WE'RE NOT CHICKEN, WE JUST VISITED TURKEY, PART TWO: ANATOLIA

IZMIR

We headed out on the Kennedy to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport for our hour flight to Turkey's Second City--well, Third City--Izmir, located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, part of the Mediterranean.  Not well known to Americans, Izmir is a city the size of Chicago.  In ancient times, it was called Smyrna.  Smyrna was Homer's home town; he hung out there while writing the Iliad.  I expected to find a statue of him there, but no!  All the statues are of Ataturk.  The only statue of Homer of which I'm aware is at the University of Virginia.

Not far from Izmir is the ancient city of Troy, which is now uninhabited.  However, to attract tourists, they built a large Trojan horse out in front.  Our tour didn't visit although we visited the ruins of several other ancient cities.  As a practical matter, there are hundreds of these ruins scattered all over Turkey.

This part of Turkey is called Anatolia, or Asia Minor.  It has a very rich history going back thousands of years.  Many of the stories from Greek mythology took place in Asia Minor.  It is pretty clear that Homer was Greek.  Ironically, few, if any, Greeks still live here today.  The Turks and Greeks don't much like each other and have fought wars in recent years (e.g. Cyprus).  The animosity is expressed in subtle ways.  For example, if you order Greek yoghurt, they'll correct you--it's Turkish yoghurt.

In 1923, the Turkish republic was established after the painful five year Turkish War of Independence against the Allies who occupied the country.  (The Ottoman Turks had picked the wrong side in World War I.)  To settle matters, the  governments of Greece and Turkey met in Lausenne, Switzerland and worked out a treaty, the Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations.  Under the terms of the treaty 1.5 million Anatolian Greeks and 500,000 Muslims in Greece were forcibly relocated and denaturalized from their homelands.   Essentially, the criteria was their religions.  Many of the Greeks had already fled by that time.  Don't even ask about the Armenians!

The Turks are not native to Turkey, and their history in the country spans less than 1000 years.  They originally came from Turkmenistan in Central Asia.  They converted to Islam.  Then they entered the country (illegally?) when the Seljuk Turks routed the Byzantines in the 11th Century, and later the Ottomans came along in the 13th Century.  The Europeans tried to kick them out, fighting at least four Crusades between 1097 and 1204 with little success.  In the Fourth Crusade, the Europeans sacked Constantinople which was a "friendly" Christian state at the time.

In Izmir, we stayed at the Swisshotel a block from the waterfront.  The Swisshotel is a luxury 5-star hotel in the European tradition, which means that although it has a beautiful physical plant, the rooms are functionally obsolete.  For example, our room was 290 square feet, half the size of our room at the Intercontinental in Istanbul.  In Las Vegas, they have closets bigger than our room.  If you want to unpack and store your shirts or underwear, there are no drawers--the room has shelves above the closet.  Unless you're over 6 feet tall, you can't reach the shelves.  They have a floor length mirror next to the bathroom where you'd expect the closet to be.  The shower door opens into the toilet commode.  The vanity is tiny, so you can't store things on it.  Cabinets have false drawers.  There is little space to store luggage.  All this for over $200 per night--prices are relatively cheap in Turkey.

On the other hand, the restaurant in the hotel was outstanding.  It is located on the top floor overlooking the city.  I had a lobster with avocado salad, clam soup with wine in it and New York steak.  The food was delicious. 

The location was one of the best in the city.  We took a 5 minute walk to the waterfront promenade which is lined with cafes and travel agencies.  You can walk on the breakwater with waves lapping just below your feet.  On the broad square, young men were rollerblading or playing soccer in front of a giant statue of Ataturk sitting on a horse. 

We ate dinner in an outdoor café at the waterfront.  It gets cool at night, and the restaurant provides the diners with blankets to drape over their shoulders.

EPHESUS

An hour's drive South from Izmir is the ancient city of Ephesus.  To get there, we drove through fertile fields of ripe pomegranates, peaches, apples and even grape vineyards.   The flat fields resemble those of the Central Valley of California.  The fields are irrigated with modern equipment.  Buried under these fields are more ancient ruins.  In choosing where to dig, the authorities have to balance their priorities, considering the economic impact to the area. 

Bible scholars remember St. Pauls' emails to the Ephesians.  Well, here they are!  The Ephesians, not the letters.  There are no personal greetings in the letter, so many scholars think it is the ancient version of a form letter sent to a number of churches in Asia Minor.  In Paul's letter to Ephesians, he explains the big picture to the small Christian congregations.  That was his plan to spread the Gospel to the world at large.

The site of Ephesus draws millions of tourists each year, especially from the many cruise ships that dock in nearby Kusadasi.  Many of the tourists come for religious reasons--to walk in the footsteps of the Apostles.  Indeed, St. Paul lived in Ephesus for over two years.  To his friends and neighbors, he was just Paul--or was it Saul.  They didn't have saints in those days--the first saint was canonized by the Pope in 993. 

In ancient times, Ephesus was a city of 250,000 people.  Its heyday ended when the harbor filled in with silt from the river.  Today about 30% of the city has been excavated.  Much more is buried in the surrounding countryside where you occasionally see large stones sticking out of the ground.

