Life in a year full of Saturdays: Turkey

Monday, September 19, 2016

Istanbul (Turkey) - holier than thou

Istanbul (Turkey)
19 September 2016

Flights in and out of Tbilisi occur mid-morning, as in, the 3am sort of mid-morning where you internally debate the validity of sleeping as it seems a redundant concept. What this early departure time means therefore is that it puts you on the ground at your next destination at awkward hours, leaving you to remain tenuously supported by the quality of sleep that can only be uniquely defined by economy class seats, turbulence and calisthenics at 40,000 ft.

Our flight out of Istanbul to Belgrade was leaving at 1600 that day which meant that we had 9hrs of time in the lovely city of Istanbul. Unfortunately we spent close to 3hrs of the allocated 9 hours spread out over a few benches right in front of the baggage carousels in the arrival halls. Sleep, no matter how brief or strangled, can be sweet when you desperately need it. During this morning all I really recall of those truncated hours was the human tide filling the hall and then washing away past me through exit signs and barriers. A wash of travellers moving with the rhythm of global flight arrivals.

When the both of us eventually came to our senses later in the real ‘mid-morning’, i.e., around 10am, the plan that we had for the day was to get into the city centre in the suburb (area) of Faith and see both the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) and Hagia Sophia. Both world renowned structures for their offering to incredible architecture, their sheer enormity and religious significance.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque "Blue Mosque" - Istanbul - Turkey

On first sighting you recognise quickly that Sultan Ahmed Mosque has scale, it is enormous! It’s size and grand posture certainly gives the building an aura and sense of overwhelming power. The mosque itself has five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. It’s final design being the culmination of nearly two centuries of Ottoman mosque development. It incorporates some Byzantine Christian elements of the neighbouring Hagia Sophia design with traditional Islamic architecture. Standing inside and witnessing the space it envelopes and occupies just makes you wonder at both the audacity and human intellect & ability to be able to complete a project of this magnitude.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque "Blue Mosque" - Istanbul - Turkey

The interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles and the upper levels of the mosque, dominated by a blue paint colour, have more than 200 stained glass windows. Standing there was simply impressive and something that I’d always wanted to do considering it has always been an iconic and symbolic structure of the city that straddles Europe and Asia. Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia juxtaposed with Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is just as grand in size as Sultan Ahmed but far more attractive in terms of its interior and overall design. Incredibly moody and atmospheric, there’s a weight and presence inside the building that is captivating. I often wonder how inanimate objects can be so revered , but standing under the grand dome it’s not difficult to understand why it’s held in such esteem and apotheosized.

Formerly a Greek Orthodox patriarchal cathedral, later becoming an Ottoman mosque, and now a museum, this building has worn many hats during its time. Built in 537 AD at the beginning of the middle ages, it became famous for its massive dome and was at one stage in time the world’s largest building. A true marvel of engineering.

Hagia Sophia - Istanbul - Turkey

The building has a tumultuous history, entering and exiting many phases of ownership throughout its life. As recently as this year, 2019, Turkish President Erdogan made the suggestion that Hagia Sophia should once again be turned into a mosque, ending its tenure of being a museum since 1935 after Turkey became a secular nation in 1927.

As one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, the interior is decorated with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings that have immense artistic value. The temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, ‘Solomon, I have outdone thee’.

Hagia Sophia - Istanbul - Turkey

Vast, impressive, heady. So many much that can be felt from just a building. Certainly it stand as testament to human endeavour and capacity, especially when driven by an assumption of the divine.

Istanbul - Turkey

Another iconic building of Istanbul and indeed the world, I feel fortunate to have spent a few hours in its shadows simply appreciating it.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Istanbul (TURKEY) - an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity

Istanbul (Turkey)
08 September 2016

Fear is a psychological weapon that underlies any act of terrorism. It’s that fear, an anticipation of future acts of terror that pervades the consciousness. For the rationalists amongst us, Barrack Obama being one of them, the truism often expounded, that you're ‘more likely to suffer an incident in a car than be part of a terrorist incident’ belies the impact of a terroristic act. Indiscriminate, destructive, horrific, it’s the gravity of the event as well as the relatively high casualty rate in a one off incident that instils constant fear.

