Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Food stalls on the streets

The streets in Istanbul is filled with food stalls. You can expect to be fed at almost every corner of the street.

Here are a selection:

Bread. These are very popular.

Char-grilled sweet corn and chestnuts.

Orange juice. My favourite.

Interesting note: oranges are called 'portakal' in Turkish because the Portuguese people brought the orange tree to Turkey.

Exotic coconut for SP!

Mussels. These stalls are everywhere. I am not quite sure about the hygiene though.

Nuts! All kinds of nuts! Apparently, Turkey is one of the biggest producers of hard-shell nuts. The small packets are 1YTL each.

Salepi dondurma (Turkish ice cream!)

We are in Turkey, so of course there are kebabs! Here is a vendor making şiş kebap (shish kebab)!

Close-up of the kebab!

Döner kebab with 200g of meat! We are pretty sure about that. The guy actually weighted the meat! :P

Slicing the meat

Fish sandwich along the Bosphorus River.

Or you can go for style and order from the fish-sandwich-shop-on-a-boat

Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Hippodrome

Hippodrome, today named the Sultanahmet Square, was historially a square for horse racing. The Hippodrome was built by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus towards the end of the 2nd Century and it was extended to an immense size by Constantine the Great.

In Roman and Byzantine times, the Hippodrome served as the city's main meeting, entertainment and sports center until the 10th Century. Like many of the other monuments in the city, it lost its importance with the Latin invasion in 1204.

The original ground level of the Hippodrome was 4 or 5 meters lower than the present surface. Here are some of the monuments that have remained to our day:

The Egyptian Obelisk, which is also known as the Obelisk of Theodosius, was first erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. It is one of the 26 known ancient Egyptian obelisks that remains. It was erected in its present location in 390.

Although Istanbul is hit by a 6.5+ scale earthquakes every 100 years or so, the Obelisk has remained intact throughout all those years. It is made from pink granite and it weights about 300 tonnes. It is around 20 m high.

The Walled Obelisk, also known as the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. This obelisk was covered with embroidered copper and bronze plates, but were removed during the fourth Crusade to produce coins.


The Kaiser Wilheim, or German, Fountain. It was donated in 1900 to the Ottoman Empire by the German Emperor Wilhelm II after his visit to Istanbul in 1898.

There is also third column in the Hippodrome called the Serpentine Column. It is dated 479 BC. The original design shows the heads of three intertwined serpents used to form the legs of a gold cauldron.

The monument was created out of the bronze items captured during a victory against the Persians in the 5th Century and it originally stood before the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. It was brought to Istanbul in 324 by Constantine and erected in the middle of the Hippodrome. Unfortunately, the serpents' heads and the gold cauldron were broken off during transit so there is only a bronze column left. As per before, the photographer decided it is not an item of interest, so no photos. Sorry!

<3 The photographer at work! <3

Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Aγία Σοφία (Hagia Sophia)

The Hagia Sophia, now known as the Ayasofya Museum, had quite a few identities. It started off as an early Christian Church and later became an Eastern Orthodox church. In 1453, it was transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans and was subsequently converted into a museum in 1935.

Its name "Hagia Sophia" (which means 'Divine Wisdom'), is one of the 3 adjectives dedicated to the God in the Christian faith. (The other two adjectives being 'Hagia Irene', which means Divine Peace, and 'Hagia Dynamis', which means Divine Power.)

It was constructed in five years, from 532 to 537, at the orders of Emperor Justinian I and designed by Isidore of Miletus. The emperor spared no expense for his church and actually placed the state treasury at the disposal of the architects.

Day time view.

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Of great artistic value was its decorated interior with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings. The marbles and columns were taken from remains of earlier eras and building material were transported from almost all parts of the Byzantine empire.

The temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" (Νενίκηκά σε Σολομών). Justinian himself had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years up until the completion of the cathedral in Seville. Its dome is 15 storeys high and it is one of the 5 highest in the world. Considering it was built nearly 1,500 years ago, it is a great achievement indeed.

Because it has been a Christian church as well as a mosque in the past, there is a mixture of Christian and Islamic items in the same space.

This huge marble jar is one of two brought from Pergamum, an ancient Roman acropolis. It was used to hold oil for all the lamps in the building.

In the background is the mihrab, the ceremonial niche which points in the direction of Mecca. The stained glass is from Ottoman time.

Looking up to the gallery level.

The detailed work on the columns and pillars.

Islamic artwork.

The area under the gallery.

A look at some of the columns that support the structure.

The levhas (medallions) in the background are 7.5m in diameter! They were inscribed by the famous calligrapher, Mustafa Izzet Efendi, in the 19th Century. They contain the names of Allah (God), Mohammed, and the first caliphs and imams.

This particular levha (medallion) contains the names of Mohammed.

9th Century mosaic of Virgin Mary and baby Jesus at the upper part of the apse

11th Century mosaic of Christ flanked by the Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus (offering a bag of money) and Empress Zoe (offering an inscribed scroll).