Since our last trip to Ephesus, about 8 years ago, the archaeologists have uncovered more treasures such as terrace homes (early condominiums) which we were able to visit (for an additional admission fee).  It was worth the visit because the crowds avoided it.  They didn't want to pay the extra fee.

The most famous building  in Ephesus is the library, a two story structure.  Actually it was toppled by an earthquake in ancient times, and the second story was restored in recent years.  You don't want to return an overdue book--the fines can be astronomical!  If you're thirsty however, they serve Efes beer wherever drinks are sold. 

MARY'S HOUSE

We took the optional trip a few miles up the road to Mary's house, located on a hilltop.  Here's the story:  According to the New Testament, before Jesus was crucified, he had asked his friend John (we know him as St. John) to look after his mama.    John took her to live in his house near Ephesus.  She lived there the last 11 years of her life.  The Bible is vague on the issue, but apparently Joseph wasn't around anymore.   The Bible makes no mention of him after Jesus was 12 years old.  Joseph was
much older than Mary, and he had probably died by that time. 

As you can imagine, Mary's house attracts pilgrims by the boatload.  Fortunately they don't all come at once--the house is not easy to get to.  The tour bus had to negotiate a winding narrow road with switchbacks. 

Inside the tiny, dimly lit house is a small chapel, and they won't let you take photos.  The house is made of stone, so it has lasted without much wear and tear for 2 millennia.

The property has a well which spouts "holy" water.  Unlike in most of Turkey, this water is safe to drink.  The well has 3 spigots dispensing the water to pilgrims filling up their cups.  The first spigot is for health, the second for wealth, and the third for love.

The other interesting thing here is the view from the men's room.  Above the urinals is a picture window with a beautiful vista of the valley, the town of Seljuk and the harbor.   I didn't see the ladies' room, so I don't know what view they have.

Outside the house is a "wishing wall" where pilgrims write their wishes on a paper or fabric and attach it to the wall.  They also do this at the "Wailing Wall" in Jerusalem.  Hundreds of these notes are affixed to the wall.  I don't know how often they remove them, or whether any of the wishes are granted.  

There is some controversy over whether this is really Mary's house.    The house was described in a series of visions by Anne Emmerick, a German nun in the early 1800's.  She had never visited the site.  Be that as it may, Pope Leo XIII visited and blessed the place in 1889.   Several other popes including Pius XII, John XXIII, and Benedict XVI have also visited and blessed it.  The house is venerated by the Muslims also.

LYDIA

Also close to Izmir, we visited the ruins of Sardis, or Sart,   the capital of ancient Lydia, and one of the most important cities of the Persian Empire.  On the street sign it is spelled "Lidya".  Ancient Anatolia saw the rise and fall of several kingdoms--the Lydians, the Hittites, the Phyrgians, and, of course, the Byzantines (who referred to themselves as Romans).  Even the Ottomans.

The Lydians were an innovative people.  They were the first country to mint gold and silver coinage, and the first to establish retail shops in permanent locations, selling woolens and carpets.  To keep records, they invented pergamon which we know as parchment.  The Egyptians had banned the export of papyrus, and the Lydians developed the idea of processing sheepskin to make the parchment. 

The Lydians had an ample supply of gold which they panned from the river where, according to legend, King Midas (the golden touch guy) had washed his hands of it.  Obviously, with their gold, the Lydians were wealthy by any standard--you may recall King Croesus who was the Scrooge McDuck of his era--he enjoyed counting his money.  During his reign, the metallurgists discovered the secret of separating gold from silver, thereby producing metals of extraordinary purity and making them widely accepted in commerce.  Croesus turned out  to be the last king of Lydia.  In 547 B.C. he defeated a Persian town in Cappodocia, enslaving the people.  That pissed off the Persian king, Cyrus II, and he came after Croesus.  Despite his wealth, he couldn't buy off Cyrus and was defeated in battle in 546 B.C.

The ruins of Sardis, a/k/a Sart featured the Temple to Artemis, the bath-gymnasium complex, and a synagogue founded by wealthy Hellenic Jews in the 1st Century, C.E.  The synagogue, with its mosaic floors would be impressive even by today's standards.  The ruins of a Byzantine strip shopping center were just outside the synagogue where the parking lot would be.  The whole complex was used for about 500 years until destroyed by the Persians in 616 C.E.  The Lydians built a sewage system that worked remarkably well and is generally intact today. 

The weather was sunny, hot and humid when we visited.  Little shade was afforded to us because the buildings had no roofs.  However, we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by two young ladies wearing short dresses adorned with gold leaf.  With a little imagination, one can picture the bustling prosperous trading center of ancient times within these buildings. 

PERGE

Perge is another ancient city we explored.  The city dates back 6000 years, but the Romans built the main part of it.  In its day, it was home to 140,000 people.  Like many of the other ancient cities, it was destroyed by earthquakes over the millennia.  We walked around the ruins on uneven paving stones for 2 hours in the heat.   The city covers a large area, and I'm always amazed that archaeologists uncovered all of this, using spoons. 

