Today made me realize how I am taking up an insignificant fraction of time in the grand scheme of things.  It also felt like I went from the set of Indiana Jones to Clash of the Titans.  I was walking through history books and could feel the lives, the deaths, the assessed Truths, the consequences, the riches, and a time when there was no line between the laws of a religion and the laws of a governing body. All around are massive achievements of “man” with the hopes of displaying such wealth and power to cause all men to genuflect, if not cower.  Somewhere in this witness to history that skips between that which we call western and eastern dangles the direct lineage of our world today. How far we have come…or how far have we come?

Back to the comedy of life,  I woke up and looked at the iPad by the bed. It said 7 and I rejoiced because that meant I had slept better - in fact, so well that I must have missed the call to prayer that begins around 6am. I got up, turned on the light, and woke Kim up….just about the time that I realized my iPad had never connected to wifi and that meant it was 7PM in Memphis and 3am in Istanbul.  Oops.  Kim got back to sleep and I stayed up. At least I was able to get my cell phone to start working with Verizon.  

Tried to sleep and couldn’t. Got up and did some yoga. Finally, we got breakfast around 8:30.  I finally had real Turkish coffee and WOW.  This stuff is amazing!!!  It’s almost sweet without having sugar.  It is so delicious.  And the bottom is just a thick sludge of grounds.  Yum.  And very energizing, to say the least.  LET’S GO!!!!

We headed toward Hagia Sophia by way of the Hippodrome and past the Blue Mosque.  It was amazing to see the expanse of the Hagia Sophia.  It was intended to be the largest church in Christendom and was the center of the Eastern Orthodox church.  The church was built by Justinian I (centuries after Constantine) and is a prime example of high Byzantine expression. (See the pictures and you’ll recognize them from any Art History survey class.) It was later changed into a mosque when the Ottoman empire arrived.  With this came Islamic expression and covering up or removing any images of people. Remember followers of Islam believe that Jesus was a prophet and very important; however, Muslims would no sooner put up a picture of Muhammad. There can be no images of people. Therefore, beautiful geometric pattern adorns the walls. 

The call to prayer was also heard while we were outside, which is heard 5 times during the day. This video is exactly what is heard and is recorded between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque.  This video is not mine, but it is exactly what happens.

Walking into this place was astounding. I overheard somebody ask, “How many Notre Dame’s would fit into this?” I have been lucky enough to visit this beautiful example of High Gothic in Paris, so my guess of at least 3 or 4 matched with the wry grin I noticed pass the tour guide’s face. THIS PLACE IS GIGANTIC, both in landscape and in height. It is just beautifully overwhelming. 

The first areas before one even enters the main HUGE chamber is still gigantic. The ceilings are tall and the doors are (about) 20 feet high. Everything is a beautiful marble with a few concrete fixes.  The amount of money and time to make this place…I can’t even wrap my head around it. The age of this place is obvious. When you see the warp of the marble floors from the CENTURIES of people walking on them…it blows my mind. I have felt this in similar buildings that are icons of human existence and the feeling never lessens. 

Then I entered the main room and looked up and out.  WOW. One side has scaffolding for renovation. There are at least two levels. And remember that there is NO WOOD in here. All of these things you may think are lumber are all out of marble.  The details that can be seen are breathtaking, let alone all that is too far away. 

Further in, there are a few areas set up with signs explaining that for which they had been used. Some were in the main area and a few (like the Sultan’s library) were in the area off of this. (I’m sorry it has been so long since I have studied this part of art history that I do not recall the proper names of the building; however, with the change from church to mosque, perhaps there is not a proper title).

Some places have been uncovered to find the beautiful examples of Byzantine art. When I saw the first example, deep within on the furthest wall far far above, I was pleased. The co-existence of a past church and past mosque now used as a museum to share with all is a beautiful thing. Because this is neither a church nor mosque, there are no requirements to cover one’s head or remove shoes. 

We had been down here awhile and then realized there were people upstairs.  We found our way back to the front of the building and saw the sign to go up (hi, kitty #1).  Not upSTAIRS because there were no stairs. It was a ramp, marble slick with years of being used, that kept traversing back and forth for what seemed forever, but going up “1 floor” is equal to 5 floors. 

On this floor, there were more examples of beautiful Islamic pattern with hints of Christian secrets being uncovered. Turning the corner to the far wall and there it was. I remember being tested on this very mosaic in an Art History Survey I class my freshman or sophomore year.  To see it in person was brilliant, especially the form that IS the mosaic tiles. Admittedly, I wasn’t overly fond of it or any Byzantine artwork before today, even after grad school research on the appropriation without full comprehension of Roman styles mixed with Eastern aesthetics. From this point forward after seeing it in context and in reality, my opinion has changed. 

