Michael Powell's Blog, page 115
May 27, 2013
The Galata Bridge
No visit to Istanbul is complete without either walking along, ferrying under, taking the tram across, or enjoying a drink on the Galata Bridge… and ideally, all four! The bridge which spans the Golden Horn to connect the city’s two European sides is one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks.
Walking across the Galata Bridge, it’s very likely you’ll find yourself hooked. No… I don’t mean “addicted”. I mean very literally, hooked. In the face. The bridge’s most enduring image is its shoulder-to-s...
May 25, 2013
Kitten Drama at Gülhane Park
Our exploration of Gülhane Park reached an unexpected coda when we discovered an abandoned baby kitten and attempted to reunite it with its mother. “Attempted” is the operative word: nature, we were bitterly reminded, is not a Disney movie.
Gülhane Park surrounds Topkapı Palace and is one of the few green areas in the old city. It’s a lovely place, particularly in April with the blossoming of Istanbul’s famous tulips, and we had a nice time here, sitting on the bench in the sun, visiting a mus...
Ortaköy: The Middle Village
Midway up the European side of the Bosphorus, Ortaköy literally translates into “Middle Village”. While it may not have the most enthralling name, it does boast one of Istanbul’s most eclectic populations. Turk, Greek, Jew… hipster student, wealthy playboy, grubby fisherman. Everybody has a place in Ortaköy.
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The weather was foul on the afternoon of our visit. Grey, rainy and cold. Disembarking the bus (#25E from Kabataş), we popped open our umbrellas and trudged into the jumble of cafes and sh...
May 23, 2013
The Rahmi M. Koç Museum
There were experiences which I expected to have during our time in Istanbul: eating delicious döner and baklava, visiting mosques and ancient cisterns, ferrying across the Bosphorus. But exploring the innards of a decommissioned WWII-era submarine? That one was a surprise.
Found on the northern banks of the Golden Horn, the Rahmi M. Koç Museum is definitely not on the list of “typical Istanbul tourist experiences”. This is Turkey’s first museum “dedicated to the history of Transport, Industry...
May 22, 2013
The Fethiye Museum
Located in the neighborhood of Çarşamba, just up the road from the Yavuz Selim Camii, the Fethiye Museum preserves some of the best Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul. It’s small, and difficult enough to reach that most tourists skip right over it in favor of the similar and better-known Chora Museum.
The Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos (All-Blessed Mother of God) was built in 1294 by Michael Doucat, nephew of the Byzantine Emperor, on a hill overlooking the Golden Horn. By the time of the Ottoma...
May 21, 2013
Inside the Hagia Sophia
The Hagia Sophia isn’t just the best-known tourist attraction in Istanbul, or one of Europe’s most cherished landmarks… it’s one of the greatest buildings in history. This church, nearly 1500 years in age, was once the center of Byzantine faith, later reborn as the predominant mosque of the Ottoman Empire, and today has found a new purpose as one of the world’s most popular museums.
We spent nearly three hours inside the Hagia Sophia. There’s a lot to see, all of it fascinating. This is the ki...
May 19, 2013
The History of the Hagia Sophia
Were we excited to visit the Hagia Sophia? One of the most legendary buildings on the planet? The largest church in the world for a thousand years? The scene of some of history’s most decisive moments?A breathtaking architectural achievement on a scale unthinkable for its day? Yes, I think it’s fair to say that we were excited.
Ever since arriving in Istanbul, I’d been eagerly anticipating our visit to the Hagia Sophia. Scratch that: I’d been eagerly anticipating a visit ever since 1984 when,...
May 18, 2013
A Day in Zeyrek
The lively neighborhood of Zeyrek, found just north past the Aqueduct of Valens, is one of our favorite spots in Istanbul. It’s difficult to reach with public transportation, and lacks any well-known sights, which means that very few tourists bother to visit. Not that we mind; it just leaves more Zeyrek for us!
Zeyrek is one of the four spots designated by UNESCO as “Historic Areas of Istanbul” (the others are Sultanahmet’s Archaeology Park, the Suleymaniye Complex and the Theodosian Walls). T...
May 14, 2013
The Çarşamba Market and the Fatih Camii
The word Çarşamba is Turkish for “Wednesday”, and also the name of a neighborhood in Istanbul. Now, what do you suspect might be the best day to visit this neighborhood? You get one guess!
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Held since Byzantine times, the Wednesday Market (Çarşamba Pazarı) was already woven so immutably into the neighborhood’s fabric, that the conquering Turks just named the entire neighborhood after it. Today, Çarşamba is a very devout section of Istanbul. The market occupies the narrow streets surrounding the...
May 13, 2013
St. Mary of the Mongols and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
We spent a long day walking along the southern coast of the Golden Horn, from the Atatürk Bridge to the ancient Jewish quarter of Balat. This is an older, quieter side of Istanbul that not enough tourists see, although it has a number of interesting sights, including a few beautiful churches.
It took a lot of effort to locate St. Mary of the Mongols, which was originally built in the 13th century. After hiking past the red brick facade of the Fener Greek Orthodox School for Boys at least four...