Research has shown that the head and the inscription above Constantine's head have been altered three times as the Empress was married three times and the scene was changed after each marriage.

Above the emperor's head, the text reads: "Constantine, in Christ the Lord Autocrat, faithful emperor (basileus) of the Romans, Monomachus." Above the empress' head, the text reads: "Zoe, the most pious Augusta."

12th Century mosaic of the Virgin Mary and the infant Christ with Emperor John II Comnenos, his wife Empress Irene (Eirene) and their son Alexius.

The inscription above the emperor reads: "John, in Christ the Lord faithful Emperor, Porphyrogenitus and Autocrat of the Romans, Comnenus." The term porphyrogenitus means "born in the purple," i.e. born to be emperor.

Also known as Kaloiannis (John the Beautiful), he was apparently quite ugly (the term beautiful apparently referring to his pious character). He married the daughter (later to be the Empress Eirene) of King Ladislaus I of Hungary. The inscription above her head reads: "Eirene, the most pious Augusta." She is now honored as a saint in the Orthodox church.

The Deisis mosaic is one of the most beautiful mosaic of Hagia Sophia. It dates back to 14th Century and depicts Virgin Mary and John the Baptist asking Jesus Christ, in grief, for the sinful to be sent to heaven.

10th Century mosaic. Virgin Mary and the infant Christ in the center, with Constantine the Great offering a model of the city on the right, and Justinian offering a model of Hagia Sophia on the left.

There were also a set of huge bronze doors at the exit that are partially embedded in the floor are from the 2nd century BC. It was said to be brought to the site from a pagan temple in Tarsus.

Unfortunately, the photographer decided to avoid taking photos of the nave simply "because the scaffolding for the restoration work is in the way" :(

Here is a reference photo if you want to see how it looks like: http://www.math.ucsb.edu/~garcias/travel/images/Turkey/AyaSofya/1280-AyaSofyaLogeMihrabScaffold.jpg

Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Testi kebap (Kebab in a clay pot)

We tried a new type of kebab during this trip: The "Testi Kabab" is an Anatolian speciality. Pieces of lamb or chicken is cooked in a sauce with onion, mushroom, bell peppers and other spices. The ingredients are cooked in individual sealed clay pot. When it is ready to be served, it is knocked open with a heated machete at the table.

The waiter insisted that I should knock open the pot. So here I was, almost sending pieces of broken clay to the people on the next table.

Apparently, in the more rural areas, restaurants would compete with each other by laying all their broken pots outside as a sign of good business.

Verdict? We had our Testi Kebab in a touristy restaurant, and as expected, the taste wasn't that great. I guess it partly has to do with the fact that I don't like chicken breast meat and bell peppers. I would definitely want to try it again when I visit Central Anatolia.

Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Sultanahmet Camii (The Blue Mosque)

The Sultanahmet Camii, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or the Blue Mosque, is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul.

The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616. The Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I deliberately chose the site to face Hagia Sophia, which used to be the great Christian Church of the Holy Wisdom during the Byzantine era. Sedefhar Mehmet Aga, the architect, was given an mandate by the Sultan to spare no expense in creating the most magnificent and beautiful place of Islamic worship in the world. Unfortunately, the architect was unable to construct a bigger dome than Hagia Sophia's, so he instead tried to impress the sultan by building domes, semidomes and minarets to perfect proportions. The failure to surpass Hagia Sophia in size still greatly upset the Sultan.

There is also an interesting story of the mosque: according to it, the Sultan originally wanted to have a minaret made of gold, which is "altin" in Turkish. The architect misunderstood him as "alti", which means "six" in English.

Prior to that time, no Sultan had a mosque with minarets (the only mosque that had six minarets was the mosque of Ka'aba in Mecca). Therefore, Sultan Ahmet was said to be pleased about the minarets. At the same time, he was criticised for presumption as the Ka'aba mosque is supposed to be the holiest place of worship in the religion and he shouldn't have built another mosque to compete with it. Eventually, he overcame this problem by paying for the construction of a seventh minaret at the Mecca mosque.

A little info on minaret( منارة): Minaret is a distinctive features of Islamic mosques. It generally consists of tall spire, with an onion-shaped crowns. But what is it exactly used for?

According to Wiki:

"minarets originally served as watchtowers illuminated by torches (hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic nur, meaning "light"). In more recent times, the main function of the minaret was to provide a vantage point from which the muezzin can call out the adhan, calling the faithful to prayer. In most modern Mosques, the adhan is called not in the minaret, but in the musallah, or prayer hall, via a microphone and speaker system. Therefore, the role of the minaret is now largely for traditional and decorative purposes."

The mosque itself covers a large area. This mosque used to be part of a larger complex, including "a covered bazaar, Turkish baths, public kitchens, a hospital, schools, a caravanserai, and the mausoleum of Sultan Ahmet." (Source: http://english.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=308) Unfortunately, some of these buildings has not survived through the times.

In the north portico of the front courtyard, there were some ablution fountains.