Further down the hallway was a grave marker (dead bodies buried in all sorts of surprising nooks and crannies in the building) and there was more Byzantine art uncovered amongst the Islamic pattern.

The other side of the building on the second floor has to be reached by going to the front again, as it is like a U shape so that the altar is open straight up to the ceiling. This side had similar high ceilings and geometric pattern, but no Byzantine art showing. Kitty (kitten) #2 spotted here. Also in the back ramp/stairwells were random holes in the walls...and this sign.  Creepy.  

After about two hours, we wandered outside. In the courtyard and surrounding buildings were many tombs of sultans (sorry,no pictures).  One could walk in shoes removed and see the coffins draped in green cloth. There was also an old baptistry.  This sign made me stop. It appears that the Ottomans took a sarcophagus (dead person) and repurposed it as a fountain.  Interesting.

By this time, 4 wandering artists lost each other. Kim and I waited for awhile.  I bought some street food that I didn’t recognize just for the experience of it. It was a boiled, then grilled chestnut. It didn’t taste very good to us, but I’m glad we tried it. :)

Finally, we decided to head to the Basilica Cistern which was pretty much RIGHT there.  I had been told that it would take very little time to see, but to DEFINITELY see this place. On the way over, we saw this funny street sign. The top 2 directions were to Babylon and another lost city, so the mileage was in roman numerals.  :)  This seemingly unimportant stone and its explanation were here too, amongst the moving cars and modern life.  

Soon we found the door to a small-looking building with this explanation.  We purchased our tickets and headed downstairs. And herein begins my switch to the Clash of the Titans (circa 1981) set. 

Down, down, down. The large room had eery columns over water. A child laughed somewhere and - due to the setting - was the creepiest sound I had ever heard. And we hadn’t even gotten to the strange mystery yet. Read the sign and understand. 

While we were down here, Kim and I decided to grab some pomegranate juice and sit at the little restaurant…cuz when is this going to happen again?

To summarize the rest of our day, we ended up finding the best place to eat.  It is JUST around the corner. It is actually called the Soul Kitchen with a horrible saxophone as part of its logo.  I come from Memphis, the land of soul food, so this made me laugh.  Of course, it wasn’t soul food, but the good was great, the service was wonderful, the restaurant looked out over the water, and I acquired some free wine to wrap the evening up.  Before we headed in for the night, we walked by a hookah bar/restaurant and saw the end of a whirling dervishes dance.  Whoa.  Eyes closed, he just twirled around and around to some trippy music. 

Overall, Another amazing day in a deep textured place.Tomorrow, back the SALT research library, the Design Biennial, and possibly the Grand Bazaar!

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Oh, where to start….. WHAT A DAY!!!  It’s 5:30pm and I am blissfully exhausted.  To summarize, we did not get to see the Design Biennial today because it is closed, but we got to see so much more and have amazing conversations. We are so much more knowledgeable today about Istanbul, its history and its present-day, it’s just amazing.  (remember with the pictures, open the gallery to see captions or just hold the mouse over the image on this page and the caption will appear)

So the morning began for me at 3am because somebody texted me, not thinking of the time difference. I had done the same to them the day before, so serves me right.  ;) Couldn’t get back to sleep.  Heard the call to prayer around 6am. Alarm went off shortly after and got up to start the day. Breakfast at the hotel and ready to go as planned. 

We had a meeting set up with Dr. Deniz Bingol from the ACCENT Istanbul Study Center.  Prof Kim made this connection because ACCENT is the school that she and Prof Balducci are using for their classes in Rome this summer. So Deniz could introduce the ACCENT program to us and also give us a guide to the city.  Dr. Bingol is amazing. She is worldly and friendly and opinionated and educated.  She grew up in Istanbul, but has been everywhere from grad school at University of Michigan to just about everywhere else. I apologize I do not recall all of the schooling and experience to list it. Just imagine that almost every time you mention a place, she has spent some time there.  We didn’t mention South America or countries east/south of China, but I have a feeling she has probably visited there too.  :) 

So after our 8am breakfast, we set out in a cab.  Seriously….I have no idea how people drive around here.  It’s just magnificently awful. And when cars aren’t going down the road, people use the road as a sidewalk.  A car comes barreling down the tiny road and a person nonchalantly barely moves out of the way and life goes on.  It’s amazing the lack of bloodshed. 

