Sadberk Hanim Museu
Rain, rain and more rain. Not the day to leave my new waterproof jacket in the suitcase. Today we hired a guide, Karemchan (phonetic sp), who is a friend of our beloved Yavuz. We hired two taxis for the day to take us all over the city which turned out to be the perfect plan for a monsoon weather day.
Other dear friends, Susan and Jill, had recommended we visit the Chora Chapel on the other side of the Gallata Bridge. Decided to make it stop #1. Inside, who do we run into but Yavuz! We were so happy to see him and hugs were exchanged all around. I'm sure the rather dour looking couple he was guiding wondered what was going on. The Chora has magnificent mosaics dating from the 15th century. The original chapel dates from the 5th c. What's really fascinating is that the mosaics and frescoes were covered up completely at the very end of the 15th century when it was converted into a mosque and not discovered again until 1940. As a result the mosaics are in superb, sparking condition.
Second stop was the Rustem Pasha Mosque near the Spice Market and my personal favorite. We were fortunate there were only a few visitors when we arrived sitting quietly on the floor. We could spend peaceful time enjoying this lovely space covered almost completely with blue and red Isnic tiles. Rustem Pasha is one of the many mosques and important buildings in Istanbul built by the powerful Sinan in the late 1500s. We were reminded that the names of eight important figures are written in calligraphy in the dome of every mosque - that of God, Mohammed, 4 Caliphs, and two grandsons of Mohammed.
We then took a very long drive up the Bosporus to the Sadberk Hanim Museum (the first private museum in Turkey and named for the wife of an important industrialist Koch) another favorite from our 2007 visit. There we saw a special exhibit called "Women's Costumes of the late Ottoman Era". Of course I took a few contraband photos. Exquisite garments. Also saw the archaeological museum connected next door.
At last lunch at 2pm (famished by this times) at the Changa restaurant inside the Sakip Sabanci Museum. We had the unbelievable good fortune to be in town during the exhibition LEGENDARY ISTANBUL: 2000 YEARS OF A CAPITAL. Turns out this show was supposed to close on Sept 4, but was held over until the 26th due to popular demand. The installation design of the show was quite spectacular (we entered into a darkened video room with columns of faux tree trunks and then moved into display rooms with mirrored walls). There were several videos that helped to explain Istanbul's history that rival anything I've seen from Pixar. I really felt like I was living in Istanbul during Ottoman times. At the end of the show perhaps our favorite feature was a domed area with images of some of the most famous domes of Istanbul projected into it. We sat underneath for quite some time completely mesmerized.
I also want to mention the interesting conversation we had with our guide at lunchtime. He suddenly began talking about the political situation in Turkey in very open, critical and disheartening way. There is an important referendum occurring on September 12th, one which he says if passed will serve to make Turkey a country with fewer rights for women and far less secular, more Islamic fundamentalist state. In essence the vote has to do with making it easier for the government to make changes to the existing constitution. He explained that the billboards we'd seen all over town saying "EVET" mean "YES", as in vote yes for the referendum. He talked about the current political establishment and about how extremely corrupt they are. He said that they've come to power claiming to bring more freedom and rights to the citizens when in reality they deliver the opposite. We'll certainly be watching on the 12th to see the outcome of the vote. Our guide was fairly certain that it would pass and equally certain that it would portend bad things for the future of the country.
By the time we returned to our little wooden hotel we were soaked and exhausted so we didn't want to venture far for dinner. We selected an unassuming restaurant where a few tourists were dining. Suddenly there was a rush of local women in headscarves and families of all sorts and we decided that there must be a big party upstairs. We found out the next day that 7:30 was the end of the daily fast during Ramadan (which ends at sundown on Wednesday) and so this explained the throngs people into the restaurant all at the same time! Now we know to arrive before 7:30.
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