Our day started out with the Ethnic and Minority Group report. They talked about the diversity of ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, which was really quite vast. This was also introduced yesterday by Dana in a classroom session. Really the empire seemed to gel pretty well with diversity until the 19th century when the dissonance increased. Obviously, the whole Armenian genocide event is a major topic in this category, and I would like to read the primary sources that this group had. There is still much I would like to know about this event.
Constance (New York) and Fran (Massachusetts) giving the ethnic minority talk.
We then hopped on a bus to go up to Eyup (said Ay oop) which is a conservative area and has one of the most sacred shrines in Islam. Abu Ayyup was part of an "Islamic crusade" to try to take Constantinople years before the Turks/Ottomans were successful. When they finally were, it was claimed that Ayyup's tomb was "discovered" and helped add legitimacy to the empire again by declaring the site holy. It is still considered that today and Muslims from many regions go there. We started in Eyup by going to the mosque there where Eyup's tomb is. The tomb area is being renovated, so you can only see part of the building.
Mosque and more interesting headstones.
The tomb is in here, but we could not really see inside with the renovations.
Inside the mosque. This is one that is not usually visited by tourists.
It is also believed that the spring behind this gate, which provides the water is holy. It is right next to the mosque.
Women's entrance to the mosque. Some mosques have a separate entrance for women and at least a covered area for them to wash, as I wrote before. All separate the genders for Friday prayers, but occasionally women may pray at other times in the areas where men pray. That was true in some mosques in Bursa. In this one, you can see that the women are on the balcony.
I need to check on this, but this is a gift from Libya in the 1950s recognizing the sacredness of this site.
This whole area has many places that are on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
Michael is an elementary art teacher. He looks great, don't you think?
Again, the fez tombstone.
These are sacrificial lambs. The rule used to be that an animal had to be slaughtered during the hajj (trip to Mecca), but now that millions of people go, it is simply not logistically possible. Therefore, the spirit of the law is still kept by ordering one to be slaughtered in your city and given to the poor.
These next photos are of the streets of Eyup. These again are the wooden Ottoman-style houses. These streets go up steep hills showing how the urban infrastructure melded with the geography.
We then went to the Chora (spell check) mosaic museum. This was orignally a Christian Byzantine church from the 6th century! Then in the 13th century, the amazing mosaics below were done. It was turned into a mosque sometime after the 1453 invasion, and today it is a museum. These were so stunning! I would like to purchase a book on this museum. I was in awe.
The photos do not do these justice. The golds simply gleam! I cannot imagine what they must have looked like when they were first created. They are still gorgeous after centuries.
The marble in here is also some of the neatest, especially how they have mirrored the panels.
We then went on a walking tour through these historic neighborhoods.
They are trucking it up the hills. Love Brian in the fez, and Dana looks especially hard working. I think I put her up to that. :-)
The Byzantine era city walls. These were the ones finally breeched in 1453 by the Ottomans. They date back to the 5th century, I believe.
Climbing the steps up the wall. These were not so bad going up, but felt a little precipitous coming down.
Views from the top of the wall. That is the Bosphorus out there.
If these walls could talk! Lovin this moment!
The Star of David on one of the old buildings in the neighborhood from when this area had many Jews. After the Holocaust, fewer and fewer Jews have lived in Turkey.
Greek writing from the old Greek neighborhood.
Look at the date on this little mosque below. Wow!
Alright everyone who has been worried about my safety, this is Taksim square. We then rode a bus to here and walked to an Armenian restaurant for lunch. Do you see protestors? You can see the blown out windows in the building with Ataturk's image on it from the protests. We had a talk from a urban sociologist after lunch today about the protests and their meaning. It has been fun to meet her and our tour guide who both went over to the protests. I do hope the Turks will make progress regarding human rights and freedom of speech.
The green area in dispute in Taksim that was originally supposed to be a shopping mall. The government has since backed down on that.
Lunch at Jash, an Aremenian restaurant. I'll post more in a bit. Amazing food! The stuffed mussels were one of the best things I've had here.
Loved the anachronistic satellite dishes on those old buildings!
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