The historical significance is that Perge was one of the first planned cities.  Unlike most ancient (and modern) cities, it is built on a grid--the streets run parallel, North and South, with intersecting cross streets.  A canal runs along the main street to bring water from the nearby hills.

The most interesting part was the Roman baths.  They were built in three sections--the Calderium, the Tepidarium and the Frigidarium.  From the names, one can probably guess the function of each.  The Calderium was the hottest part of the bath.  Then people would cool off a little at the Tepidarium 
at room temperature.   The Frigidarium contained the cold water.  Today, the famous Turkish baths incorporate these except they don't have the cold part. 

ANTALYA

Located on the Turkish Riviera, on the Mediterranean coast, Antalya is a city of over 1 million with modern hotels and resorts.   As a resort town, I'd compare it to Miami Beach.  Many Europeans, especially Russians, come to Antalya for vacation.  As we know, Turkey is a Muslim country, but the Muslims in the large coastal cities are very liberal, adopting Western ways.  In Antalya and in Izmir, the women don't cover their heads.  This drives the Erdogan Administration nuts, but the country has been secular for 80 years, and the Turks are not about to change overnight. 

We walked the narrow winding streets of Old Town Antalya, visiting the small shops and haggling with the merchants.  This is where the locals do their shopping for clothes, rugs and everything else.  The Old Town is surrounded by the ancient city walls and  overlooks the bay.   You enter the area through the imposing Hadrian's Gate, built in 130 C.E. next to the famous clock tower.    As the Romans used to say, "Yo, Hadrian!".

Antalya is home to a world class archaeological museum, second to none.  The exhibits in the museum are as much as 10,000 years old, dating back to the Stone Age, and follow through the Bronze Age, the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, etc.   We learned about the history of pottery, metal working and coinage.  Life size statues of Greek and Roman gods fill rooms in the museum.  Another section reviews the history of weaving carpets for which Turkey is so famous.  We learned that prayer rugs have different designs than regular rugs. 

We stayed two glorious nights at the luxurious Kempinski Hotel.  The garish lobby, with shiny Turkish marble floors, adorned with Turkish rugs, has two large stained glass domes.  The shops in the hotel are very expensive, as the cater to rich Russians and Germans on holiday.  The swimming pool is huge, with walking bridges over the pool so the guests can walk across to the sandy beach. 

Europeans are different from Americans.  For example, one couple was observed changing their bathing suits alongside the pool.  Hello!  They have changing rooms available.  They could have used Turkish towels.  Meanwhile, a Russian couple lounged by the side of the pool on both days we were swimming there.  The man, wearing a Speedo bathing suit,  weighed at least 450 pounds.  His wife, wearing a two piece, weighed somewhat less, but still well over 200.   Hey, if you can pay, you can do anything you want!  I don't mean to disparage caloric challenged people, but these folks were in your face with it. 

CATALHOYUK        

Some archaeologists believe the oldest known human organized settlement is Catalhoyuk, a Neolithic proto-city estimated to be more than 9000 years old.  UNESCO is designating it as a World Heritage Site.  In the Turkish language, Catal means "fork" and Hoyuk means "mound".  People lived there for almost 2000 years, and archaeologists have discovered as many as 18 separate levels with different artifacts on each.  Essentially, each generation would fill in the lower level and build upon the previous foundation.  They would bury their dead under the floor.  The population of Catalhoyuk was believed to be around 5000.   After it was abandoned, experts don't know where the people went.

This site is an ongoing archaeological dig which has not reached the advanced level of Ephesus or Perge.  . Our group still dug it, however.  The Catalhoyukians lived in mud-brick houses which they entered through the roof and climbed down steep ladders.  The houses were built close together so that the people could walk across the roofs connected with planks or ladders.  The reason the door was on the roof was presumably to keep out wild animals.  They made no provision for the disabled to get in or out.   Apparently, the roofs of the dwellings substituted for streets.  The people appear to have congregated on the roofs, using them as a public square.  The archaeologists have discovered no public buildings to indicate these folks had any type of central government. 

The inhabitants painted colorful images on the walls depicting hunting scenes and murals.  They mounted animal heads, especially cattle, on the walls.  They carved figurines of men and women.  These are displayed in the nearby museum.  It is not clear if any of this had religious significance. 

In the upper levels it was evident that the inhabitants were gaining agricultural skills including the domestication of animals like sheep and cattle.

Much has not been uncovered, still buried in the surrounding mounds over 60 feet high.   This will keep archaeologists working for many centuries.

KONYA

Konya is a large city of 1.2 million in the interior of Turkey--its version of the Bible Belt-- where the people are more conservative than those in the coastal cities.  The women in our group were warned to not wear shorts or short dresses, and to cover their arms.  We stayed in the Dedeman Hotel which, although it is the finest hotel in the city, does not measure up to Western standards.  It claims to be a 5-star hotel, but don't believe it!  Our mattress felt like sleeping on a box-spring or a concrete slab, and the pillows had little or no down.  With no down, you might as well stay up!    The bathtub rim was more than 2 feet above the marble floor--climbing out is slippery and difficult, especially for us old folks.  Worse than all of those, the air conditioning unit was not powerful enough to cool off the room.  In September, it gets hot in the interior of Turkey.  The other people in our tour group had the same complaints about the hotel, so it wasn't just us.  We were very happy to leave.