These ablution fountains are for people who are getting prepared to pray in the mosque.

From the main entrance

SP and I in the inner courtyard


The original handmade silk carpets were recently replaced by uniformed, coarse, machine-made carpets.

The mosque became known as the Blue Mosque because its interior paintwork used to be predominately blue. The blue paint was not part of the originally decor so it has been replaced by the original lighter-coloured paintwork during the last restoration. Therefore, the interior of the mosque does not look THAT blue anymore:

Photos with the local school kids!

For more information:

When you are planning your visit to the mosque, one should note that there are prayer fives times a days. (First one in the very early in morning, second at noon time, third in afternoon, fourth in evening and last fifth before going to bed. ) The mosque is closed to public during each prayer for about 1.5 hour.

Istanbul Trip, April 2007 - Kapalıçarşı (The Grand Bazaar)

(Sorry guys, I'm skipping ahead. I've decided to write about Istanbul while it's still fresh in my mind. I will write up about Colonge, Nurmberg and Wales later on.)

In front of one of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar

Kapalıçarşı (The Grand Bazaar, or the Covered Bazaar) is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It covers an area of around 31,000 square meters and it has more than 60 streets and 4,000 shops.

The Bazaar was first constructed in 1464 with the order of Mehmed II 'the Conqueror' and had many restorations over the years due to the extensive fires and destructive earthquakes.

Inside the bazaar!

There are many things on sale at the bazaar, including carpets, jewellery, carpet, leather goods and lots of pirated designer bags! Shop owners are generally very friendly and they try very hard to get people into their shop. There were lots of: "Please come in! Just look! No obligations!" and "Can I please show you just two carpets?". Failing that, they even tried, "Why don't you visit my shop?".

We went into a carpet shop and look through a fair few carpets. The carpets are mainly made of wool or silk. The price is determined by the material as well as the details of the pattern. The tighter the knots, the better the carpet. Sadly for them, I wasn't ready to part with 400 pounds just for a carpet short of 2 metre square!

We also visited the silver quarter, which is attached to the bazaar. There was a silversmith working on a silver vase and he was hammering on the vase with much precision (and force!). The level of workmanship is incredible. The silverware are actually very attractive, but it is also very high maintenance!

We didn't end up buying anything insude the bazaar as it was our first day. It is definitely worth a visit though. And if you are into shopping and haggling, you will find paradise there! :)

Antique, probably fake?

Finely decorated ceramic ware.

Lots of chunky gold jewellery!

Colonge Trip, Nov 2006 - Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

The western façade of the Cologne Cathedral

The Cologne Cathedral is apparently one of the most famous and most visited landmark in Germany. The Cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Mary, hence the full name: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria

The construction of the church began in 1248 and it took place in several stages. The cathedral was not completed until 1880. Although the construction took place over more than 700 years, the builders have tried to adhere as much to the original plan as possible. Only the steel roof is of modern design.

The church itself was built on the site of a 4th Century Roman temple. The present Cathedral was built to house the relics of the Three Magi (a.k.a. the 'Three Wise Man'), which was brought to Cologne in 1146 by Archbishop Reinald von Dassel. It attracted some many pilgrims from all over the continent.

The Cathedral also houses some of the most important Christian art in the world:

The Shrine of the Three Kings (Dreikönigsschrein).

The Shrine of the Three Kinds contains the relics of the Three Magi. The relics were originally situated at Constantinople, but brought to Milan by Eustorgius I, the city's bishop, in 344. After the relics arrived in Cologne, many artisans, including the famous medieval goldsmith, Nicholas of Verdun, worked on the Shrine in the period between 1190 to 1220. The shrine itself it finely gilded and decorated. The details are amazing! The representations covers the History of Salvation from the beginning of time to the Last Judgment.

Gero Crucifix.

The monumental wooden crucifix was donated by Archbishop Gero (died 976) and it is dated for circa 970. The Gero Crucifix is the oldest monumental figure of the Crucified Christ that is still in existence.

There is an amazing mosaic floor at the choir. The ceramic mosaic pieces were produced by the firm Villeroy & Boch. Here are some examples:

The German Emperor.

The personification of Germany, with a model of the Cologne Church of St. Gereon in her hands.

From the official website (source: http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?L=1&id=17992):

This [the above mosaic] is one of eight mostly crowned female figures sitting on richly decorated thrones and representing on both sides of the Emperor Mosaic the great Christian nations of the Old World. Each has as attribute a model of that country's most important church.

The Cathedral features the largest church facade in the world.

The three portals may look small in the over scheme of things, but it is still very BIG.

The middle portal depicts the time before Redemption. To the left is the portal of the Three Holy Kings which shows the presentation of the Son of God to the peoples of the world. To the right is the Peter's Portal which refers to the spreading of the teachings of Christ through the apostles.

The western façade

From the North. To capture this shot, SP had to leave his camera and run 20 metres to our position!

For more information:

http://www.koelner-dom.de/