The New View: A History Buff's Dream House

The Panorama View

Balcony.

Our living room

Every couple dreams of their first home together. After years of dorms, roommates and common areas, finally here we are making that dream a reality:  Eda and I have our own home!  

Sunset

Nighttime Skyline

With the lease and the early fees out of the way, we’re at this point just tidying the place and decorating. But finally, we’re adults, living as a married couple in our own, independent space.

Clockwise, displays our timeline as a couple, from
the first "I love you" to the tying of the knot

We’ve been talking about this for such a long time, and we’re happy to begin sharing a home together. So far, it’s mainly consisted of cleaning, doing laundry, and arguing about how to organize the bookshelves and the cupboards. I hope we make wonderful, lifelong memories in our house, and I hope they’ll involve a combination of movie marathons, dinner next to the balcony, and some nice company.   

There’s something else about our choice of house that makes me tingle inside.  Not just that I’m sharing it with my soulmate and greatest love, but that it’s taking place in tandem with my 2^nd favorite love: Historical Ground (Eda, tarih’den seni daha seviyorum söz veriyorum yaa).

Inside our house, you can already see a collection of historical and cultural souvenirs.

2 Bibles, 2 Arabic Qurans, 2 Books of Mormon. Turkish, English and even Arabic.

No Turkish home is complete without Atatürk, Turkey's
first president. And apparently the Virgin Mary.

As I have repeatedly mentioned, I LOVE living in a place with such tremendous historical value, experience and lessons to teach. It's awesome, being in a pivotal crossroad of civilization and culture, a place that has seen so much and continues to endure all kinds of world-changing encounters.  I often find myself picturing the events that happened here as I walk by their host sites, whether it’s imagining the sound of Justinian’s voice upon first entrance into the Hagia Sophia screaming “Solomon, I have outdone thee!” or the haunting image of Sultan Mehmet’s fleet carrying ships across land in the middle of the night before conquest.  

I have decided to dedicate this post to sharing the view from our new house, a panorama that allows the inquisitive observer to swallow and digest each and every civilization, language and architectural style Istanbul has ever seen and known. From our 3^rd floor view, if you look hard enough, you can catch all of her history, all of her friends, and all of her glory, in each epoch of her life, from her conception to her zenith, from her downfall to her metamorphosis, and from her occupation to her freedom.

The Golden Horn.

Starting all the way to the left is perhaps the most beautiful building in the world, one that in my opinion represents the potential of peace on this Earth, a structure that has stood the test of time, surviving sieges, earthquakes, crusades, a conquest, a dogmatic transformation, and world wars. A wonderful site, the one that inspired me to come to Istanbul in the first place, which upon entry forced me to fly into this magnificent sky mixed with Quranic calligraphy and Christian artistic achievement. An architectural medley that allows Orthodox Christianity and Islam, mixed with some Venetian and Viking markings, to coexist under the same roof and the watchful eye of the modern state…

Tucked in the corner

The Hagia Sophia.

Massive.

At this point, I’ve been to the Hagia Sophia 6 times. I find something new every time, whether it’s a new mosaic, piece of graffiti, or a cool door. Despite being filled with tourists, this building represents all kinds of wonders, for me the greatest being the harmony between two belief systems, two languages and two civilizations. While cliché to admit, I’m more than happy to declare this as my favorite building in the world, because it openly and gracefully displays human achievement and the marriage between passion and purpose. The mosaic of Jesus and Mary amazes me every time, while the colossal Arabic symbols meant to powerfully represent the Prophet Mohammad, his companions and Allah hang alongside the Christian art.

My good friend Elle and I staring at the mirror image of a lovely
mosaic:  Emperor Constantine and Emperor Justinian presenting
the city and the Hagia Sophia, respectively, to Christ.

