St Savior church in Chora, Istanbul

Cupola depicting the Virgen Mary and baby Jesus surrounded by angels.

The last judgement

 Byzantine saints

 Fast fading frescoes

I'm tired of mosques already. I came to Turkey expecting to see more of its Byzantine heritage only to find they are few and far between. Whatever we could see was enthralling, take this church for example. The structure is 11th C but the frescoes and mosaics are 14thC with financing from a rich patron. It is often the case in Anatolia, the Christian faith was alive and well. We will see more of this in Cappadocia in the months ahead. I'm just giving you a preview of what is to come. The state of Byzantine art in the Haghia Sophia was disappointing. To see truly beautiful and well preserved Byzantine treasures one need only to go Ravenna, Italy. Here the Justinian mosaics are so beautiful and well preserved. But to see frescoes, especially Byzantine frescoes, Turkey is still the place to see them, though a lot are in a very sad state of decay and neglect. I think its a crime to allow this to happen.
St Savior church in Chora, known in Istanbul as Kariye muzesi, don't use the Byzantine name, no one will know what you're talking about. Except for a few churches, most of the old Byzantine churches have been converted to mosques, some are locked tight (Haghia Eirene) and a few are opened as museums. I made it a point to see this church. There are books about the Byzantine churches in Istanbul and in Turkey but they refer to the ones that have been converted to mosques. So it is misleading. To find this church was such a joy, it is in a far off area, 'Chora' means in the country, almost to the edge of Istanbul proper. To make an effort to see it is rewarding. The frescoes are so beautiful albeit not being as old as the ones in Cappadocia which we shall see in later posts.
You can google the church and see more images and write up.

Lunch at Eminonu

Street food is everywhere and really cheap. They cater to the locals. I didn't see any tourists here where we ate on the waterfront. Most tourists come with a tour group and they have their buses take them everywhere, to fancy hotels and fancy restaurants. I've never joined a tour group to anywhere, preferring to blaze a trail for myself everywhere and everytime. I forgot how much we paid for this fish sandwich, can't be more than 5TL (Turkish Liras) which is about US3. The fish is fresh caught from the same waters that we are looking at. I just looked at the pictures, it was 4TL! There is great food everywhere, Turkish food is incredible. It reminded of the fried fish we had for lunch in Essaouira, Morocco. I love fresh fish and would eat it wherever I can find it.

The Golden Horn

There are three parts to Istanbul, all three are separated by three bodies of water. We were on the Europe side of Istanbul heading for the Taksim side across the Golden Horn. Then there is the Asia side which we didn't have time for this trip. This is Eminonu, the harbor where all the cruises for the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus straits originate. It is a busy water front and waterway. All kinds of ships ply these waters and it is so fascinating. From where we were we could see Taksim Tower.

Streets of istanbul

We still couldn't believe it that we were actually in Istanbul, some place so exotic. But truly we were in Istanbul because where in the world would the shop windows display Turkish Delight. It was truly a delightful feeling as we strolled and were on our way to Eminonu, the water front and the Galata bridge. Mosques and minarets dot the whole skyline. They were usually massive mosques and they were every where. A lot of the old Byzantine churches has been converted to mosques and are still being used as mosques. The Haghia Eirene, a smaller version of the Haghia Sophia is closed and used only for concerts and special events. Other than in the Fener district where the Patriachate of the Orthodox church is, there is no church services anywhere else. The other church, St Saviour at the Chora is now a museum that houses the icons and frescoes of the Byzantine church. This is a very beautiful place and very special and my favorite which we will visit later. The only other place where Byzantine churches are found in abundance is in Cappadocia which we will visit much much later. I left my heart in Cappadocia and you will find out why later. Even with the abundance of old Byzantine churches in Cappadocia, there is no active church there. That is the sad state of the church in Turkey. Turkey is dubbed 'the other Holy land'. It's biblical sites are visited by a constant stream of christians from all over the world. It is very heartening to see it.

