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Published: September 28th 2006
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Istanbul, the capitol of Turkey.
A city unique in that it straddles two continents; Asia and Europe. We arrived in Istanbul on a bus that entered a bus station big enough to be a city on its own. Our bus went through tunnels, garages, wound around corners and then lurched to a halt. How were we going to find our way out of the bus station, much less to our apartment? We immediately started asking people questions about how to get to the flat on the other side of this gigantic city. In Turkish form, everyone we asked met our inquiries with a warm smile and words of knowledge. We had to board a bus, make a transfer in the middle of the city, buy another bus ticket and then get off in front of a shopping mall where we would then have to walk or take a taxi to the flat. It sounds complicated but all we really did was wait for the person that we had been passed off to let us know where to go next.
Even with Istanbul's grandeur and crowds, kindness and a welcoming spirits are easily found. This was demonstrated to us even
before actually entering the country. Ilgin, a Turkish girl that Griff had Spanish classes with in Buenos Aires, invited us to stay with her while we passed through her city. When she realized that she would be out of the country for a family reunion at the same time that we would be in Istanbul, without a moment of hesitation, offered us her flat- even in her absence! We were of course, overwhelmed by her generosity and gratefully took her up on the offer.
When we approached Ilgin's door, her mother was there waiting for us and greeted us with such warmth one would think that we had known the woman all of our lives. She took us to a local bazaar, made us dinner, showed us around the apartment and left us home-made meals to heat up for later. This was just the beginning of a fantastic stay in Istanbul!
While in Istanbul, we visited the gigantic palace of Topkapi. (I had always thought that "Topkapi" was just the name of a cheap jewelry store in the mall, but it turns out I was wrong.) Before we visited the palace, Griff and I decided to give ourselves
Head Covered
Mandy inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul the royal treatment and both got our hair cut. I was first in the barber’s seat and for about five minutes, my hair was shorter than my husband's. Getting our hair cut by a non-English speaking stylist is always an adventure in and of itself (this is my third cut on the trip- it has become an addiction.) Our locks looked lovely when we walked out of the salon- it had been ages since I had anyone straighten my hair! Once the "just-stepped-out-of-a-salon" look wore off though, things changed. I was going for more of a sassy no-hassle look and got more of a cute, I'm-trying-to-look-younger-than-I-really-am look. My "natural wave" (a.k.a. "frizziness") set in and the sleek rock-star cut the stylist had given me transformed into something that was reminiscent of Rosanna, Rosanna Dana. Oh well! As I am learning, there is not enough room in my backpack to carry vanity around with me.
Walking through the Grand Bizarre we treated our eyes to everything from carpets that looked like they would fly away once you sat on them to brilliantly-colored glass lamps hanging from ceilings and dancing with light. This was a scene from the story of Aladdin!
We also made some time to get to a real Turkish Bath and relish a soapy massage and an exfoliation that left us raw! My experience was really relaxing but to quote Griff, "If I were to rate that massage as being soft, medium, hard, or extra hard, I would give it an Extra- Extra hard!" He was sore for days!
On our second to last evening in Istanbul we went to watch a dervish whirl. There is a religious group of men (who call themselves "Dervishes") who believe that spinning takes their mind to a higher level of worship. There's an exact form to how they move in a circle and watching their elegance can almost put you in a trance! As the night covered the city, the dervish took his spot on an outdoor stage, forcing his white flowing robes into melodic and consistent motion around his body. The Turkish folk-sounding music which was being played by two men laden with their instruments, lulled him into the center of the stage as he hung his arms above his body on an invisible hook. We sipped our tiny cups of sweet, apple tea and became transfixed by the
Ayasofya Museum
The Cathedral turned Mosque turned Museum man's spinning power.
The most poplar sight in Istanbul is undoubtedly the Ayasofya Museum. This magnificent church was built in the 500s, and was hailed as being one of the most beautiful places in the world. The architecture is truly a feat. With a dome that appears to reach the heavens, the construction of the church is breathtaking. The man who built the cathedral, Justinian, hailed his masterpiece as having "outdone Solomon". Years later when Muslim invasion took over the country, the Muslims claimed the church as their own, and turned it into a mosque. Today it serves as more of a museum and is no longer a place of worship for either religious group. However the mosaics of Mary and Jesus still proudly gleam alongside huge Muslim calligraphic art praising Allah. As we explored the second level of the structure, Griff sort of chuckled to himself. "What?" I asked him. "This just proves how insignificant a building is. I mean can you imagine what the Catholics who built this place would do if they knew their church would eventually become a Mosque!
God just doesn't exist in a building..."
Isn’t my husband brilliant?! Allah and/or Jesus or any
God worth worshiping should not be confined to an ornate building conceived by men. Isn’t the construction of gaudy buildings just another example of humans being unable to grasp the greatness of God? Can you imagine what the world would look like if we placed this much value in soup kitchens or humanitarian aid? Seriously, wouldn't we be so much nobler if we could walk into a free health clinic for the poor and say, "Wow! This place is incredible! What amazing work has gone into creating such a place!" Or if homeless shelters could sell tickets to see the hungry receiving food? Is this not where YOU'R God exists? Mine certainly doesn't wait around all week in a dimly-lit building with gold candelabras and pictures made from colored glass, for me to show up on Sunday to yawn in the pews for a couple of hours and belt out a few hymns. The rituals that take place in these religious buildings are things that man has created. My understanding of God is that he cares more about what is going on with our heart-felt actions in those soup-kitchens than He does with lighting a candle or memorizing a prayer
in a man-made place of worship.
I won't deny the beauty of these temples and mosques and cathedrals. I won't deny their contribution to the art world. But I simply must deny that within these places is confined any God that I have an interest in serving.
And so after our week-long stay in our “own” apartment in Istanbul, waking up late, sipping strong coffee at The-Bucks, and generally enjoying the company of every person we encountered, it was time to move on. Time to taste the mysteries that lay within the continent which we had just allowed to touch the tip of our tongues in Istanbul. Asia awaits. I can already smell India’s curry.
In the shadows of tall buildings;
Of fallen angels on the ceilings-
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete.
The line moves slowly past the electric fence,
Across the borders between continents.
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home-
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is.
-"Cathedrals" Lyrics by Jump Little Children
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Kristina Davis
non-member comment
Hungry for Turkey
This country that seemed so oddly-named when we took our trip around the world (in Mrs. Brown's 3rd grade class) now seems much like "Grace"...aptly named. It is truly something to crave, consume and savor. I loved your descriptions, your pictures, although I really wish I could have seen The Hair, mandy...You know what MY advice was! I also had to think of Maria Von Trap: "She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl!" You have a new understanding of Fraulein Maria now that you've seen the W.D.'s. Something about Istanbul has captured me through you guys; I hope someday to visit--maybe even with you as my tour guides. I can just hear Griff, "This was a cathedral, then a mosque...but God isn't in a building. Let's take a walk through..." I loved that simply-uttered observation. I love Griff! I'm sure God nodded in approval over that one. All my love to my favorite vagabonds. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo