Skyscraping minarets, call to prayer, christian towers and Jewish quarters. Europe meets Asia, east meets west, old meets new. Breathtaking artifacts, immense mosques, dazzling art and our lovely friend Azize, who made our whole trip to Turkey a truly unforgettable experience. Thank you Azize for everything.
Istanbul astounded us, a kaleidoscope of eras, people, religions, sprawling over seven hills and two continents. So diverse and different we could hardly keep up with the sights that came hurtling at us one after the other, saturating the senses. Sultan Ahmet Mosque (The Blue Mosque) with its dazzling coloured tiles. Hagia Sophia a space so immense it was hard to fathom how they built it. Topkopi Palace, home of the sultans and relics we could hardly believe we were seeing. Underground Roman water cisterns, the famous Grand Bazaar, and all manner of people going somewhere, horns honking and hundreds of sea gulls wheeling over head. It was noisy, chaotic and we loved it.
The churning Bosphorus Strait separates the city, Europe on one side of the water and Asia on the other. Fifteen millon people call this place home. Europe and Asia, old and new, blend together to make a masterpiece of a city.
Hagia Sophia stood for almost 1,000 years as an ornate cathedral, a place where Byzantine emperors came to be crowned. As always in these parts a pagan temple was here first. This site is a place of human worship for 1,480 -years. After Mehmed the Conqueror’s, Muslim army breached the city walls in 1453, it was converted into an imperial mosque, and served under Ottoman rule for almost five centuries.
The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 shoppers daily… yes daily! The day we went Azize said it wasnt crowded a bit different than our orchard park shopping mall in Kelowna
Sultan Ahmet Mosque, was constructed between 1609 and 1616. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, hence its popular name The Blue Mosque.
In between the sight seeing we tried some delicious food. The first picture is our traditional Turkish breakfast. A lovely mix of cheese, salami, olives, eggs, yogurt, honey and spicy paste. Azize is choosing the meze for us to try. And the last one is a Turkish delight shop.
Topkapi Palace In the 15th century, the palace served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans. Construction began in 1459, The complex was expanded over the centuries. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. Female members of the Sultan’s family lived in the harem.
For a snap happy picture taker like me … it was strange to see I had hardly taken any photos in Topkopi. So this is a very weak representaion of all the glory that we saw.
Our attention was taken by a long, long line of people queuing to enter one of the many side buildings. Burly guards stood at the entrance, barking instructions to the set of folks they were allowing in 20 at a time. Whatever is going on? On closer inspection and a quick check of the site map told us this was The Chamber of The Holy Relics. We had no idea this was here what holy relics were they? Well it was an impressive list. The the footprints, letters, bow, tooth and sword of the Prophet Muhammad. The staff of Moses; the sword of David; the robe of Joseph; the swords of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions; and the shirt, mantle, praying mat, and chest of Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah. Kaaba’s gutters, keys, and gates, the Holy Mantle, and the Holy Beard. And… the hand of John the Baptist. Whaaaattttt? REALLY no CANT BE? The hand of John the baptist and Moses’s Staff.
After some research it is easy to learn that these items were always incredibly valuable. Their provenance is recorded over a thousand years. In the case of John the Baptists hand (I know super gruesome) this is what we found.
Historians Theodoret and Rufinus mention that the tomb of St. John the Baptist was desecrated in 362, during the Emperor Julian the Apostate reign, and a part of St. John relics burned. What remained intact from Saint’ body was taken to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria, and on May 27, 395 was placed in the church that bears saint John’ name.
A Byzantine historian of the eleventh century states that the right hand of St. John the Baptist was moved from Antioch to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 956 by Emperor Constantine (913-959) to be placed in one of the chapels of the Grand Palais, that is in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Peribleptos.
At the end of the twelve century, the Russian archbishop Anthony of Novgorod who went on a pilgrimage to Constantinople, mentions in his writings among other treasures of this church, the right hand of St. John the Baptist.
In a testimony of the Spanish ambassador Clavijo dated 1404, it is mentioned that the holy hand was still in the church of the Theotokos – Peribleptos in Constantinople.
After the fall of Constantinople (in 1453), the hand of St. John the Baptist along with other Church’ treasures were seized by the Turks and kept in the imperial Sultans treasury. The story of the staff of Moses is equally recorded. So did we just see ancient and indescribably valuable religious relics? … maybe we did.
Some more pics 🙂
