Mosques and the Bosphorus

Monday was a nice day. We started the day by taking the Metro into Fatih to meet our tour guide Claire for a tour Islamic architecture – primarily mosques. We started at Şehzade Mosque (1548), where we learned the story of the architect Mimar Sinan and of the Sultan and his family during the time the mosque was built. This is sometimes known as the Prince's Mosque, as it was built by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent as a memorial to his deceased son. We also learned about the architectural features of mosques, the features of the surrounding complex, and Muslim burial practices. Of course, the building was beautiful both inside and out.

Next we walked under the nearby Roman aqueduct (that was pretty cool) and down the hill to the Süleymaniye Mosque, which is the largest and one of the most prominent in Istanbul. The mosque was built between 1550 and 1558 by Sultan Süleyman, whose wife died during the construction. As a result, the interior decoration became more subtle than in the Şehzade Mosque, and the building acted almost as a memorial to her. Here we looked at how the building's structure and ornamentation differed from the first mosque, and reasons why. In this mosque, the architect built in a couple of features designed as earthquake warning systems such as some loose columns which would rattle if the building moves. Considering this mosque is visible from most places in the city, it's not surprising that there are amazing views from the courtyard. We spend some time there taking pictures before moving further downhill through very crowded streets to the Rüstem Paşa Mosque.

Interior of Süleymaniye Mosque.

Rüstem Paşa was a surprise to find, as it's above street level. We passed through a door among the many shops, ascended some stairs, and suddenly found ourselves in the outer courtyard. Rüstem Paşa, completed in 1563, is a much smaller mosque, but it is very beautiful due to the thousands of blue Iznik tiles which decorate the interior. The mosque was built by the daughter of Süleyman in honor of her husband Rüstem Paşa who had been the grand vizier but who died in 1561.

Following the tour of the mosques, we had time for a quick lunch (I really enjoyed my dӧner) before boarding a bout for a cruise on the Bosphorus. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for such an outing - sunny, not terribly breezy, and warm. Melissa, Mega, and I say on the side on the lowest level, while Richard and most of the students went to the top level for 360 degree views. We cruised upstream for about an hour before turning around above the second bridge. It was fun to see the the sites along the way, including elaborate palaces, somewhat more modest waterfront homes, commercial buildings, bridges, tree-covered hills, impressive castle ruins, and even a military school we had read about in one of the books for our course. This was one of my favorite activities, as the trip really highlighted the city's beauty. It also helped us realize how incredibly massive the city is, considering the coast and point inland were developed on both shores for the entire duration of the cruise.

Anadoluhisarı, or Anatolian Castle, built 1393-1394 on the Asian side at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus. And some houses.

View of Glata Tower and Beyoğlu from the boat.

The cruise ended just in time for us to get back to the hotel and meet a former colleague for dinner. Tammy had worked with international programs at the Kelley School for more than a dozen years before moving to St. Louis to do similar work at Washington University. She's traveling to do some site visits, and had time to spend with us Monday night. We walked to an area which Richard had pointed out on the first day where we could get seafood. We picked a restaurant where we could sit outside next to the street, and the meal began with a little excitement as the water slipped from the waiters hand and Melissa and I got doused. It wasn't awful, though. We actually selected a fish from

the fish monger next door which they grilled as we ate our meze. It was delicious and we had a nice visit. As we walked back to our hotel, we saw police lined up prepared for a protest. As we rounded the curve in the street leading to the hotel, we noticed that the protest was moving up the street toward us. Quickly we got off that street and took a passage through to a parallel street so we could go around what we assumed to be a political rally. Only the next day did I learn that it was a protest rally related to bombings of political party offices earlier in the day.

The protest avoided, we arrived back at the hotel from where Tammy, Melissa, and Megan left for a hammam. I dashed to Galata Tower with the hope of getting up to the observation deck in time for sunset. I got to the line just as a guard was telling a young American named Eric that the tower was full and the line closed, but he would be the last person. So I said something about if he could go up, couldn't I, and suddenly I was the last person in line. The line may have been moving a little faster than expected, as eventually there were others in line behind us. I enjoyed talking to Eric as we waited; he had just arrived in Istanbul that day so I was practically an expert on the city. We finally got in and made it to the top just in time to see the sun set across the Golden Horn, Then we made our way around the tower to take in all the views as night settled in across the city. While there, we heard a call to prayer which was quite impressive from that high up perspective. As made my way around to the view facing Fatih, the Palace, and the famous mosques, I ran into to of our students Yash and Omar. I chatted with them until they closed thetower and and kicked us out, and we walked back to the hotel together.

Sunset from Galata Tower

I finished my day by myself checking email and Facebook in the hotel bar, which had expensive drinks but amazing views of the Bosphorus. I was a relaxing setting to conclude what turned out to be a very nice day.