Byzantine Monuments in Istanbul

Between Amsterdam and Israel, I spent a bit over a week in Istanbul. This was my second visit to Istanbul. Istanbul is one of those places where there are historic sites all over the place--especially within the large walled old city. On my first visit to Istanbul for three days in 2003, I took along a book about the architect Mimar Sinan. He was the architect for Sulieman the Magnificant at the height of the Ottoman Empire. This time, I dug a bit deeper into history and focused on Byzantine monuments (warning: this entry is almost straight from my notes and may be of little interest unless you're traveling to Istanbul).

Many Byzantine buildings all look like they are going to fall apart. Most are made of bricks that are no longer smooth and which are no longer painted over with shiny stuff that probably made the buildings much more impressive. Still, the structures are interesting and the art within--most notably mosaics--still hold their luster.

Here's my list of the best Byzantine works in Istanbul:

Hagia Sophia
A church, a traditional basilica much smaller than the Hagia Sophia of today, was first planned on the site by Constantine and built by his son Constantius around 360. However, this was burnt in 404 A.D. during riots that resulted from the banishment of the popular churchman St. John Chrysostom. The Emperor Teodosius (408-450) ordered the construction of the second church. This was finished in 409 A.D. This church was similar to the first. In 532 A.D., there was a riot against Justinian I during which the church was again destroyed. Justinian I put down the rebellion and had the much larger church built that continues to stand today (there have been many renovations and additions which I won't attempt to describe here). The Hagia Sophia was dedicated by Justinian in 537 c.e.

The Hagia Sophia follows the basilica layout (is rectangular) as is common Byzantine church architecture but it features a central dome with half-domes to the east and west. Freely and Cakmak evaluate this innovation: "Glorious as is the [central] dome, it is the introduction of the semidomes that constitutes the real triumph of genius. For in addition to lengthening the nave [the central area of the church], they make it possible to appreciate from the very threshold the soaring, hovering height; they allow the dome, in short, to play its true and full part in the total effect" (93-94). That is to say, if there weren't half-domes, the walls on the next level lower than the dome would have obstructed the view and the observer would have to stand under the central dome and look straight up to see it.

The Hagia Sophia, as built by Justinian I, had a courtyard with covered walkways around the three sides (the sides that did not include the main section of the building). These walkways surrounded a fountain (Freely & Carmak, 98). Although this area no longer exists, realizing that it was part of the Justinian's Hagia Sophia helps one to appreciate the impact of this building on the Ottoman style mosque that reached it's height with the architect Sinan over 1000 years later. These Ottoman mosques similarly have a courtyard preceding the entry with covered walkways around three sides. The other most prominant borrowed feature is that many mosques have two half-domes. However, where the building has a square, rather than rectangular layout, there are four half domes.

Wikipedia has some photos and additional explaination of the many features of the Hagia Sophia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

The Church of Sergius and Bachus (Kucuk Ayasofya Mosque)
This is the oldest surviving church in Istanbul—built by the Emperor Justinian in 525A.D.. (like the Hagia Sophia, it was designed by Justinian's chief architect, Anthemius). During the reign of the Emperor Justin, Justinian was blamed for having a plot against Justin. Justin was planning on severely punishing Justinian but two local saints, Sergius and Bachus appeared to Justin in a dream and asked him to forgive his cousin Justinian. Justinian, once in power, showed gratitude to the two saints by having this church constructed in their memory. The exterior of the building is overwhelmingly Byzantine but there have been additions since it became a mosque. There is a portico in front and, of course, a mineret. In addition, there are Islamic tombstones on two sides of the mosque. There is a courtyard that appears original but the fountain in the middle of the courtyard appears to have been added very recently. It was interesting to note that the courtyard in front of the mosque seemed similar to the typical Ottoman layout. It may be that this too was copied from the Byzantines. The exterior deserves various perspectives. I walked around the neighborhood to see it from various angles. The interior of the building has the appearance of a contemporary mosque. The design must be of the original Byzantine and there is a second floor around the outside of the building—similar, in concept, to the Hagia Sophia—but it would require some study to appreciate the design given the Islamic designs. I noticed the columns but don’t recall the types and what appeared to be a bit of original masonry at a particular junction. The dome which is divided into 16 sections.