The good thing about the hotel, however, was the rooftop restaurant, called appropriately enough, The Roof.  We had a wonderful meal of pepper steak, salmon, calamari, soup, oven baked rice pudding and ice cream.  After stuffing ourselves, we walked across the street, dodging traffic, to the shopping mall which included a supermarket.  Turkish malls and supermarkets are not all that much different than in the U.S.  However, we were looking for cold medicine, and they don't carry it--you have to go to a pharmacy. 

Konya is famous because it contains the museum and mausoleum of Rumi who founded the Sufi sect, which we know as the Whirling Dervishes.  Rumi was a Persian mystic and poet who lived in the 13th Century.  His poems are still popular today, even in Western Europe and the U.S.  His mausoleum is today a museum, and it attracts thousands of religious pilgrims from the Muslim world.  It is the third most visited site in Turkey (after Hagia Sophia and Topkapi).  Many of these pilgrims are eager to kiss the glass case which holds Mohammed's beard.  The beard is contained in a pearl closed box and you can't see it.  You'll have to accept their word on that. 

Rumi's real name was Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi.  The Turks call him Mevlana.  In  Muslim countries, they don't call him Rumi because, in the Arabic language, that is translated as "Roman", referring to the fact that he was from the Byzantine Empire.  The Whirling Dervishes perform the twirling ritual as a religious form of meditation.  We were treated to a performance.  No photos are allowed during the religious aspect. 

Rumi's message which runs through his writings advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love.  To him, all religions are, more or less, truth.  His peaceful teachings appeal to all races and religions.  He is said to be revered in Iran today, even though it doesn't appear that the Iranians have grasped the meaning of his message.

In 2007, they celebrated the 800th anniversary of Rumi's birth, and it was a big deal, especially in Turkey and Iran.  Turkey brought out 300 whirling dervishes on the main square, and the event was televised live in 8 countries.  The U.S. was not one of them.   It's not know whether Guinness was on hand to record the world record. 

CARAVANSARY

Caravansaries were the Middle Ages version of a roadside rest area.  Several of these are scattered around the Middle East.  They originally served camel caravans plying the Silk road from China.  The Caravansary we visited was near Aksaray on the road to Konya.  It was built in the 1200's.  It is a large fortified structure with rooms for the travelers and places for their animals.  The rooms were fairly large as hotel rooms go, but probably several people would share a room along with their merchandise.  The front gate is over 40 feet high and enters into a huge open air courtyard.  There, the travelers would receive food, water and absolution at the enclosed mosque.

CAPPADOCIA  

The "fairy chimneys" of Cappadocia are one of the most unusual natural wonders of the world.  In the U.S., these are called hoodoos and are seen at the Badlands of South Dakota and Bryce Canyon in Utah.  The rocks, which were both sedimentary and volcanic, eroded over millions of years, leaving hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret shapes.  In Cappadocia, the early Christians carved their homes, churches and monasteries out of this soft, porous tuva (volcanic rock).  Our hotel, the Anatolia Houses in the town of Goreme was also carved out of this rock.  Today, approximately 300 families still reside in these cave dwellings.  The Turkish government purchased them and leases them back to the families. 

We visited the Goreme Open Air Museum complex which contains more than 30 carved out churches and chapels with beautiful frescoes decorating the walls.  These churches, carved out of a mountain are more than 1000 years old.  We clambered up to visit the so-called Dark Church with perhaps the best example of the colorful icons.

A downside to living in caves is the high incidence of mesothelioma which afflicts the inhabitants.  In a study of 3 small villages in 1975, the experts found this disease, caused by mineral fiber carcinomas, was responsible for half of all the deaths.   Fortunately for the Turkish government, lawyers with their late night TV commercials have not yet reached this area of Turkey.

We were invited to visit Ahmed and his family, who have lived in a cave dwelling house for 300 years.  The floor and walls are covered with Turkish rugs.  The women in Turkey are trained in the art of carpet weaving handed down from generation to generation.  Ahmed showed us the one made by his wife and also the ones made by grandma and even great-grandma. 

BALLOON RIDES

The highlight of our trip to Cappadocia was the hot air balloon ride.  At the start of our tour of Turkey, Tauck Tours insisted that we all sign hold harmless agreements and releases.  Also, if we were to sue Tauck, we'd have to do it in Connecticut.  What they forgot to tell us was that back in May, one of the balloons had crashed, killing 3 Brazilian tourists and injuring 22.  In March, a gas explosion in a balloon in Egypt killed 19 people.  In the recent Turkish incident, the balloons collided so that the basket on one landed on top of the balloon part of the other, ripping the fabric, causing it to deflate.  On our trip, we did collide with other balloons.   It's not like a plane crash--the balloons bump and then drift apart.

Balloons are a major industry in Cappadocia.  When we went for our balloon ride, there were approximately 100 balloons in the air, most of them sponsored by local businesses.  The Turkish FAA allows only 100 at a time.  The gondola (basket) on our balloon holds 28 people including the pilot.  There are probably about 100 balloon operators in town--on almost every street corner.  They charge about 200 bucks per person for the one hour ride.  The training the pilots receive is questionable.  I learned you can go from a beginner to a licensed pilot in about a week.  They train in Russia.  

