“Then, Mihai-Vodă gets up at once […]
He quickly gathers the Romanian army around him
And with her, without delay,
It crushes and repulses the Turkish army. "
- this is how it is painted for the children who studied Topârceanu at the age of 10, an image of Turkey.
Although we have had some serious altercations with our neighbors in the southern part of the Black Sea, as well as reasons to put their trust in them a few centuries ago, this stage remains only a part of our historical and school past. It is necessary to know history, in order to decide what not to repeat, but beyond the battles of Rovine and Călugăreni, it is ideal to experience the present in addition to history.
In the meantime, the stories about the spirituality of the Turks, the rotating dervishes, the Turkish coffee, the baclava, as well as their hospitality, which it is impossible for us to believe until we have experienced it, have made a discreet place in our souls. All this made us suspect that Turkey would be a place we could be friends with, and even love it.
So, we decided to convince ourselves that both Orhan Pamuk, in his well-known “Istanbul”, and other Turkish writers did not delight our minds only with illusions.
How do two skeptical travelers verify Turkish stories? Sketching a plan, throwing his clothes and a book in his backpack and running, quickly, to Istanbul. To do our part, as the Turks would say.
Following our experience that lasted 4 days, we were imprinted in our memory some unique locations and moments that we will reveal in our brief travel diary. For the moment, one thing we want to emphasize, to syllabify, to make your idea known: 4 (f-o-u-r) days are far from enough for the extraordinary Istanbul!
As we stepped into the territory of those who would become our hosts, the first icicle of distrust melted and fell on our heads, as a reward for the skepticism we initially showed: the Turks are truly welcoming, respectful of guests. calling them “guests” and being willing to delight them with traditional goodies and a kind attitude.
Packed at the hotel with Turkish shit and a politeness that surpasses any classical meaning of the term "hospitable", we set out to explore the city shrouded in mystery to dismantle other traces of mistrust that the tumultuous history of Turkey has built us.
The first attraction that attracted us was the Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultanahmet Mosque, located in the historic area of the city, in the square of the same name. Coming with the prepared homework, we were very pleased to admire, sitting neatly on a bench, the construction of Sultan Ahmed I in the seventeenth century and later, to visit it, as you will see in a future article.
It is rumored that the majestic mosque with six minarets was created out of a desire not exactly to the liking of "morality". The Sultan, confusing the size of an object with the level of spirituality, intended to surpass from an architectural point of view - and, he believed, spiritually - the great mosque Hagia Sophia, which at that time occupied a special place in the social and religious life of the locals. (by the way, both aspects being closely related).
Leaving aside the sultans' zeal, we left the benches, passed a few groups of tourists and here we are in front of another architectural beauty - Hagia Sophia, whom we did not hesitate to admire and photograph neither that afternoon nor in the days that have followed.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hagia Sophia - originally known as the Great Church due to its imposing size - is a jewel built in the early 500's, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, in almost four decades.
Even Muhammad, the prophet of God of Islam, would have predicted that the first Muslim to pray in Hagia Sophia would become the equivalent of the Christian Heaven in the Muslim religion, meaning that since that time, many Muslim leaders have struggled. to conquer it and ensure a safe and relatively easy entry into Paradise.
Over time, it housed several religions and served as a church, mosque, and museum until mid-2020, when it was converted into a mosque.
Leaving Hagia Sophia, not a hundred paces away, I descended, literally, into some depths that would terribly torture the mind of a claustrophobe, namely the dark Basilica Cistern.
Apart from a frightening ripple and the faint gleam of lights that did not reach the purpose for which they were created, it was dark. Darkness and humidity.
This underground construction contains Corinthian and Doric style columns, submerged in water. Numerous columns. 336 columns, more precisely, dating back more than fourteen centuries, with the initial purpose of supplying water to the imperial palace and important buildings in the area.
Currently, the Basilica Cistern is transformed into a museum and we recommend a visit to admire the marble columns, but also some strange ones, such as the face of the mythological character Medusa, carved at the base of two columns, on a column turned upside down, and on the other, turned to the side. If the image of Medusa does not convince you, maybe you are moviegoers and you want to step on the place where scenes from the novel "Inferno" by Dan Brown were filmed.
After leaving the darkness, we enter the so-called territory of sultans and cadets: Topkapi Palace, a huge residence, emblematic of the Ottoman sultans, which for four centuries (1465-1856) housed the mysteries of Turkish rulers and charming concubines of grace.
Visiting the palace, we were impressed by the organization of the rooms, the rich collection of manuscripts in the palace library and the variety of Ottoman culinary menus, most of which can be found in our traditional dishes.
And since it was also a matter of chance, another dear new memory is about a pomegranate and orange flavored juice. It was squeezed in front of us in a kind of vise and we enjoyed it right near the Topkapi Palace, where, as in many other places in Istanbul, a thirsty counter full of fresh fruit was waiting for its thirsty customer.
Drunk and energized, we arrived at another striking location, namely Taksim Square, with its whitish red trams. Full of eyes, we see them meandering along the great pedestrian boulevard Istiklal Caddesi, a pile of cafes, confectioneries, shops and period buildings.
The wide space of the boulevard combines us to walk cheerfully (but carefully, to get away in time from the tram) and to stop from time to time to admire the goodies of gallantry.
We did not forget the Grand Bazaar, the Galata Tower and Bridge, the cafes near the Marmara Sea and the Asian part of the city, which we will talk about in a more "spiritual" way in future articles.
We end this memorable foray into the soul of Istanbul, finally convinced that Turkish stories are more than illusions induced by local authors to gullible readers.
Istanbul is a living entity. It feeds on our melancholy, but gives us, in return, a sufficient reward - baclava, pomegranate juice and the memory of a remarkable culture.
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