The Chora Church (now Kariye Museum)
The Chora Museum was built in the 6th century but re-decorated between 1316 and 1321 by Theodora Metochites. A “statesman” who spent his time and money embellishing this church. The church was expanded: "The shell of the Comnenian nave was left in place, but its dome was built anew; the two narthexes and the mortuary parecclession to the south of the church are due to Metochites. ... // the architecture hardly stands comparison witht he deservedly famous mosaics and frescoes of the interior, upon which ... Metochites lavished the greater part of his attention" (Cyril Mango, Byzantine Archicture, 271). I came across commentary saying the the architecture is not proportional. The notable embellishments are the frescos and mosaics. The one that kept me gazing is of Jesus and is sometimes referred to as "land of the living" which has some theological meaning that I don't know about. For a picture of this mosaic, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chorachrist.jpg

In mid-July 2008 I returned to this church and spent some time drawing it. I noticed the south fourth of the facade is substantially darker than the remainder, being maroon while other sections are pink and white.

Hagia Eirene
This is just inside the wall to the Topkapi palace. It is probably the oldest surviving Byzantine church in Istanbul, roughly contemporary with Justinian's Hagia Sofia.

The Church of the Pantocrator
Just west of the most visible portion of the aqueduct, near the Zeyrek neighborhood there is a compound with two churches and a chapel (now known as the Zeyrek Mosque), and formerly a monestary: a church dedicated to the Virgin Eleousa, the Merciful or Charitable sponsored by Emperor John II Conmenum and the Church of the Pantocrator, dedicated to St. Savior Pantocrator and sponsored by Empress Eirene. Empress Eirene died in 1124 and was buried in the church (her sarcophogus is now in the exonarthex of the Aya Sofia). The Empresses church was built first and John II added his church after Eirene's death. The Emperor also had the churches connected by adding a chapel between the two churches. This required the demolition of part of the exterior walls of the two buildings. Inside the building, original marble in and around the apse stands out.

The Church of St. Mary Pammakaristos (Fethiye Mosque)
This building is located in the north-west section of Istanbul's walled old city, up the hill from the Golden Horn. It is near the Patriarch of Rum's residence. The church was built after the Crusaders were ousted from Constantinople in 1261 (where they had ruled since 1204).

I soaked up the interior and exterior of the small church and appreciated the explanations of what the mosaics and frescoes represented. Otherwise I would have thought the twelve prophets around the interior of the dome were the twelve apostles. I spent some time looking at the mosaic of Christ in the center of the same dome.

The City Walls
One day I walked around much of Istanbul’s old city walls. The walls were originally built by Anthemius, the prefect of the Eastern Empire during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (408-450). These walls were destroyed in an earthquake in 447. Then Constantine, the next Prefect of the city, rebuilt them in time to stop Attila the Hun from conquering the city. Theodosius’s walls consisted of a moat and three successive walls and stretched for 6.5 kilometers. These walls protected the city for nearly 1000 years. The walls and gates are currently being restored. The pre-restoration walls have certainly crumbled but I prefer these originals to the restored versions.

The Golden Gate / Kedikule (Byzantine & Ottoman fortress)
On the southwest corner of the old city, near the Marmara is the gate built by Theoldosius I. This was used for triumphal state processions into and out of the city. When Theodosius II built the land wall between the Marmara and the Golden Horn, he incorporated this gate into the wall.
The fortress around the Golden Gate had four towers in Byzantine times (Mehmet the Conquerer (Ottoman) added the semi-circular wall on the peninsula side of the wall which has three additional towers).

The Aqueduct of Valens
Valens ruled from 364 to 378. There is a literary source mentioning an aqueduct built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian much earlier than Valens. Some speculate that the "Aqueduct of Valens" may be this aqueduct (see Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul, 11).

"The Romans built an aqueduct to carry water into the city during the reign of Hadrian (r. 117-38). This may be the structure known today as the Valens Aqueduct, but there is no definite evidence to support this supposition" (Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul, 11).

The Basilica Cistern
The cistern The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred cisterns that still lie beneath Istanbul. It is 143 by 65 meters and can hold 80,000 cubic meters of water. There are 336 marble columns (12 rows by 28 columns), each 9 meters high. The columns have capitals in the Ionic and Corinthian style but some of the columns are in no sense decorative. It would be interesting to try to determine which part that was the Basilica and which is the extension. I imagine the expansion areas are where there is little concern for aesthetics as these were to be under water. It is believed that the emperor Constantine had built a basilica and cistern on the spot but that the emperor Justinian I, in the 6th century, responded to a greater demand for water by incorporating the basilica into an enlarged cistern. The cistern is surrounded by a 4 meter thick firebrick wall that is coated with a special mortar for waterproofing. Water from the Belgrade Woods, which lie 19 km north of the city, was brought to the cistern via aqueducts, also built by Justinian.