They woke us up at 4:39 A.M. for the balloon ride.  They have to do it early in the morning because the winds are light and also the thermal updrafts don't occur until the hotter part of the day.  Climbing into the gondola can be difficult for many people, especially senior citizens.  Junior citizens are more limber.  The walls of the basket are about 4 feet high, really so people can't easily climb out--not good when you're 1500 feet in the air.  There are no toilets in the balloon.

The pilot asked us how many were taking their first balloon ride.  Almost everyone raised their hands.  "Me too," he said.  Then he asked everyone to sit down for the disaster drill.  It can't be done--there's not enough room for 28 people to sit down.  No problem; the ride was very smooth.  We had no fear of a collision with other balloons, but we did have some concern about hitting the side of a mountain or power lines which has been known to happen.  Our pilot was skillful however, and he was able to guide the balloon up and down to avoid obstacles.  He was able to land the thing on a flat bed truck, like docking a boat.  The truck chases the balloon, and as it is landing, three or four strong men grab the ropes and haul the thing in. 

CAVES AT KAYMAKLI--UNDERGROUND CITY

There are about 40 caves in the Cappadocia region carved out by the inhabitants, some of them traced back to Hittite times, over 3000 years ago.  They dug deep--as deep as 300 feet underground with thousand pound circular stone doors that could be opened only from the inside.  One would think the ancients' technology would preclude such feats, and there are a lot of theories out there, including alien technology.  The purpose of the caves was to allow the people to hide out from marauding tribes who came through the area from time to time.

We visited the Kaymakli Underground City which, we were told, was carved out of the rock by early Christians who sought refuge there before Constantine came along in the 4th Century and embraced the religion.  This cave, like the others, is a major engineering feat, built long before the days of OSHA.  It descends 8 levels into the ground, although only 4 levels are open to the public.  We saw deep holes (ventilation shafts) all over the cave--they were covered with grating.  The corridors, which can be 100 yards long, have low ceilings.  Either the early inhabitants were very short, or they had to chicken walk like we did.   We had to climb in and out on steep stairs.

Each room is organized around the ventilation shafts.  The first floor contains the stable, the second floor has a church with a nave and two apses.  The third level contains storage area, wine and oil presses and kitchens.  The fourth level also has storage rooms and areas for earthenware jars.  These caves were designed to keep a few thousand people alive for the long haul.

The people who built these were very clever.  They set up networks of traps to defend the cave.  They rolled out the large circular stone door and also dug holes in the ceilings to allow the defenders to drop spears on the Romans.  The narrow tunnel system made it impossible for the Romans to attack in groups as they normally would.

It is not known how the ancients dealt with issues like claustrophobia and lack of sunlight.  Climbing the steep stairs can be very difficult also.

CONCLUSION

To summarize our Turkish experience, those 8 people who didn't show up for the tour missed out on a wonderful trip.  We found the Turkish people to be friendly and hospitable, and we learned much about their culture.  The country is more developed and modern than we would have expected, especially in the large cities.   They have shopping malls, gas stations, fast food, etc., just like in the U.S.  But like anywhere else, many Turks, especially those living in the interior, are conservative, clinging to their old customs where women are second class citizens.  Politically these folks support the Erdogan Administration, and over the years there have been constant struggles between the conservatives and the more cosmopolitan young Turks who want to embrace Western customs.   In that respect, the Turks are not much different than the Americans.

WE'RE NOT CHICKEN, WE JUST VISITED TURKEY: PART 1, ISTANBUL, NOT CONSTANTINOPLE

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul not Constantinople
Been a long time gone
Old Constantinople still has Turkish delight
On a moonlight night

Every gal in Constantinople
Is a Miss-stanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've got a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks....

Istanbul (not) Constantinople, Lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy, Music by Nat Simon. Recorded in 1953 by the Four Lads, a Canadian group. 

HANGING OUT IN ISTANBUL

We were in a scene from a Humphrey Bogart movie.  We sat in the dim light of the Orient Bar in the stately Pera Palace in Istanbul in the tradition of Agatha Christie, the author of Murder on the Orient Express.  Christie stayed in the hotel for several months in Room 411 back in 1934 as she wrote the mystery.

A chamber music combo played sad Turkish tunes on the violin.   A few others, Europeans perhaps, late night types, lingered at the bar, sipping their cognacs.  Some may be famous also, but it was too dark to tell.  Smoke no longer wafts through the air because the Turks have also become health conscious.  Over the past 120 years, the hotel has served the likes of Ms. Christie as well as Ernest Hemingway, Jackie Kennedy, Greta Garbo and Mata Hari.

We reflected on the past two weeks we spent with new friends touring this exotic country.  The Pera Palace was the last stop of the famed Orient Express from Paris and Venice.  It was known as the Train of Kings and the King of Trains.  Today, the legendary train doesn't run anymore, a casualty of the Cold War.  It was a long walk from the train station, but wealthy matrons were carried by porters on Sedan chairs.  In 1892, when the hotel was built, the Ottomans ran the country as they had for over 400 years.  The hotel boasted the second elevator in Europe (after the Eiffel Tower). The ornate iron elevator is still there but not used except once a year or so for ceremonial purposes.