Our oldest note, written by Eda
masterfully in Arabic. "In the
name of God, the merciful, the
compassionate"

March 2016

This structure is magic to me. It was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 532 CE, and after 5 years, was completed. It served as the largest cathedral in the Christian world for almost 1000 years, making Constantinople’s skyline. On the Istanbul ferry, I frequently imagine what passing merchants, sailors and ambitious warriors thought when then saw this. In 1453 (see earlier blogpost about the specifics of this), the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople under the direction of the young, charismatic and genius Sultan Mehmet II. After breaking down the walls and placing the Ottoman crescent high on the towers, the Ottoman army pillaged and plundered for 3 days, as was custom at the time. They sprinted miles to the other side of the city, to the Hagia Sophia, believing it to contain the city’s greatest treasures. The path they took to get there is literally the view I have from my apartment. As my eyes move from the old city walls (now tied with a bridge and modern highway) southeast towards the Hagia Sophia, I picture the soldiers in my head, screaming, chanting, celebrating their victory and wreaking havoc to claim the spoils of war.

Sultan Mehmet II, 1432-1481

They stormed the cathedral whilst the priests were in Mass. The church housed many women, children and elderly, who had sought refuge while the Byzantine army defended the city. Sultan Mehmet walked into the site, placed some sand in his turban, and an Imam followed to recite the Shehadah: "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet." And now, the hadith, which Mohammad recited over 700 years prior, the prophecy from the last messenger himself, had finally been realized: the beautiful conqueror took Constantinople. That “beautiful” one mentioned happened to be a Turk, a soldier fluent in 7 languages, age 21, who slept with a copy of Alexander the Great’s biography, who from this moment onward was the one to finally breech her walls and take credit for decimating the Roman civilization, which had been hanging by a thread for centuries but maintained a pulse since 753 BC, to tiny pieces. History gave him a new name, and now, to this day, is still known and recognized as Fatih (the Turkish word for Conqueror).

A few days later, Friday prayer was said at the Hagia Sophia, now Ayasofya, which until the 1930s, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and start of the new Republic of Turkey, was the Ottoman Imperial Mosque. 

Hagia Sophia is also complete with additional makeovers. Against the altar, you’ll notice these massive candlesticks, brought home by Sultan Suleiman from his campaigns in Hungary. He figured these sticks would be a nice touch to the Mosque. Additionally, on the second floor, the Doge of Venice, who was responsible for the debacle we know of as the 4^th Crusade, when the Latin Crusaders of the West sacked Constantinople in 1204 for more or less no logical or apparent reason, lays to rest. This site was made famous recently by Tom Hanks. We even have some Runic graffiti courtesy of Norse Guards who must have been bored during a few church services.

There's a moment he exclaims, "Istanbul!"

The next mosque in the cue.

Moving my eyes west, next in line you’ll notice the Suleimaniye Mosque. I intend to write about this in another post, as this special and holy mosque is not only significant to the life and appearance of this dear city, but also has a rather deep and personal place in my heart, as to my new roommate and I, it represents the patience and commitment we share for each other. In short, this mosque was designed by the greatest Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, for the greatest Sultan at the apex of the Empire’s time. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (the Lawgiver to Turkish folk) commissioned this mosque, on one of Istanbul’s 7 hills, to overlook the city. To this day, it stands as the largest mosque in town, and up close, it’s stunning and contains a massive campus with a beautiful view.

The view from Suleimaniye with Mom and Big Bro, May 2015

January 2016

The mosques at night from
our balcony.

His mosque and tomb.

Continuing down the line, we can also find a glimpse of Fatih Camii, the mosque of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. When I heard I could see his tomb right here in town, my heart nearly burst out of its chest. I had done so much reading about this man and his impact on the world. Finally I could see him in person, where he rests in his shortcut to Heaven after a long life of battle and bravery. This mosque sits on the site of the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, but upon conquering the city, Fatih ordered most of the churches to be converted into mosques. The senses experienced a transformation. Constantinople’s eyes and ears once used to crosses and churchbells now had to adjust to crescents and minarets, along with the Ezan, or Call to Prayer.  Fatih Camii is my personal favorite mosque, located right next to the Valens Aqueduct, which goes back to Roman times (although we sadly can't see the aqueduct from our balcony).

