Michael Powell's Blog, page 119
April 1, 2013
Istanbul Street Scenes
Art can be found everywhere on the streets of Istanbul. I’m not just talking about graffiti, although there is a lot of that, but the art of architecture, of movement, and of humanity. Everyday scenes from the city, framed by a minaret or the Bosphorus, changed by the play of shadows, or imbued with a bit of dry humor. Please enjoy our latest set of photos which, we think, shows how strikingly beautiful and thought-provoking the city can be, even when it’s not trying.
March 27, 2013
Southwest of the Hippodrome
The winding streets and cobblestone alleys immediately southwest of the Hippodrome have a radically different atmosphere to the rest of tourist-oriented Sultanahmet. Sloping down swiftly to the Sea of Marmara, this little subsection of the city has a couple beautiful mosques, as well as a pleasing working-class vibe.
Just a few hundred meters from the chaotic crowds at the Blue Mosque, we found the quiet Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Camii. Yet another creation of the Ottoman master architect Mimar Sina...
March 24, 2013
Black as Hell, Strong as Death, Sweet as Love
An old Turkish proverb perfectly describes the country’s unique take on my favorite caffeinated beverage: “Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love”. Turkish coffee is a thing unto itself, and although I initially found it disgusting, it didn’t take long to win me over. Exactly two weeks, in fact.
[March 6th, 2013] “This is just stirred-up sludge!” That was my first judgement, after I’d foolishly emptied the espresso-sized glass into my mouth, and immediately spit it...
March 23, 2013
The Remains of the Hippodrome
An arena nearly half a kilometer long, packed with 100,000 howling fans. The emperor seated along with his family in the imperial loge, disinterestedly following the proceedings. Hundreds of golden statues, columns, monuments and treasures decorating the track. And the thunderous sound of 32 horses, galloping maniacally under the whip’s cruel crack. Oh, to travel back in time and experience the Hippodrome during the Golden Age of Constantinople!
Little remains of this once great public arena....
March 22, 2013
The Blue Mosque
Popularly known as the Blue Mosque thanks to the gorgeous color of the Iznik tiles lining its interior walls, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque dominates Istanbul’s skyline with its massive size and six minarets. Completed in 1616, it’s still used for worship, but due to its grandeur and location, is an extremely popular tourist attraction.
From the moment it was proposed by Sultan Ahmed I, the Blue Mosque was contentious; not only did it require demolishing the palaces of certain powerful Ottoman minis...
The Spice Bazaar (or Egyptian Bazaar)
Its real name might be the Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), but the Spice Bazaar is how everyone refers to it, and gives a better indication of what to expect inside. Found next to the Yeni Camii near the Golden Horn, this ancient covered market dates from 1660 and is Istanbul’s second biggest bazaar.
Although we found the shopping experience inside the bazaar stressful and monotonous, the architecture of the building and its sheer age are compelling. Egypt had been conquered by the Ottomans i...
March 20, 2013
A Southern Turkish Feast at the Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası
Serving up traditional food from Hatay, Turkey’s southernmost province, the Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası is a family-owned and operated restaurant which has won a lot of press and gained a loyal following since opening in 2007. We were invited to sample some of their best dishes one early Monday evening… and that’s not the kind of invitation we’re ever going to turn down.
Hatay, squished between the Mediterranean and Syria, has always been an object of contention. Syria argues that Turkey basically s...
Three Mosques of Üsküdar
Much of our first day on the Asian side of Istanbul was spent visiting Üsküdar’s mosques. There are over 180 in just this section of the city, so we had a lot to choose from, but stuck to three of the most well-known: the Yeni Valide, Şemsi Paşa and Atik Valide.
The Yeni Valide Camii
Üsküdar’s “Mosque of the New Queen Mother” was the very first mosque we visited in Turkey. Completed in 1703 by Emetullah Rabia Gülnûş, the mother of Sultan Ahmed III, the mosque is situated near the Bosphorus and...
March 18, 2013
A Day in Üsküdar
It was a sunny Sunday morning, perfect for our first foray into Asian Istanbul, so we hopped on a ferry and headed over to Üsküdar. Originally settled by the Greeks as Chrysopolis in the 7th century BC, Üsküdar’s founding predates that of Byzantium.
To get a sense of how insanely populous Istanbul is, consider this. Üsküdar comprises just a small section of the city, but counts half a million people packed into its eighteen square miles. If just the Üsküdar section of Istanbul were a city in I...
March 17, 2013
From Sultanhamet Square to Beyazit
Before we arrived in Istanbul, I spent a long time poring over a map of the city. And I needed a long time, because Istanbul is catastrophically huge. The megalopolis has stretched its border (and the bounds of belief) to over 2000 square miles, remorselessly swallowing any unlucky village in its path. I was nervous that in order to reach the various sights scattered about Istanbul, we’d have a lot of long bus and train rides to look forward to.
The Arch of Theodosius
So the reality of getting...