The elevator was described by British writer Daniel Farson, "It is the most beautiful elevator in the world made of cast iron and wood.  This elevator ascends like a lady who curtsies."  

Istanbul today is a world class city of 16 million.  It is the only city located on two continents--Asia and Europe.  Most of the city is on the European side where we stayed, first at the Intercontinental Hotel, and later at the Pera Palace.  The Asian side is called Anatolia or Asia Minor.  Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, and the city has over 2500 mosques, each with towering minarets.  However, it also has Christian churches and even several Jewish synagogues.  Many Americans perceive Turkey as a backward country.  They tend to confuse it with other Middle Eastern nations.  They have greatly underestimated with Turks.

A recent poll in the U.S. disclosed that only 23% of Turks view Americans in a favorable light.We are skeptical of that poll.  In our experience touring Turkey, we found the people to be hospitable and friendly, but then we didn't hang out with Muslim fundamentalists.

There is so much to see in Istanbul.  It used to be called Constantinople, named after the Roman Emperor who brought Christianity to the Roman Empire.  Before that, the city had been called Byzantium, after the Greek general Byzos who founded it in 667 B.C.    Emperor Constantine moved the capital there from Rome.  He had actually favored the site of Troy, 220 miles to the Southwest, but his advisers persuaded him that Byzantium had a better location for trade and defense.

The Bosphorus Straits bisects the city, and the Kennedy Caddesi (Kennedy Expressway) runs along the waterfront 8 kilometers to Ataturk Airport.  As in Chicago, the Turks decided to honor the late president with a superhighway shortly after his assassination, although I suppose it could have been named for Jimmy Kennedy who wrote the lyrics to the song, Istanbul, not Constantinople.   The European side is bisected once more by the Golden Horn, an inlet or estuary off the Bosphorus.  It is so-called because its shape resembles a horn.  The oldest part of town, and most expensive real estate is along the Bosphorus, especially near the Golden Horn.

Just to the South is the Sea of Marmara (marble) where tanker ships are lined up waiting for their turn to proceed to the Black Sea.  The authorities made the Bosphorus a one-way strait.  They switch directions every eight hours.  The Bosphorus is about a mile wide, and has three suspension bridges spanning it.  They are choked with traffic, and many of the people crossing over instead use the ubiquitous ferries that ply the water. 

On our first full day in Istanbul, we were warned to stay clear of nearby Taksim Square where riot police were assembling in formation to put down massive protests.  Disregarding the warnings, we hung around.  So what were they protesting?  Islamic rule?  Attacks on Mohammed's good name?  No.  the authorities were planning to chop down some mature trees in Taksim Park to build a shopping mall.  They are beautiful trees.  Heck, I'd protest that too!

Taksim Square has many shops, restaurants and street performers and vendors.  We ate at a Turkish cafe and enjoyed our dinner of calamari, lamb casserole and aubergine paste.  The Turks love aubergine, which Americans know as eggplant.  They have a recipe book with 1000 creative ways to make aubergine.  I didn't notice if parmigiana was one of the them. In any event, in our two weeks in Turkey, it is safe to say we were served aubergine in some form at every meal.

TURKISH FOOTBALL

Like in many other countries, the Turks are rabid football (soccer) fans.  Istanbul has 3 professional soccer teams representing different areas of the city, and everyone in town has an allegiance to one of them.  As a native Chicagoan, I can understand that.  In Chicago, you either like the Cubs or the White Sox--but not both.  It's part of your identity, like your religion.  The Istanbul teams are Besiktas (Carsi), Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, each of which appeals to a certain segment of the Turkish population.  For example, Besiktas (Carsi) is known for its leftist political and social leanings, and its fans are considered the loudest and fiercest in Europe.  Galatasaray is considered the establishment team and it has had the most success over the years.  Fenerbahce plays its games on the Asian side of town and is very popular through the rest of the country.  Like the other teams, Fener's fans are also very enthusiastic, forming fan clubs with names like KFY (kill for you).  These guys are really, really serious about their football teams.  Each team has been in existence for over 100 years.

Their rivalries are legendary.  When they play each other, they are Michigan v. Ohio State; Yankees v. Red Sox; Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers:   Generally their fans don't agree on much, but recently, in a remarkable turn of events, they joined hands in a major protest against Prime Minister Erdogan who is seeking to impose conservative Muslim values on a country with secular laws.  Erdogan's policies might work in the Turkish version of the Bible Belt, but the Turks in the large cities won't stand for it.

DOLMABAHCE PALACE

We walked from the Intercontinental Hotel down to the waterfront to visit the Dolmabahce Palace overlooking the Bosphorus.  The walk could be dangerous after dark, not because of crime, but because there are open manholes on the sidewalk and unmarked steps.   I almost broke my leg where the sidewalk unexpectedly stepped down.  The other danger on the streets are the taksi drivers who often drive on the wrong side of the street in heavy traffic.   We took a taksi ride, and I was relieved to get out and walk.  We learned some colorful Turkish expressions as the traffic poked along, driving $11 per gallon gas. 