We need to take a 5 minute bus ride
to catch a glimpse of this epic aqueduct.

After conquering the city, Fatih Sultan Mehmet ordered massive Muslim immigration into the city. No longer was this metropolis a Christian dominated city, now pledged to following the Ottoman state and its Muslim traditions. However, recognizing the substantial population of non-Muslims and non-ethnic Turks practicing other faiths, he ordered the creation of the Millet system, which organized the city into religious communities. While it divided up rights and privileges and clearly favored Muslims, Christians and Jews were allowed to practice their faith openly. They lived in specific neighborhoods, two of which are in perfect view from my apartment: Balat and Fener.

With some friends on the cobblestones,
May 2016

While stumbling around these spots, Eda and I discovered a myriad of churches, as well as a synagogue. One day last year, we were attempting to find Aya Yorgi, the Church of St. George, and asked a man for help. He told us, “There are 23 churches in this neighborhood.” We sauntered around this beacon of religious diversity, walking among headscarves and crosses in peace. This area has become a favorite of mine in town, as I feel the history breathing. The cobblestone streets make it feel like a little Italian village too, as a plus. The antique shops and hip cafes were nice touches as well.

In this neighborhood, you can also find a gem of culture and diversity. While Turkey is a majority Muslim culture, it contains one of the holiest and most important locations in the Christian world: the administrative capital and headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of St. George.

(I didn't take this photo though).

This location in the Greek Orthodox mindset is similar to the Vatican of the Catholic Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, lives here, and he serves as the spiritual head of this church. There’s a great interview with him at this link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDWFO1UTMzI), from a 60 Minutes special. It’s so interesting and quite an anomaly, as the capital of a community of millions of Christian believers all over the world is seated in a tiny mark of a massive Muslim country. The first time I came here, with a school group, we walked into an incredible ritual performed and recited by the priests. The site also houses beautiful icons and relics from various saints. What a beautiful privilege it is to see this across from my house, and by a lovely little park on the water too.

One of our first photos together, near the Greek Patriarch,
and across the water from our future home.

Same spot, one year later, May 2016

Continuing on the Greek theme, there’s a noticeable, vintage red castle structure in perfect view from my balcony. It's called the Phanar Greek Orthodox College (Fener Rum Lisesi in Turkish). This school building, built in the late 1800s, is a wonderful piece of the Istanbul skyline that for the longest time I had no idea existed. It appears like a Greek Hogwarts of sorts, and while it follows the Turkish education system, it contains a small group of pupils and is the oldest Greek Orthodox institution in Istanbul.

Resemblance? :)

May 2016

Finally, towards the end of our view, we can see a glimpse of the old city walls. These walls were built by Emperor Theodosius II in the 400s to protect the metropolis from the imminent threat of raid by the feared, infamous tenacity of Attila and his Huns.

The walls on the map of old Constantinople. Our house is
right above where "Golden" is written.

Outside the walls, but these ones are more inland, February 2016

In the words of my friend Kenny, it's one of the most underrated
sites to see.

Overall, we’re lucky to have such an incredible view of old Constantinople right outside our window. We can see the full length it extended, from the peninsula to the city’s boundary marked by the walls. The Greek and Byzantine city survives alongside the transformative changes of the Ottoman conquest, its subsequent 450 years of mosques and sultans, and the modern world’s additions. Istanbul's skyline is so special, and in my opinion is the most unique and diverse out there. 

It’s a dream come true, living in this house with my soul mate, and the panorama on the balcony certainly makes the experience of being an expat history buff and a newlywed that much more enjoyable and interesting.

Resting on the balcony

Sources:

Lonely Planet Istanbul Travel Guide
Midnight at the Pera Palace by Charles King
The Fall of Constantinople by Steven Runciman
Information recalled and noted from university experiences and museum visits