Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)

The D&O Diary is on assignment in Europe this week, with an initial stop last weekend for a first-time-ever visit to Istanbul, the historic city where Europe meets Asia. Istanbul, it turns out, is an absolutely fantastic place to visit, although there is far more in the city than I was able to see in my all too brief visit.

Istanbul is, first of all, a world city. It is huge. Its official population count is 16.2 million, making it the largest city in Europe. (The official count is almost certainly too low due to high numbers of migrants and refugees currently in the city.) The city is located at the strategic confluence of the Sea of Marmara, Bosporus Strait, and the Golden Horn. The intersection of the waterways provides a unique blend of maritime beauty and historical significance.

This is a picture of the Bosporus Bridge, taken from a terrace at the Topkapi Palace. It is amazing to me that across the thousands of years of city history, including 19 centuries in which the city was an imperial capital, the first bridge across the Bosporus was not built until 1973. (There are now three bridges.) The Topkapi Palace sits on a bluff overlooking the juncture of the three bodies of water. (More about Topkapi below).
That’s Asia over there across the way. Note the massive mosque along the ridge line, and also the massive Turkish flag on the hilltop.

On the European side of the strait, and on the south side of the Golden Horn, is the Sultanahmet district, which contains many of the city’s historical treasures, including the Hagia Sophia (known as Aya Sofya in Turkish), pictured at the top of the post. Its name means “Holy Wisdom,” and it is both a timeless masterpiece and the majestic heart of Istanbul. It was originally built by the Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, and it served as a Christian church for more than 900 years. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453, it was converted into a mosque, with four minarets added shortly thereafter. It remained a mosque for nearly five hundred years, until it was converted into a museum in 1935. It was converted back into a mosque by the Turkish government in 2020.

The vast interior space of the Hagia Sophia is truly breathtaking. The enormous expanse of the nave is topped by the structure’s fabled dome, which rises 180 feet (roughly as high as a 15-story building). Because of the building’s recent conversion back into a mosque, the main floor is no longer accessible to tourists, who now may only visit the gallery on the building’s second level.
When originally built, the Hagia Sophia was decorated throughout with Christian mosaics, and other mosaics were added over time. Due to various fits of iconoclasm over the years, including following the Ottoman conquest, only a very few of the mosaics survive (basically the ones that the iconoclasts couldn’t reach). Fortunately, one of the mosaics that survived at least in fragmentary form is the one depicted above, the building’s famous Deesis mosaic. Art historians Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely called the mosaic, even in its fragmentary surviving form, “one of the very greatest works of art produced in Byzantium,” referring to the humanistic portrayal of the Christian figures depicted in the mosaic.

Across Sultanahmet Park and facing the the Hagia Sophia is the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque, familiarly known as the Blue Mosque. The iconic mosque, with its six minarets and its famous blue tiles (for which the mosque is known), was built in the early 17th century by Sultan Ahmed I. The mosque remains a central cultural and spiritual landmark in Istanbul.

Here’s a picture of the Blue Mosque after sunset. I took this picture from my hotel room window.
It rained the evening before I visited the Blue Mosque, but the rain cleared off overnight and the next morning the skies were clear and sunny. This picture shows the mosque’s massive exterior courtyard, including one of the building’s six minarets. The exterior courtyard is in fact larger than the mosque’s interior.
The Blue Mosque is considered a masterpiece of classical Ottoman architecture. The building’s interior is decorated with more than 20,000 hand-painted Iznik tiles, many of them, along with many of the windows, a characteristic blue color.

While I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the two famous mosques, I also wanted to see other features of the city. For that, I hired a guide. This was something of a break with standard practice for me; I have never hired a guide for a day when visiting a new city. It worked out particularly well for me.

This is Duygu. She was my guide for the day on Saturday. Unfortunately for both of us, it rained during much of the time we spent together. Despite the weather, it all worked out well. Duygu is particularly suited to be a guide in Istanbul. She not only is a native to the city and fluent in English but she is also a trained archeologist — in fact she worked as an archeologist for several years before getting tired of being poor. She is very knowledgeable, and she was good company as well.
The first place we explored together was Istanbul’s famous Grand Bazaar (known as Kapalıçarşı in Turkish). This picture depicts Entrance No. 1 to the Bazaar (there are 22 entrances in total).
There has been a Bazaar at the present location since the immediate aftermath of the Ottoman conquest. The Bazaar burned down more than once, and it was recently renovated. It is still a vibrant marketplace, attracting literally millions of visitors each year. The bazaar is massive — it covers nearly 600,000 square feet, making it one of the largest covered markets in the world. There are over 4,000 shops, selling clothing, jewelry, carpets, ceramics, leather goods, spices, watches, chess boards, hats, running shoes, musical instruments, and much else besides.
After visiting the Grand Bazaar, we went to this very cool coffee shop. It is located in a derelict building that had all the outward appearances of being abandoned. (The kind of place only a local guide would know about.) We enjoyed some excellent Turkish coffee while we watched the rain fall. The views were great too; I suspect that on a clearer day, the views are spectacular.
We next went to the Spice Bazaar. The Spice Bazaar is officially known as the Egyptian Bazaar (Turkish: Mısır Çarşısı). The Spice Bazaar was built in the 1660s. It has been renovated many times, most recently in 2018. Many of the shops sell spices (saffron, cumin, pepper), as well as dried fruits, tea, Turkish Delight, and other tasty treats.
We also enjoyed an excellent traditional Turkish lunch. I had the good sense to allow my guide to order the food. We enjoyed some spicy Turkish flatbread, accompanied by cacık and muhamara.