Five times a day, beginning at 5 A.M., we could hear the din of the muezzin on the loudspeakers all over the city, calling observant Muslims to prayer. 

The Dolmabahce Palace, built in the 1860's is an enormous structure with Doric columns, ornate gates, a 4-ton chandelier as well as a 2 ton and a 1.5 ton chandelier.  It was occupied by the Sultans of Swing who governed the Ottoman Empire until 1924 when Ataturk took over.  Then it became the presidential palace until 1970.   Kamal Ataturk was the "George Washington" of Turkey.  They built dozens of statues and named things after him all over the country.  The Istanbul airport is named after him.  Down in Antalya, facing the Mediterranean, Ataturk's visage is even carved on the side of a mountain, like Mt. Rushmore.

HAREM

A separate wing of the palace was built for the Harem.  The Sultan's mother had her living quarters there also. There is another Harem building at Topkapi Palace which we visited the following day.  The word "harem" comes from the Arabic word for "forbidden".  The only men allowed to enter were the Sultan and his sons.  The Harem provided jobs for several thousand women who acted as servants in one form or another.  Many were slaves.  The highest status "favorite" wife was whoever delivered the Sultan his first son.

In the Islamic religion, the Sultan was allowed four wives.  The rest were concubines or slaves whose ambition was to bear him a son and become a full wife.  The "favorite" or head wife was responsible for educating the children.  The women were guaranteed a place to live as they got older.  The head wife could also release them to return to their village with money.  The ladies of the Harem were guarded by African eunuchs who, if one can believe the pictures on the wall, were very big guys.  Poor families in Africa would sell their children to the Sultan for this purpose.  Apparently, having grandchildren wasn't a high priority for these folks.

Returning to the hotel for much needed rest, we switched on the TV.  After flipping the channels, we decided to watch Police Academy, one of my favorite movies.  I recognized the scenes, but the dialog was in Turkish.   You haven't lived until you've seen Michael Winslow doing a Jimi Hendrix imitation in Turkish.  I didn't know the late Bubba Smith spoke Turkish either.  The Turkish language is a mystery to Westerners because it bears no resemblance to either English or the Romance languages.  It is related more or less to Hungarian, Finnish, Japanese and Korean, at least in sentence structure.  I'll have to take their word for that. 

Istanbul is known for some really famous sights.  There is popular book called 1000 Places to See Before You die, or something like that.  Istanbul is well represented in that book with Topkapi Palace, the Pera Palace (our hotel), Hagia Sophia, the Suleiman Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and I don't remember what else. 

TOPKAPI PALACE

Topkapi Palace is a sprawling complex covering 160 acres overlooking the Bosphorus on the most valuable real estate in town.  It was built in the 1400's to house the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.  Tourists lined up to view the collection of jewels and other valuables.  The 86 carat diamond is a popular attraction.  It was said to be discovered in a garbage heap in Istanbul and purchased from a dealer for three spoons.  Americans might recall this place from the 1964 Maximilian Schell movie Topkapi in which he portrayed a master burglar plotting to steal the diamond encrusted dagger.  He got the dagger all right, and substituted a replica, but he was caught by the police.  His sidekick Peter Ustinov won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the movie.  The real dagger was intended to be a gift to the Shah of Persia, but he died before they could deliver it to him.

In a separate building are the quarters of the Grand Vizier who actually ran the day to day operations of the country.  The Sultan was often out of town on military campaigns, and phones and email were not available.  Someone had to make decisions, so the Grand Vizier was an appointed official, comparable to a City Manager today who could hire and fire people.  The position was usually held by a commoner, not in line for the throne.   Sometimes it would be held by a minority like a Christian or a Jew.

THE BIZARRE BAZAAR

The Grand Bazaar is the ultimate tourist attraction.  It is the world's oldest shopping mall, dating back to the Middle Ages, and it may be the largest also, with 4000 shops.  They are all small businesses.  No anchor stores here!  Most of the shops employ barkers outside to steer people inside their stores.  If you linger more than a second or two to look at an item, somebody will be waiting on you shepherding you into the store.  Many of the stores stock Turkish delight, a sweet chewy candy in many flavors.  Other popular street foods there include borek, which is bread dough with cheese, parsley and meat--a type of lasagna, if you will.

Not far away is the Spice Bazaar where many locals do their shopping.  It is less touristy, so the deals are supposedly better.  There, we met a local spice dealer who calls himself Alpacino Turko, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Al Pacino.   Many celebrities have consented to take their pictures with him.  Dianne did also.

Turks love to eat bread.  In fact, they consume more bread than any other country--by a wide margin.  Many of the street vendors sell simit, a tasty, crusty bread which looks like a pretzel with sesame seeds.  Often they stuff it with cheese or tomatoes.  It is very good and does not taste at all like a pretzel.   It that is not enough carbs, the Turks also love halva and baklava, a sweet pastry of honey and nuts, also popular with the Greeks. 

What I didn't expect was roasted corn on the cob on almost every street corner.  Next to the corn vendors, were chestnuts roasting on an open fire.    It sounds like a popular song, but they really sell them, and they are very popular.  Turkish men with fezzes and long beards sit in sidewalk cafes, sipping apple tea from small glasses. 

