day 3

The obelisk of Theodosius carved in Egypt around 1500 BC now resides on the Hippodrome in Istanbul. The Hippodrome was the center of Byzantium life for 1000 years and of Ottoman life for another 400. Below Vidat shares some of the history with Rebecca and the rest of our group.

Murat Bilir lectures to our group in the Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum. This museum possesses superb collections of Islamic arts from all parts and periods of the Islamic world and is one of the best of its kind in the world. Among its collections is a particularly important group of early Turkish carpets dated to the 13th century, which come from the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya. Also of interest is the so-called enthnological section, which tells the story of the Turkish house from the round felt tents of Central Asia to the 19th century mansions of Istanbul. Mr. Bilir is an expert on Turkish artifacts.

This is a fountain on the hippodrome used by Moslems to wash before entering the mosque for prayer. There are five calls to prayer a day: One at dawn, one at sunset, one at midday, and one in middle morning and another at mid-afternoon. Each of the prayer times is preceeded by a call to prayer, a verse of the Koran sung through a loud speaker system from the minaret of the mosque. It is the sound I miss most from Turkey.

These two photos (up and down) are of the Aya Sofya (Sancta Sophia or Church of the Divine Wisdom). Aya Sofya was originally built as a church in 548 AD, but was also a mosque for 500 of its 1500 years. Since 1935 it has been a museum. The special feature of Aya Sofya is its impressive dome which appears to be unsupported. The photo below features two of our group members: Melodye and Naradain James in the foreground.

The three photos below were taken in the Underground Cistern in Istanbul. This water reservoir was built by Justinian between 527-565 AD, has 336 columns supporting the roof (most of recycled marble columns and pediments), and was used to store water for the Imperial Palace. The reservoir is considered to be another great architectural achievement. Notice the heads of Medusa used in the columns in the photos below. They were turned upside down and sideways so no one would mistake them for current ornamentation.

We enjoyed lunch on a rooftop near Aya Sofya. Most of us ordered a lamb dish cooked in a clay vessel that has to be broken to get at the meal.

Below is a photo of the interior of the Covered Bazaar. This bazaar is filled with shops selling almost anything you can think of. Many of us learned to do some price haggling while there. Within the Grand Bazaar is the Old Bazaar dating from the 15th century. It is noted for its gold jewelry and metal pieces. A custom, at first curious to us, is to serve customers Turkish tea. We all learned to like it and accept it when it was offered.

Margie is shown here with two of her purchases in a carpet shop in the Grand Bazaar. Her purchases are known as saddle bags. Margie doesn't have a donkey or a camel, but plans to use these "bags" to hold magazines or just to hang on the wall. We also saw them filled with down pillows and used as floor pillows.

The two photos below were taken at dinner in the roof top restaurant of the Armada Hotel. As you can see, the Bosphorus is just outside our hotel. In the first photo, Marlene sits between two of our dinner guests, both from Bogazici University. Dr. Diane Sunar (on the left) lectured to us after dinner on the collectivism of the Turkish family. Dr. Erol Inelman is on the right. He is working on Distance Education at his university. In the second photo, Vedat, our guide, talks with Rebecca and Dr. Sunar.