Mosaic Museum
The mosaic museum features sections of mosaics from Constantinople's Great Palace, which was located where the Blue Mosque is now. My favorite scene is of a man milking a goat.










The Hippodromo
Along with being an ancient sports stadium, a Hippodromo had ceremonial functions. It was also quasi-political as the populous expressed it's attitude towards emperors there. It is believed that the Hippodromo in Constantinople could seat 50,000 people and 30,000 rebels met their doom there after rebelling against Justinian I. The site was such that the empire could display it's glory there which may explain why there is an Egyptian obilisk and what at first seems like a random carved thing in the middle of a park in the most historic section of Istanbul. The latter is part of a statue of three intertiwined serpents (who'se heads are no longer evident except in the adjacent Istanbul Archaeological Museum) which used to be a trophy that once stood in the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. These mark the middle of the Hippodromo's chariot race track. These were on "a raised terrace ... which was adorned with a line of statues, obelisks, and columns" (Freely & Cakmak, 17). The once glorious Hippodromo is otherwise easily missed--tourist books refer to this raised terrace in the middle of the race track as "the spina" but may not explain that this was the part of the Hippodromo. I happened across the curved walls as I walked down the hill towards The Kucuk Ayasofya Church of Sergius and Bachus. The walls of a Hippodromo are evident but unexplained. There are buildings on top so there isn’t a lot to see. The arched doorways are still evident but have been blocked up to prevent collapse. The visual effect is not particularly impressive but knowing where it is at least contributes to an understanding of the layout of the Byzantine city. The above drawing is by by Onofrio Panvinio(Venice, 1600, based on an earlier drawing). It and other views of the hippodrome can be found at: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/sphendone.html

Constantine's Pilar
I walked by Constantine's pilar numerous times before identifying it as such. It was enveloped in scaffolding which made it difficult to appreciate although it is notable as one of the few surviving monuments from Constantine's brief rule in the city after moving the Roman Empire's capital to Constantinople.

The Million
The remains of the free standing arch that used to be the basis for distance measurements in the Byzantine era are hardly recognizable as the section of column that it is. The utility it served long ago made it an interesting glance.

Location of Byzantine Sites
The sites I've mentioned are big name sites that can be found on a tourist map you would pick up in the city or in your tour guide book. The Hagia Sophia, The Kucuk Ayasofya Church of Sergius and Bachus (a.k.a. the Kucuk Ayasofya Mosque), the Mosaic Museum, and the Basilica Cistern are on the east side of the old city, near the Topkapi Palace and Sultanahmet mosque. The Chora Museum, or Kariye Muzesi, is in the north-west section of the old city. The Wall is best observed near the Chora Museum and northward to the Golden Horn.

The Byzantine sites I have not visited but would like to include the Binbirdirek Cistern and the Palace of Antiochus as well as a sea Palace along the Marmara near the tip of the Peninsula (which has remains which would be hard to identify without descriptions). I found the book Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul by Freely & Carmak to be ideal for the scholarly tourist--concise history, clear architectural descriptions and plenty of photos and graphics.

Tel Aviv Airport to "the Shelter"

I arrived in Tel Aviv in the early afternoon and took a train and then bus to a suburb of Tel Aviv called Bat Yam. A friend of mine from BYU who grew up in Israel had heeded my yelps for help after the Hebrew University had informed me that the dorms weren't available until a number of days later than I had thought. I could pay for the extra days but then I heard that snow was forecasted for Jerusalem.

The two nights and one day in Bat Yam were a soft landing. The mom cooks like she means it and we hit a nice restaurant in Jaffa's old city (I sort of thought of it as my "rent" and swallowed hard when the bill came). During my one day there, I took a bus ride to Ashkelon to see it's archeology park. The site was next on my list from a previous visit to Israel--I'd say it is a second tier site that might not hold much interest for someone who hasn't already spent a couple of years in Israel and who has read up on the history of the city as I happen to have.

The following morning I made a quick trip to Jerusalem to meet up with some LDS folks in Jerusalem who had planned a birthday dinner in Ramallah with a member of the branch who lives there. I also tried to get the ball rolling in Hebrew University's bureaucracy so that my real arrival later would be smoother than it otherwise would have been. The birthday party was for an American woman who long ago, while at ASU, had married a Palestinian Christian. Their children are not at school in the U.S.A. It was nice to catch up with her and hear about the how those who had been teenagers when I had seen them last were doing. It was also nice to meet some of the LDS folks living in and around Jerusalem.