One store was promoting "Genuine Fake Watches".  Some of these fake watches are of good quality.  It helps to bring a native Turk with you to find the quality vendors, otherwise you'd have no way of knowing.  Other merchants sold knockoff Gucci and Burberry purses and scarves.  Many stores sell exotic spices by the kilo.  Just scoop up the saffron and other spices into a container.  They also sell Caspian caviar cheap, or relatively so.

HAGIA SOPHIA

We spent nearly a full day exploring the most iconic Istanbul sights, the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque which are just down the street from each other.  The Hagia Sophia was built first, in 537 C.E., as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople.  It was the third church to be built on the site--the first two were destroyed by rioters.  The architect was Isadore of Miletus, commissioned by Emperor Justinian.  When it was completed, Justinian proclaimed, Solomon, I have outdone thee!"--in Latin.  This building, like the other mosques,  is enormous.  The massive dome, 102 feet in diameter and 182 feet above the ground is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture.  It was the largest cathedral in the world for almost 1000 years.  The interior is decorated with colorful mosaics and marble pillars.

The structure was sacked in 1204 in the Fourth Crusade, organized by the Doge of Venice.  Many of the priceless artifacts were carried off to Venice.  It has also withstood other calamities like earthquakes, and has required extensive remodeling over the centuries..

Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque when the Ottomans took over in 1453.  After Ataturk modernized Turkey in the 1920's, it was made into a museum.  The Muslims had plastered over priceless Christian icons on the walls.  In the Muslim religion, it is considered blasphemy to show human images.  Many of the icons have been restored to a semblance of their original glory.  Incidentally, the word Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek.  Think of the word "sophisticated".  This Hagia Sophia means "holy wisdom'.

BLUE MOSQUE

Shortly after the Ottoman Muslims came to town, they constructed the nearby Blue Mosque in a similar style to the Hagia Sophia in an effort to surpass it.  The mosque is known to the Turks as Sultanahmet Mosque, after the Sultan who completed it in 1616.  The mosque is not blue, but the interior decorations have a blue motif.  All mosques have at least 1 minaret--this one has 6--essentially to stick it to the Hagia Sophia.  That provoked controversy at the time, because the 6 minarets was considered a sacrilegious attempt to rival the architecture of Mecca.  Apparently nobody at that time considered the practicality or cost of having two superstructure mosques within a quarter mile of each other.   As Al Capone one said, "if one is good, two must be twice as good."

The mosque has a dress code.  Although the weather was very warm when we visited, women (and men) were warned not to wear short skirts, shorts, uncovered arms, etc.  Women must wear head scarves.  Everyone must remove their shoes and place them in plastic bags upon entering.  Because it is an active mosque, it is closed to non-worshippers during the 5 daily prayers which begin 2 hours before dawn and end after sunset. 

ROMAN CISTERNS

We crossed the street from the Hagia Sophia, dodging the trolley cars, to visit the underground roman cisterns.  The Romans built these cavernous structures under the buildings to capture rain water to supply the city in event of siege.  They hold 20 million gallons of water.  On the 336 columns (each 26 feet high) are beautiful carvings of mythological figures like the Medusa.    They are difficult to see in the dim light.

VISITING TURKISH FAMILY ON BOSPHORUS

We captured more of the flavor of Istanbul by taking a boat ride on the Bosphorus in a boat chartered by Tauck Tours.    We went to visit a Turkish family in their home on the Anatolian side.  The house, on the edge of the water, is a red wood house fully furnished with fixtures from the 1800's.  It was the fourth generation of that family to live in the house.   The patriarch of the family who built it had been the physician of the Sultan, and he eventually rose to Health Minister in the Ottoman government. 

Salih Efendi, born in 1816, outlived two wives and his four sons.  He was living out his retirement when, in 1879 his neighbor, the Sultan's sister brought a 16 year old Circassian girl into her household.  She wanted the girl to learn French and summoned the 63 year old Salih to teach her.  Love (or lust) got the better of him, and he persuaded the Sultan to allow the girl to leave the household and marry Salih.  A devoted wife for 16 years, she bore him three daughters who inherited the house and grounds. 

Today, his descendants are sitting on valuable real estate but in need of cash.  giving tours like ours helps pay for the upkeep.  On the day we visited, the house was set up for a dinner wedding, later in the day.  We found it very enlightening to talk to the locals.

We left the house on the boat and sailed down to the Del Mare Restaurant, also on the waterfront, where we enjoyed a Turkish feast.  For mezes (appetizers), we had auburgine puree, yoghurt with chives, red pepper in oil, baked Lima beans served cold, dolmades in grape leaves, salad.   Mezes were introduced by Suleyman the Magnificent after a trip to Persia, to insure his safety.  He would give "taste slaves" a small portion of his meal before he sat down to eat.  If they didn't die, the food must be OK to eat.

For the main course we had a choice.  I had seafood paella, and Dianne had filet.  For dessert was more baklava, dates and other goodies.

We returned on the boat after dark under the brilliant light shows of two suspension bridges.  We were almost too tired to notice.

NEXT:  Ancient Ruins of Anatolia