February 22 - The Afternoon

I left off this morning just after I had finished my tea and reading. I went out to lunch with Sarabeth and Dr. Krentz. We grabbed a quick bite before we had to meet Gulin in the lobby. We got onto the bus and headed out for an afternoon outing. The first place we went has nothing, really, to do with Classics, but it is a site that Gulin thought we should see because of its inherent value. She was not kidding. It is a museum today, but the history and interior are very rich. The ancient name is Chora, but today it is called Kariye Camii. This structure was originally a church. The building that stands today dates to the 11th century, but archaeologists have discovered remains here from both 6th and 9th century churches. In the 14th century, there were major renovations, which I will come back to later. In the 16th century, it was turned into a mosque.
From the outside, there doesn’t seem to be anything spectacular about the structure. It too has the domed roofs that added texture to the rooftop views. Inside, however, are the most unreal mosaics I have ever seen. They have survived the transition of the building’s function incredibly well, and remarkably they weren’t removed by the Muslims, instead they were just whitewashed. Some of the stories depicted by the mosaics don’t even exist anymore, like the life story of Mary. They are very detailed and full of color. They are the decorations to the 2 narthex spaces. The worship space is covered in marble panels. The windows line up with Jerusalem, part of the church’s design, but an apse was added just to the right of the windows in the 16th century and it lines up with Mecca. The whole building was absolutely fascinating. Gulin told me later that she could tell I loved it because my eyes were “sparkly.”
On the way to and from the mosque we drove by the city’s ancient fortification walls. These Theodosian walls date to the 5th century CE and originally encircled the city (the walls were expanded in 450) and ran for just under 7 km. We also passed under an aqueduct that dates to 375 CE. It just blows my mind that these structures still stand as part of the city. That we can drive under a 4th century aqueduct is mind boggling.
Gulin next took us to the modern section of Istanbul. This section is on the side of Turkey that touches Europe. Actually, it is the part of Turkey that is Europe (and part of Turkey’s argument to join the EU). She took us to the shopping district. It was very, very cold, so we mostly just got a quick feel for the area (she figured we would want to come here on the free day tomorrow) and then went in search of coffee and food. Caroline, Allie, and I split a bag of roasted chestnuts from a street vendor and Mary bought an ear of corn. While we were searching for a café (we were scheduled to meet back at the bus in 30 mins) to spend the rest of the time, we passed a bookshop and Starbucks. Well, I just couldn’t pass up that combination. I grabbed a latte and headed to the English section of the bookshop. It was a very small section, just two shelves, but the cool part was the conversation I had with another customer.
His name (when I asked as we parted ways) is Jim, and he too was a little disappointed in the number of English books. We ended up chatting for about 15 mins. He was here to see Gallipoli (one of the first places we went to when we got to Turkey) and I was able to tell about our trip there, why I was here at all (he was blown away by this semester long program), and how I was enjoying Turkey so far. He is from New Zealand (but had a very good American accent – I forgot to ask why) and wanted to see this site which has so much significance to their country. He is currently teaching in Kuwait, though, but he had a few days off and decided to fly to Istanbul. I just thought it was so cool to be in Turkey having a conversation with someone from New Zealand. I think that was my first real conversation with someone outside of the Davidson group. The whole experience just made my day. That and I bought two books to read over Spring Break: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Shibumi. They are my treat for after the test.
Speaking of the test. I decided I’d rather make the most of the free day tomorrow, so I did a whole bunch of test prep tonight. I wrote out study guides for 3 of the 4 tests, and I will work on the 4th before we leave the hotel in the morning. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Bazaar in the morning. This Bazaar is the mother load of all shopping as there are over 4000 booths. Then in the afternoon we are going to a Turkish bath. I say “we,” but this just means a few of the girls. Gulin has picked out a bath for us to go to. The whole package is a full body exfoliation and massage, in addition to the steam rooms. It is something you can’t leave Turkey without having experienced.
I think we will also go back to the modern section. Istanbul is one of the neatest places I have ever been, and I am not all that much of a city person. It is remarkably clean here. For some reason, I just hate seeing dirty cities. It’s part of the reason I like smaller towns. People seem to care more about their surroundings in small towns. Istanbul, however, is very clean and exciting. I’d love to come back again.