The next day, intending to escaped the cold weather (including a day with snow) and be in a corner of Israel that will be difficult to take the time to see once school starts, I headed to Jerusalem's central bus station intending to catch a bus to Eilat. When I first approached the bus the driver said a rough equivalent of "too bad" since I didn't have a reservation. I turned to walk away before remembering that I'm in Israel and if you take no for an answer here you get pushed aside all the time. So I stayed with a group of almost 10 others for whom there wasn't room. Finally, the bus driver let us on and we stood, sat, or laid down in the aisles or doorways for the 4 hour trip to the southern tip of the country. A young man pittied me after a couple of hours and traded places with me and then as people got off I managed to get a seat of my own. Much of the drive was along the shore of the Dead Sea which kept my attention as I listed to an hour long hebrew short story on a book on tape--about three times.

Among those at the Birthday dinner, were a young lady and her mother. The daughter had stayed in "The Shelter" in Eilat and recommended it. She talked a little about Christian discussions but didn't give me fair warning that staying at "The Shelter" is truly an experience. The name "Shelter" comes from a reference to verse in Isaiah but there's a sense in which 'homeless shelter' fits as well. Not only is it the cheapest place in town, but you can sleep on the ground outside for half the price (this was only available for males and there were more males outside than in). But folks looking for a cheap night's sleep isn't what's "Shelter" about the "Shelter." There is a guy who comes there every morning to pick up his metal detector so he can make his living at the beach and there is some mystery guest who has stolen 30 mugs in 30 days. One of the volunteers warned me that the homeless come in and take food out of the guest refrigerator all the time.

So what's the charm of the "Shelter?" The pastor runs the hostel as a fund raiser for his work with Sudanese refugees. His Sudanese refugees aren't Darfurians but southern Sudanese Christians--many of whom spent years in Egypt before coming to Israel (only a trickle does so). I was first exposed to this "mission" on Friday evening. As I checked in I was invited to the outreach meeting and was told that there was a Sabbath dinner afterwards. I like seeing other religions in action and I'm not one to turn down free food so I stuck around. It turns out that among the 200people at the meeting, there were people from all over the world including probably 50 from Sudan. The first half was singing with song in various languages in turn. The preaching was quite a scene. The preacher had his say for a few words and then translators yelled out the meaning in Russian, Spanish, and Arabic (I was sitting by three Chinese and the translation for them was more subdued).

If I make it back to Eilat within the next couple of months I hope to have additional discussions with two young ladies--one from the Netherlands who volunteers with the Sudanese and hence stays free at the shelter and a Canadian (Teresa from the Eilat hiking post) who volunteers at the Shelter and so gets opportunities to serve the Sudanese. Teresa mentioned that when the children first came, they took them to a play ground and the children had no idea what to do there. The young lady from the Netherlands says they are making progress. Their fate is uncertain so she says there is no use teaching them hebrew but there is a lot of progress they can make towards fitting in in a western system if they make it to one.

After four days and five nights of budget accomodations I caught the 7:00 a.m. bus to Jerusalem--$100 (including hostel and round trip bus fare) plus the cheapest food I could find poorer but with a bit wider range of what won't faze me.

Hiking in Eilat's Mountains

I arrived in Eilat on Friday and was soon looking over a hiking map at the hostel. The wife of the hostel director is a hiking enthusiast so she asked me what my hiking plans were. She then suggested some hikes. So I had a rough idea the next morning but I thought I should get oriented so I walked out of town towards the mountains and, before too long, found the trailhead of what looked like the best hiking area. I went a ways further to scout it out and decided on a trail that looked encouraging but returned to the hostel thinking that I'd found a hike for the next day.

Upon returning to the hostel, I encountered two young ladies putting dark brown stuff on their bread. I thought it was Vegimite so I asked them if they were from Australia. It turns out that they were from the Netherlands so I mentioned that I had recently been in Amsterdam and we chatted for a few minutes. I soon found out that they were intending on taking a hike but weren't clear where things were. One of the volunteers at the hostel started explaining to them about their hiking options and suggested the very path I had thought looked good. I invited myself to be their guide and off we went.

The hike was about 3 hours long and included a peak of a small mountain with great views over the city, sea, and Aqaba—the Jordanian city next to Eilat.