The cab driver didn’t quite know where the place was.  It makes me feel better that I am instantly lost in this land of winding streets if CAB DRIVERS get turned around. The great part was driving around the city.  We realized that the sea and ancient wall are like 2 blocks away.  Also seeing the full expanse of the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara was amazing. We are SO CLOSE to all of it, but couldn’t view it in the winding hilly streets in Sultanahmet. We finally found it and the cab (arranged by the hotel) charged exactly what he said he would.  We were first greeted at ACCENT by two other employees who made us feel at home.  One is originally from Connecticut in U.S. and recently relocated from the Rome office.  The other is an Istanbul local. Both are educated young women fluent in English. 

The building is a recently renovated old printshop. One of the prints leftover was this one of Ataturk. I recognized him and made sure I was right. Later in the day, he came up many many times. Turkey is SUCH an interesting country. It has such immense history and yet is also a very young Republic that purposefully stripped itself of its history to create a new existence less than 100 years ago. 

So then we went to the street and began walking. EVERYTHING is cobblestone and hills are everywhere. There are plenty of artisans and other shops, then some of the big companies you would know have shops on the main boulevards.  Amongst newly renovated will be ancient - NO REALLY ANCIENT - buildings. It was explained to us a major concern in the last couple years has been HOW to stop construction randomly occurring to ruin the history that is everywhere. This is part of what the Design Biennial hints, as it is called The Future Is Not What It Used To Be: ‘What is the future now?’ By rethinking the manifesto as a platform to frame pertinent questions, the projects question the role of design, its relationship to society, and its ability to be an active agent for change.”

The streets we were on were not overcrowded like New York City or Tokyo, but certainly not abandoned.  There were people everywhere, along with those well-fed cats and a few dogs. Only one time did I see a homeless family, which appeared to be refugees. Deniz explained to me they certainly are not the only group; however, this was the only who were visible in this part of the city.  

We also viewed some of the graffiti and she explained that Banksy recently had an exhibition in Istanbul and it has been celebrated as an art form (while also being viewed as destructive by some), which parallels what is happening in many cities around the world. See these pictures and understand some of the street views (remember to see the captions!!!)

Closer to the water was a stretch called “Bank Street” or something like that. This stretch of neoclassical beauty was amazing. These used to be Turkish banks, but are now almost all very high-end hotels. Only one is still a bank. One of the buildings was dedicated to showing the arts and this was a place to which we will return this week. Within its neoclassical walls with inscriptions of both Arabic and Latin is a large library open to the public with archives of Turkish design.  !!!  We also saw where the Design Biennial is being held, but it was not open today.

Speaking of Turkish design, I have a surprisingly simple answer to my research topic. NO, there are no logos found (today, at least) that use Ottoman script.  And upon further discussion with Deniz and a graphic designer we met later, it’s obvious why not. Unless you are of the generation before Ataturk in the 1920s, you CANNOT READ Ottoman script.  “I cannot read my grandfather’s postcards.” Very few actually study this. 

I also had mentioned in my thesis that I would ignore any logo that was for a religious or government program.  As soon as I mentioned this to the two Turks, they nodded for religious but immediately shook heads at government. “You definitely will NOT find Ottoman script for anything governmental.” The Republic of Turkey purposefully stripped itself of its history and within ONE DECADE, an alphabetic revolution occurred.  An efficient language written in Roman letters became Turkic where no symbol stands for more than 1 sound, 29 letters in total and 8 vowels. 

Turkey became an extremely centralized government.  The following was explained to me, but this all deserves more research to be sure on my transference of factual data: Turkey’s government became very centralized and PRE-1983, 70% of the economy was state-owned. The Turkish Lira would not convert to other foreign currency. If somebody wanted to go to Paris, for example, one would need to wait for months for a foreign currency to arrive and only $100(-ish equivalent) was allowed outside the borders anyway. 1983, the markets opened and everything changed. Advertising agencies were local shops and big money was to be made in the 80s. 1994 brought (the first of many) economic crisis and many local shops were sold to huge ad agencies, many of them from America.  Therefore, most of the shops in Istanbul are offices for the big players I recognize like DDB, Saatchi&Saatchi, and Young&Rubicam. Students find work in these agencies, but nobody makes as much money as they used to and hardly any interns are paid.