On my own again the next day, I spent the better part of the day at the Topkapi Palace. The Palace was originally built in the mid-15th century by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, though it was added to in various ways over time, including as recently as the 19th century. The Palace served as both the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and main residence of the Ottoman sultans and their families, from the 1460s until the completion of a newer palace in 1856.

This is the main entrance to the Topkapi Palace, known as the Imperial Gate. During the Ottoman empire, the entrance was referred to (particularly by diplomats from France, an early European ally of the Ottomans) as the Sublime Porte, which name in turn came to serve as a metonym for the the Ottoman Empire itself.
The Topkapi Palace grounds are vast, consisting of a series of four large open courtyards, each of which is more exclusive and private than the last. The buildings within the grounds consisted of dormitories, kitchens, stables, imperial administrative offices, and the private living quarters of the Sultan and his family, including the Harem. This picture shows the vast expanse within the first of the four courtyards, as well as the entrance door for the second courtyard.
The palace interiors are stunning. The extravagant use of tiles, granite, marble and wood projects and expresses both Ottoman artistry and luxury. This picture shows the Corridor of the Concubines within the Harem.
This is the famous Topkapi Dagger, which is displayed in the palace’s Treasury. Some readers may recall the classic 1964 heist film, Topkapi, in which a group of international jewel thieves plot to steal the dagger. The film had a brilliant cast, including Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, and Robert Morley. (Ustinov won an Oscar for his portrayal of an unwitting accomplice.) The dagger itself was intended to be a gift for the Shah of Persia; the gift was never given, as the Shah was assassinated while the imperial diplomats were en route to Persia. The dagger is encrusted with diamonds, but what really catches your eye are those three massive emeralds on the hilt.

While I was in Istanbul, I did not exclusively confine myself to the historic Sultanahmet district. I also went a little further afield as well, as reflected in the pictures below.

Some colorful houses in the residential Fener district, along the Golden Horn.
This is the famous İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue), in the Beyoğlu district on the northern side of the Golden Horn. The street is lined with shops and restaurants, as well as the former embassies of a number of countries (built before the country moved its capital to Ankara). The street runs uphill from the Galata neighborhood to Taksim Square. I took this picture about 11 am on Sunday morning, a time when the streets in most European cities are empty. In Istanbul, the streets on Sunday morning were thronged with people.
This is Galata Tower, one of the last remnants of the city’s medieval Genoese district, located on a hilltop on the northern side of the Golden Horn. The tower is visible in much of the city as well as from the waterways. The tower has become something of symbol of Istanbul.
Throughout Istanbul there are street carts like this one, selling Simit, a sesame covered pastry, which is sort of a cross between a bagel and a pretzel.
A simit with cream cheese costs the equivalent of about one dollar. I found them to be quite tasty, particularly when enjoyed with a cup of çay (pronounced “chai” — that is, tea).
This is John. He works in a family-run tea store and sweets shop across the street from my hotel. Every day while I was in Istanbul, I had tea with John and/or one or more of his uncles. I found John and his family, as well as so many of the other people I encountered in Istanbul, to be extraordinarily friendly and welcoming.

There is one more thing you need to know about Istanbul: the city of full of cats. Thousands and thousands of cats.

This picture was taken in the Fener district, but I could have taken its equivalent just about anywhere in the city. The cats, which are strays, are everywhere. Unlike stray cats in many other cities, these cats are generally healthy and well-cared for. Cats apparently have a special place in Islamic culture. The Prophet reportedly had a deep affection for cats. The city affirmatively supports the cats’ welfare, providing feeding stations and health services. The cats themselves are friendly towards people, and the people generally seem to return the affection. I heard it said while I was in Istanbul that the locals jokingly refer to their city as “Cat-stantinople.”
My first evening in Istanbul, this young fellow decided to join me on my seat during my dinner at a sidewalk café.
At another meal at a sidewalk cafe, this cat stopped by to find out what I was eating. “Why, what a coincidence! I too like grilled lamb!”

One final note: For anyone planning a visit to Istanbul anytime soon, I highly recommend Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely’s excellent guide, Strolling Through Istanbul. The book is a little bit dated, but it otherwise generally provides a detailed exploration of the city’s history, architecture, and culture.