Basilica cistern

Right across the street from the Haghia Sophia is the Basilica cistern, begun by Constantine and expanded by Justinian, it was used for storing water for the Imperial Palace complex. It fell into disuse during the Ottoman rule and until recently was the city's dumping ground for trash. It was restored in 1987 after hauling away hundreds of years of trash and is opened to the public. It is quite impressive, in fact, any Byzantine monument is interesting. The unfortunate thing is there isn't much of the Byzantine empire left to see. Why are the two Medusa heads, one on its side, the other upside down? These act as pedestals for the huge columns and were poached from pre-Christian ruins. In a recent show of the 'Bachelorette' they arranged for a romantic dinner here in the cistern.

Haghia Sophia

Previous churches have been destroyed, this is the one rebuilt by Emperor Justinian in 536 AD. The Haghia Sophia, Saint Sophia, the church of Holy Wisdom is massive and a little disappointing. It does not retain any elements of its former glory, to me, it is a shell of its former glory, a huge shell but nonetheless, a must see in Istanbul. This is a principal Byzantine building still standing in Islamic Turkey. Even though they say they are secular, Islamic ideas and culture runs very deep and is not lost at all in Turkey. Do not be deceived, the undertones are there and you'll always be the infidel. Tourists from all over the world throng the streets of Istanbul and in some places it gets so crowded that you won't get a chance to see it. Today all the names of churches are 'turkified' and you must use the Turkish name before you'll be understood. The new name for the Haghia Sophia is Aya Sofya. It was used as a mosque for 400 years during the Ottoman reign and one sees Islamic symbols all over. It's quite disconcerting. The glorious mosaics have faded but there is an attempt at restoration. Lots of Byzantine churches have been converted to mosques, for the few that are not, they are called museums. There is a small vestige of Orthodox Christian life in Istanbul, most Christians, who are mostly Greeks have left the country.
I loved this trip because I became interested in the Greek and Armenian genocides perpetrated by the Turkish people under Kemal Ataturk with the complicity of the Germans. One must never forget history, to forget would mean to repeat it.

Coming home

Breakfast on the terrace, couple from hotel across the street from our hotel. Little did I know when I was making my hotel reservation that we would be staying between the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia. The hotel wasn't fancy, just very regular but expensive but the location was incredible. We could walk to all the major monuments. This was our first morning, we had just arrived the night before, night really isn't it, more like 1 in the morning. It was exhilarating, to be in Istanbul, Turkey. We've read and heard so much about and there we were, walking its streets....

The Blue Mosque on one side...

View of the where the Golden Horn meets the Bosporus and the Marmara sea. What an incredible view from the breakfast terrace of our hotel.

View of the Haghia Sophia on the other side... It's just walking distance and presto magico.... we're at the doorstep of one of the world's most famous church, later a mosque, now a museum.

This was another trip of enormous importance in my personal growth. I saw and experienced things and met people, both local and foreign that has forever changed my life. One must really go outside one's comfort zone in order to have different experiences. Initially I just wanted to see Istanbul for a few days, then the trip morphed into including Ephesus and Cappadocia. Even for Cappadocia I didn't want a canned experience like everyone else where they just visit Goreme's open air museum and all of us come back with the same stories and pictures. I found a private guide on the Internet, a German who has been in Cappadocia for the last ten years and is very knowledgeable of the hidden churches that the local guides are not. Understand the local guides are all Turkish and Muslim. Their knowledge and interest are divergent to mine. We met up in Goreme and for 3 whole days, we climbed, we hiked in the hot Cappadocian sun to look at churches hidden from the general public. Wow.... that made the difference. He didn't come cheap but for his expertise, I was willing to pay. I didn't begrudge him anything. We've made a friend in him and I'm eternally grateful to his passion for the churches of Cappadocia.
So for the next few months I'll take you on the same trip that we took. I pray that you too will find time and money to visit Turkey and especially Cappadocia.It's nothing you've ever seen in this world. It does have another worldly atmosphere to it.