Most of the trail was through extremely barren desert--there was not a tree or even a bush in sight most of the time. There were a couple of birds but no other signs of life. I think of hiking as primarily exercise but being in the wilderness can bring a deep relaxation that doesn't seem to be available in a city or suburb. The aesthetic appeal of the route is a bonus. I felt no particular awe at this desert scenery but the view from the peak was nice. We saw into Jordan and may have seen into Saudi Arabia and were a few kilometers from Egypt.

After the view from the peak, we were soon in a wadi--a dry river bed. The aforementioned wife of the hostel director had said that it hadn't rained all winter. There were finally trees and the run-off had shaped the banks in an interesting enough way. While still desert, the variety was certainly appreciated.















After the hike we went to the beach. It was warm enough and most people escaping the snow in Jerusalem probably thought of the beach as the main attraction but a couple minutes in the water and twenty on a beach chair and I was done. Perhaps if I had brought a watermelon, newspaper, book, and volleyball as I had when was a teenager the beach would have kept me content longer. I have said on other occasions that, having moved from California to Utah, I prefer the mountains to the beach and this day certainly confirmed that.

The next morning I woke up and did the same hike with a young man from Switzerland, Mattias, and a young man from Poland. I would have rested for a day but Mattias had a couple of friends who had other plans for other days so he really wanted to get some hiking in and I relented and we followed the same trek. I often hike the same paths many times so I didn't mind. Different features stood out and the conversation was different so I returned content but insistent that I would take a day off the next day.

Legs well rested, I mapped out what turned out to be a seven hour hike. The hiking map had featured areas, one of which was the Black Canyon which became the objective. This is part of the Israel Trail--a trail from the north to the south of the small country. On the designated day, while it was scheduled to snow in Jerusalem, it was a bit cloudy and around 60 degrees (14 C) in Eilat. Mattias' buddies decided that the beach wouldn't be so pleasant so they were willing to hike. Along with that group of three guys, Teresa, one of the hostel volunteers joined in. The hike went smoothly--no wrong turns and the only surprise being a small mountain after the canyon--I hadn't taken much note of topography but no complaints: more good views over the region. The Black Canyon itself was nice--a slot canyon but nothing like The Narrows in Zion's National Park. We saw a small mountain goat and a few birds. More wadis, a few more of the same type of trees, very quiet except we talked a lot. Our stories seem to be more interesting to fellow travelers from different corners of the world but common issues like immigration seemed to be on the agenda of both the U.S. and Switzerland.

We arrived back at the hostel thoroughly worn out and ready for a shower. One of the sojourners complimented my having been an effective navigator, I turned down an invitation to the brazilian meat buffet and went to sleep around eight.

Amsterdam: Cyclist Paradise

I arose very early on my fırst day in Amsterdam. I read for a couple of hours before sunrise and took abundant advantage of the hotel’s buffet breakfast. Then I decided to wait for the museums’ opening by riding the metro through the city (with little other motivation than to avoid sitting around in the hotel). As I expected, I noticed landmarks I had read about and started getting oriented. But more than the city’s remarkable architectural appeal, I became absorbed watching the city’s innumerable bike-commuters (I subsequently came across the fact that 40% of travel within Amsterdam is by bicycle). I arrived at the central station, situated next to the water, where trains into the city and metro lines converge. I noticed the multi-level bicycle parking complex with what must have been thousands of bicycles. I hopped on another metro and almost immediately after I had decided to get off and walk, a bike commuter gently rang his bell to signal his approach. I realized that I was on the half of the sidewalk that was designated for cyclists. I subsequently took note that intersections had signals and crossing paths specifically for cyclists as well as the normal pedestrian and car signals.

In the early afternoon, after four hours between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum, I began my walkıng to sites of secondary interest in earnest. It was only then that I noticed that along with the young urban professional bike commuters, people of all age bike around in Amsterdam and some sacrifice comfort to do so. I noticed people struggling to keep cadence and a few grimaces in the face of a very cold January day’s wind and the early evening’s reasonably heavy rain. While some cyclists seemed to be extra cautious, and one or two seemed annoyed, none seemed to question the wisdom of their preferred mode of transportation (as I seem to do whenever I encounter less than optimal weather conditions or any other obstacle during of my rare bike commutes).

Along with accomodating cıty planning and the dedication of the cyclists themselves, I noticed that drivers were courteous to cyclists. The cyclists seemed to feel safe as almost none wore a helmet. Through a discussion wıth a resident of Amsterdam, I learned that cycling is a similar phenomenon in the whole of the Netherlands. I’m now on the lookout for a cyclist friendly U.S. cities http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/ and already dreaming of taking a bike tour through the Netherlands--in better weather, of course.