Somehow in my mind Europe had always been relatively safe but of late European placidity has become both a casualty and consequence of geopolitics and the rise of militant Islamic groups. Without wanting to discuss the rationality of terrorism, the pursuit of causes and objectives and the expected utility derived from acts of terror and compounding fear, I can say that my own awareness had become more than heightened just by living in Europe. Without even mentioning events in Istanbul, the November 2015 attacks in Paris, the Brussels airport attack in March 2016, the Nice truck attack in July 2016 & the Berlin attack in 2016, had all created that awareness and sense of hyper vigilance.

Arriving in Istanbul - Turkey

Istanbul itself was an altogether different prospect. There was discord amongst the people, blatant aggression against the incumbent government and an environment ripe for upheaval. Terrorism it seems tends to work far better in environments either in chaos or on the verge of it, and, when there is a distinct political goal.

I’d always wanted to see Istanbul and of course terrorism shouldn't be THE deterrent to prevent us from doing things, but of course there’s a tipping point. You wouldn’t go to Baghdad, Kabul or Mogadishu now would you? I of course have an issue about Obama’s comment, that the likelihood of being part of an incident is remote is also predicated on the act being a one off. So my question to that is, at what point does the frequency of activity act as a rational deterrent? At what point do I need to consider my well being as opposed to being dismissive,ignorant and be under the assumption that the attack will be an isolated one. The track record in Istanbul was already established, Blue Mosque attack 06 JAN 2015, Blue Mosque attack (II) 12 JAN 2016, Street bombing 19 MAR 2016, Sehzade attack 07 JUNE 2016, Attaturk airport attack 28 JUNE 2016, Arena bombing 16 December 2016 & the NYE nightclub attacks 01 JAN 2017.

Again, you have to ask the question, at what point should the frequency become the needed deterrent? Especially when the country itself has placed itself into a state-of-emergency after an attempted military coup in July 2016.

So, what to do?

The Grand Bazaar - Istanbul - Turkey

Inga & I went, in a state of hyper-vigilance, which in itself is amusing, because what can you really do? And of course nothing happened but the tension in the city was palpable. There was a distinct security presence at the airport and in the city itself. Walking into the Grand Bazaar and being greeted by armed guards with machine guards, metal detectors, X-ray machines and roving patrols, it actually made me feel more secure than under siege. A false sense of security of course but I guess that’s the whole idea.

We only had a day, actually about 6 hours to discover parts of Istanbul, and I thought it was amazing. The Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered markets in the world, is both enormous and fascinating. It has 61 covered streets, over 4000 shops and attracts between 250,000-400,000 daily. Quite unbelievable.

Istanbul - Turkey

The city itself, or rather, ‘the old part’ that we were walking around exists as a type of peninsula, bounded by the Marmara Sea to the south, the Bosphorus to the east and north. The ‘Golden Horn’ and the area of Faith, which is where we based ourselves for the afternoon was fantastic. Not the ‘Middle Eastern’ city that somehow I was expected but one with that type of feel. It has that ‘Middle Eastern’ attitude of talking with fervour, being menacing in one instant and then easy in the next, edging on being quarrelsome but at the same time hospitable. That for me was the expected attitude and was the enduring feel. The city however is modern, very clean and filled with culinary delights that would be the envy of many. Kebabs, Turkish delights, delectable food and shisha. Istanbul is an attraction, that I know, and our few hours this time around was confirmation enough that a longer return was absolutely needed in order to discover this enduring place of wonder!

Life in a year full of Saturdays

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Monday, September 19, 2016

Istanbul (Turkey) - holier than thou

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Istanbul (TURKEY) - an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity

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A year full of Saturdays