BTW, the designer with whom we spoke is Ayse (pronounced Asha) Karamustafa and she does design with her father.  Her father is Sadik Karamustafa and he is a VERY well-known design within Turkish circles and in the international groups like AGI (not AIGA, but Alliance Graphique Internationale). When I visited Barcelona in 2011, this was for AGI Open. The Karamustafas do not do advertising, but concentrate on things like book design and collateral for cultural exhibitions. As for networking on the international level for designers, she mentioned icograda.com, which I have followed since grad school (thanks, Prof. Risbeck and Gravdahl from Colorado State).  However, the website is never up-to-date so I feared it had gone defunct. She explained to get on the RSS feed and this is better. 

As the sun was starting to get low in the sky, we had them call us a taxi.  This ride was the usual rollercoaster of near-death experiences and seeming inability to find the hotel. We had some miscommunication on money, but all was solved by the staff at Hotel Amira.  I cannot recommend them highly enough.  SO great. We all went in just in time for tea and treats. Finally tried Turkish Delight and YUM YUM YUM.  Though one would think that at 6pm, we should go out and get dinner, Kim and I are thoroughly exhausted. Considering I had only 3 hours of sleep, I don’t think I’m long for this waking world.  

Tomorrow, we are probably going to hit up the Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, and a nearby design gallery.  On Wednesday, we will head back to the new town (and by "new", I mean it’s still incredibly OLD) and see the Design Biennial and research at the Salt library. Every day will be full!  This city is absolutely amazing. I sincerely hope that someday we can bring students here. This city is such a gift to be shared.  I feel more comfortable here than I have felt in some American cities. 

Thank you for following this very long post today. It was absolutely amazing and this is only our second day! Please see what happens tomorrow!  :)

Even before the Hippodrome...even before breakfast...was FIRST, more sleep.  We slept from about 10pm-9am.  After not sleeping for over 36 hours, I think that’s ok.  :)   I did wake up for the Call To Prayer at about 6:30am and then went promptly back to sleep. Eventually, we wandered upstairs to breakfast. Yum.  

Outside, it is just like Memphis late August/early winter weather. I started out the day in a light coat and scarf, but had to go back for my leather jacket later. It’s VERY cloudy right now and a sort of light mist, but no rain. 

The streets here in the old town remind me of old parts in other European cities.  These cobblestone streets with no awareness of an organized grid are echoes of a past built on a past built on….none of these having anything to do with automobiles.  Yet SOMEHOW automobiles drive on these streets in both directions and nobody gets hurt.  My travel mates explain it smells of nothing special, just wet and city.   (Select photos for comments/explanation underneath.)

The front desk at Hotel Amira (superstars, btw) gave us directions and pointed, explaining that the Blue Mosque was a matter of blocks away.  And so we headed out into the world and within a few blocks amongst the curvy streets going uphill and amongst buildings on top of buildings, we spied a large minaret. This way!

Another block and we saw 2 huge tower-looking things. I knew it was the Hippodrome.  Chariot races and the social center used to be here in a large complex.  All that remains are these two structures.  The obelisk full of hieroglyphs is from Europe, moved to the new Rome (Constantinople) by Constantine. 

Looking to the right (east) is a huge structure with domes and minarets...and there it is - THE BLUE MOSQUE (not in this next gallery of pictures).  We cannot go in yet because the faithful have been called to prayer.  In fact, while we were standing in this little park of the Hippodrome taking a ton of pictures (correction - I took quite a few, but was hanging out with 3 professional photographers…we were there for awhile), from multiple minarets came the call to prayer.  It was beautiful and haunting as the callers echoed in Arabic, which I do not understand and I rather like that in this case.  The voice is beautiful and the perfect soundtrack to a world that seems so comfortably familiar and completely exotic at the same time. 

Back to all of these pigeons….PLEASE see Prof Kim’s photographs.  She is so talented.  Even if she assigns the instantly amazing shots to filters on Hipstamatic, she is being modest. Her shots are brilliant.  Hearing and absorbing the knowledge from these three photographers: “Look at the color in her scarf!” “This shot is so blue” “The focus is there and not there” etc.  is a reminder of all of which I am not aware when shooting.  Also it appears I have become a model for them, which makes me laugh.  :)  But I do agree that I could easily be mistaken for a local as long as I don’t start speaking.  BTW, the majority of women wearing things resembling head scarves seen in these photos are doing so to stay warm. 

Another beautiful addition to the area by the Hippodrome is this German fountain.  In any other city, there would be plenty of attention given to this; however, it’s nothing compared to what’s near it. 

So into the mosque's surrounding area, we all put scarves on our heads though we do not need to until we enter the actual mosque. There was a beautiful courtyard with information and people from so many different nationalities all full of the same quiet awe that we held. Even the stairs, dirty with mud from all the people walking, were of pristine marble. Concrete was nowhere to be seen.  

