SAST Wingees

Turkey Travelog – Part 2 – Istanbul Redux

Continuing the travelog of Turkey. Here’s a link to the 1st post in the thread.

If I were to list the Top-10 things to do in Istanbul, eating pistachios from Osmanlioglu in the Spice Bazaar will feature prominently. Nowhere else in the world will you find such perfectly roasted, mildly salted, impeccably flavored pistachios.  The Spice Bazaar is popularly called the “Mısr Çarşısı” (Egyptian Bazaar), since it originally featured spices from Egypt. The small bazaar is an obstacle course. Warding off a store clerk’s assiduous efforts to sell me Turkish Viagra (“Very effective, madam” he assured me), I picked up a bottle of an intriguing amber colored liquid – “Grape Syrup”. Istanbullus swear by this concoction and use it instead of jam or sugar. It was cloyingly sweet, more like an extract of raisins than grapes.

The star attraction in Turkey is the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya in Turkish) – or the Church of Divine Wisdom. This is a 1,500 year old church, built by Emperor Justinian. The church is massive – it must have been quiet a sight back in its days. The interior of the church is beautifully decorated with thousands of tiny gold tesserae (mosaic tiles) and varicolored granite and marble. Sadly, most of the mosaics are badly damaged and painstaking restoration is ongoing. The large central dome of the church appears unsupported – though its cunningly supported by hidden columns built into the walls.

Compared to the stunning interior, the exterior is almost drab. This is in keeping with the Byzantine tradition of keeping the exteriors simple, while lavishing all the attention of the interior. So breathtaking is the interior of Aya Sofya, that 1000 years later, it was proclaimed a mosque by the Ottoman Sultans. Nowadays, its mostly viewed as a museum.

We checked out the “Weeping Column”. It’s a simple column with a worn-out copper plating and a hole. The faithful believe that if you insert your finger into the hole & it returns moist, your ailments will be healed. Hence it was a sad day for me when my finger emerged dry as Sahara.

When in Turkey, eat like the Turks. Missing Dondurma must be the 8^th deadly sin. This Turkish version of ice cream beats all other versions hands down. In addition to the usual ingredients, it has Mastic and Sahlep, the milk from orchid bulbs grown exclusively in Turkey. If you are in Turkey, try one of the ubiquitous “Mado” ice cream bars. Their ice creams are thicker, stretchier and sinfully tasty – probably because they feed their cows the same orchid bulbs that goes into making the ice-cream. Since I’m on a diet, I watched Sukumar stuff himself with scoop after tantalizing scoop of Mado ice creams.

The 2^nd most popular attraction in Istanbul is the “Blue Mosque” or the Sultanahmet Mosue. What’s blue about the Blue Mosque? Nothing in the exterior, but the inside – especially around the domes – is lined with thousands of beautiful blue Iznik tiles. This splendid mosque, with 6 minarets, is a photographer’s delight. It was built by the Ottomans, as Islam’s answer to Aya Sofya. No effort was spared to make the Blue Mosque more breathtaking than Aya Sofya. Our tour guide told us that when the mosque was built, it caused a lot of consternation – since the only other mosque with 6 minarets is in Mecca.

Sultanhmet Square, the locus of tourist spots, is full of small, interesting cafeterias. For a few Turkish Liras, you can have your fill of strong, miniscule cups of muddy – albeit flavorful – Turkish coffee and smoke the Nargileh (water pipe for tobacco). Being non-smokers, we gave the Nargileh a wide berth, while all around us, Turks smoked like chimneys. Turkish tea is for the masochist in you. I didn’t know what to make of the inky brew. Or the equally weird tasting Apple Tea (Elma Chai) that beaming carpet salesmen ply on tourists. It tasted like a watered down version of “Mott’s Apple Juice”.

Nobody lures tourists like the salesmen and women in the 500 year old Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı, or Covered Bazaar). This charming and almost medieval, shopper’s delight offers everything Turkish you ever wanted to buy, even items you never knew you wanted. We bought some souvenirs (read: junk), seduced by the sweet-talking shopkeepers. Prominently displayed are the blue and white Nazar (Eye) symbols, which Turks believe wards off the evil eye.

Say “Turkey” and your mind conjures up images of “Rahat Lokum” or Turkish Delight. This delicious sweet is Turkey’s answer to the Indian Halwa, sans the butter and ghee. I’ve done Turkey a great disservice if I don’t agree that Lokum – the precursor of Halwa – was invented by Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir, a Turk. Legend has it that sweets were mostly hard candies till Hacı Bekir invented the soft lokum. He offered it to the Sultan, who fell in love with it at the first bite. Sukumar OD-ed on Findik and Fistik lokum (Hazelnut and Pistachio) from Hacı Bekir’s shop in the happening street, Istiklal Caddesi – while I – watched him wolf it all down.

I must say that the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara was a major let-down. We had hoped to gain more insights on the Neolithic and Chalcolithic civilizations in Turkey, but the museum needs a better curator and more “steals”. There weren’t many star attractions – crowning glories – in the museum’s possession. Those that they had wasn’t documented and displayed to its advantage. We were surprised to learn that this was an award winning museum. The Istanbul Archaeological museum was better – but more about that in another post.

Sukumar’s photo blog is next, so stay with us.