple appropriated for the service of the new religion. The first church on the site was built by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius, son of Emperor Constantine, who had liberated the Christian faith from centuries of persecution. Constantius' church was consecrated in 360 AD. At first it was known as the Great Church because it was the largest at the time. Later it became known as Holy Wisdom, a name attributed to Christ by theologians of the 4th century.

In 404 AD the church was destroyed by mobs set into action when Emperor Arcadius sent Archbishop John Chrysostom into exile for his criticism of the Empress. In 415 AD Emperor Theodosius II rebuilt the church. It too fell victim to a rampaging mob at the time of Monophysite heretics in 532 AD. The new Emperor Justinian, firm defender of orthodoxy, made short work of the howling heretics and ordered that construction begin on a new basilica such as had never been seen before. The construction work lasted from 532 to 537; the new church was consecrated by Patriarch Menas on December 27, 537.

Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia)

I had heard a lot about the Hagia Sofia (Aya Sofia) and was really excited to see it. However, the building somehow loses to the grand image people have built up. But then you realise that it's not a modern building but a structure made in the year 537. The old basilica was made in 404 over the remains of which the new one was constructed. Just to be walking on the same stones that people 1500 years ago walked on just gives you a sensation of the deep history. Your spine tingles. I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen when you look at the pics I've posted. Mine still does!

This church was the biggest church in all of christiandom when it was completed in 537 until the St. Peters Church in Rome - more than a THOUSAND years later.

Spoonmaker's Diamond

The Spoonmaker's Diamond, kept in Topkapı Palace, is the world's fifth biggest diamond. It got its name when someone found it on a rubbish heap, thought it was a fake, and swapped it for three spoons.

I plan to check out the Topkapı Palace on the coming weekend. Let's hope I get time and get to see the diamond!

Belly Dancing!

Finally I get to see the much-hyped belly dance of Turkey!

Sunset on the Marmara

Sunsets on the sea are always beautiful! And so was this. However, when the coastline silhouette has the grand minars of the Ottoman-era mosques of Istanbul, it makes a completely new experience. This was one of the most unforgettable moments for me!

The hospitable Turks

Sunday’s are always a lazy day. I got up at 0800 even though I’d gone to sleep at 0430. Had to force myself to go back to sleep. When I woke up I had missed breakfast, which wasn’t such a big issue since I didn’t feel too hungry.

The weather is simply awesome today. It’s a bit windy and chilly. Most of the locals I see around the area are wearing windbreakers and jackets. I, however, didn’t realize the weather would be like this and didn’t bring any warm clothing. So as usual I set out in my cotton shirt, attracting quite a bit of attention since I was the only one dressed that way.

I walked as far as Yesilyurt. The hotel I’m in is in Yesilkoy. Yesilkoy is to my knowledge the ocean side area of the larger area called Yesilyurt. The local public transport I took last night to get back from Istiklal Street (Taksim Square) dropped me off at the Yesilyurt stop. There is a small market there, and I thought it would be nice to drop in a little store and grab a few snacks. So I walked all the way over, but somehow didn’t feel like getting anything when I entered one of the markets. After strolling around for a while, I thought I’d grab some lunch but it was hardly noon by that time. However, I did stop at a small café and looked around to see if I could find anything interesting to eat. The proprietor was a friendly sort and even though I had decided not to stay, he still handed me a menu to take with me just in case I changed my mind. And so I headed back to the hotel. I went to my room and grabbed my laptop to check my emails.

It was around 1500 when I realized I really needed to eat something. So I walked back to the market in Yesilyurt. I went straight to that nice little café I had found and ordered the tawuk sis. It’s basically grilled chicken, served with french fries, paprika and tomatoes. I ordered some bread as well, since Pakistani diet without bread isn’t complete.

The man seemed really friendly and apologized for his English but I found it to be far better than the average English speaking skills of Istanbulites. The meal was delicious when it finally arrived. I felt that it wouldn’t be enough for me since I thought I was really hungry, but surprisingly the helping that seemed to be meager was filling enough. I started chatting up with Faris Ali (the proprietor) and he told me he knew quite a bit of German since he had lived there for 8 years. Sadly I have totally forgotten any German that I had learned. The paprika was especially delicious and I asked for one more, however I got a whole plateful. The Turks, as far as I’ve found them, are extremely courteous, friendly and generous people. Faris even got me another serving of bread even though I explained that I was almost done and wouldn’t need any more.

My colleague called, he’d just woken up, and told me that our travel plans for today stood cancelled since he needed to catch up on work. So I told him, I’d walk back to the hotel and catch up on my work too. I was planning on asking for the bill, when Faris offered or rather insisted that I try the traditional Turkish halwa. And so I did. It was delicious, reminded me of the home made halwa my mother used to make with puris. As I was digging into halwa, a cup of tea was also placed in front of me. I asked him which should I try first, the halwa or the tea and in his poor understanding of English he misunderstood me and kept repeating that it was all complimentary. Later he did understand and told me to go with the halwa first and then for the tea. His suggestion worked. The heaviness of the halwa disappeared with the first few sips of the tea.

Now was the time for the bill. Fearing that something else might be served, I quickly asked for the bill. When it arrived, I again asked why the halwa and tea weren’t on it. And the gracious Turk he was, Faris explained that it was on him. I left him a 33% tip for that. Maybe it would cover the tea and halwa to some extent.

Took a walk back to the hotel and decided to catch up on work. It wasn’t as much as I feared it would be so here I am writing this experience.

What I do in the evening would probably show up at the blog tomorrow. Let’s see if it does.

Martina Hingis look-alike at the Galleria

I snapped this picture, without the girl knowing. I'm hoping she wouldn't mind if I posted this here. She looked awfully like Martina Hingis, so I just took this picture on impulse.

Let me know if you agree or disagree.

Morning walk at the Bosphorus

Breakfast on the Hotel Terrace

That's the view from the hotel terrace. I am in the last room in the block you see in the picture, so my room affords a breath-takingly beautiful view. I could stay here for a loooooong time






And this is me

My room in Turkey

I am in Turkey today. Here for official work and I'm staying at the Çinar Hotel Istanbul.

As you can guess from the text above, I'm a bit tired. Flew from Karachi at 0300 (and I left home around 2330 to be there by 0000). The flight time is 5 hours and 40 minutes. Since Turkey is 2 hours behind Pakistan, I got here by 0640 local time. After going through passport control and customs, I took a cab (who ranted all the way to the hotel for God knows what - I can imagine that the trip being small didn't get him enough fare).

Checked into the hotel and here's a pic of my room.



The room doesn't give much to talk about. However, the view is to die for. I'm sure you'll be expecting pictures. Low quality yet again, since they're all taken from the cell phone cam. Will post pictures from a good camera soon.