Looking from the steps across the way was another huge structure, which I (we) recognized as the Hagia Sophia. 

We wandered through to the back Visitors entrance. Before we entered, we all had to remove shoes and put them in supplied plastic bags.  If women did not already have heads covered, they were given a sheet of fabric. 

When I walked into the mosque, my jaw dropped. Absolutely beautiful. Huge arched domes, tons of tile, all intricate geometric details. (Remember that Muslims cannot worship images of people as this is considered idolatry.) 

Here at the Blue Mosque, there is a middle part where anybody can walk through and can watch the faithful. The men worshipped in this front area, public area in the middle, and behind was an area with a lattice covering for the female worshippers.  Sidenote: when in Salt Lake City, I visited the area around the Mormon temple. ONLY the faithful could ENTER the temple. I felt today’s experience was a gift to be able to observe at the mosque, though I do not practice Islam.

The ongoing announcement on the loudspeaker kept going, sometimes in a singing and then a speaking tone. It was a constant hum of a background noise. Until the announcer easily broke into English explaining Islam.  For one fraction of a second I thought that I'd suddenly begun to understand Arabic or Turkic.  :)  I soon realized my error and just began to listen to the information. 

There were a few who came in to the mosque, washed hands at fountains in the public area, and bowed to Mecca.  Others just wandered around peacefully and quietly observed, including a Buddhist monk in full orange robes.

After a very long time here (again, THREE photographers), we wandered back to the hotel mainly to acquire a warm jacket for me. There are wandering cats and a few dogs, though all seem healthy-ish and very well-fed. 

We then asked our buddies at the front desk for a good restaurant close by AND that had its power on.  It seems that somebody cut into a power line this morning and any place without a generator was dark. The restaurant was good and I had my first (of many, I’m sure) glass of freshly pressed pomegranate juice. No Turkish Coffee yet because I would like to sleep at some point tonight.  ;)  

We returned to the hotel just in time for tea and wine and little treats. Still no Turkish Delight. Kim and I are playing catch-up on the blogging and posting. I only have wifi and my phone isn’t working AT ALL, though I thought I had that set up with Verizon. We have both skyped our loved ones while we are here, realizing how lucky we are as we speak to them in a video chat for free from across the globe.  

That is all there is to share for today!  Tomorrow morning is our first trip north to the newer city and first glimpse at the Design Biennial.  Be sure to keep following!  :)  

My first reaction to Istanbul is that it’s really not that different. It’s such an international city and I am in an area that thrives on tourism; however, I expect to see more Muslim dress and signs I cannot understand, plus hear very little English. No, no, and no.  It’s a lot like Spain, though I’m sure most Turks would rather me say that Spain was like Turkey.  ;) English is available, dress is just European, most everyone is very kind, and I’ve heard an unusual selection of 80s American/English music today.

My almost immediate second reaction to Istanbul is that it is so different and SO OLD. And THE RIDE from the airport to our hotel down the side streets….OMG.  I have no idea how we didn’t run into anybody or any other cars.  One of the most memorable experiences was turning down a road and then going immediately down a very steep hill that would dead end into a building. But our driver handled it beautifully and all of this was under the hotel’s bill.  In fact, we asked when we got out how much to tip him and at first, I received a look of confusion.  Finally, I was told “no, 10 lira is good” (instead of the 40 we were going to give him). 

THEN we were invited to tea and treats - including some Turkish Delight and Raki - and the guy from the front desk, named Ufuku (not pronounced the way you think) talked to us for about 45 minutes ALL about the city with maps and suggestions.  THIS WAS AMAZINGLY HELPFUL. I was told by others who had recommended the Hotel Amira that the front desk personnel are very helpful, but I was not expecting this.  WOW. 

So then each to our rooms.  Kim and I were hoping for the 2 double beds instead of 1 big one, but the room is SO HUGE that we just said don’t worry about it.  

Earlier in the day, BTW, customs in Istanbul is BY FAR the easiest I have EVER gone through.  I mean, I know the worst customs we will have is getting back into the states, but I thought Istanbul would be at least a bit of a challenge.  NOPE.  And everyone is SO NICE.  

I’ve downloaded some photos and tried to provide a little explanation by each. I have now been up for 36 hours, minus a 10 minutes doze here and there.  I’m so tired that I’m almost not tired anymore, but I’ve got to try.  It is 8:14pm here now, which means it’s just past noon back home.  

So until tomorrow, which will be very late evening for you. So good night or Iyi geceler.  :)