Sultan’s secret to be revealed in December in new Turkish film | sultanahmet1.com
Sultan's Secret
A film supported by the European Capital of Culture Agency will reveal the secrets of Sultan Abdulhamit II. 'Sultanın Sırrı' ( The Secret of the Sultan ), directed by Hakan Şahin, has a budget of 4 million Turkish Liras and tells the story of an American professor who learns the secrets of the sultan and pursues his mysterious chest at Topkapı Palace
With a cast drawn from Hollywood and ambitions of showing Istanbul sights both known and unknown to an international audience, a Turkish production team is putting the finishing touches on “Sultanın Sırrı” (The Secret of the Sultan).
With support from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, the film, which has a budget of 4 million Turkish Liras, would showcase Istanbul locations, including Topkapı Palace, Yıldız Palace, the Istanbul Archaeology Museum and the Hagia Sophia, according to director Hakan Şahin.
“These are places known by the public,” Şahin said. “There are also ones that they don’t know. The set of the film’s final scene is underground tunnels. In this way, the audience will be able to see the places that they don’t have a chance to see.”
The film, which will be finished by December, will also be screened abroad, he said.
Şahin said the preparation process for the film with the producer and screenwriter Ömer Erbil took two years and added that they had wanted to include well-known Hollywood actors in their project, deciding to work with Emanuel Bettencourt and Marc Dacascos.
When asked about whether the film is intended to rival Ron Howard’s “The Da Vinci Code,” Şahin said: “It makes us proud to be compared to a big Hollywood production. But that film was a completely imaginary one, created by Dan Brown’s mind. But our story is real. This is our difference from the [Brown] film.”
‘Cinema not an industry in Turkey’
Turkey is still behind the United States and Europe in terms of its cinema, Şahin said.
“As cinema workers, we don’t even have a law [covering our work] here. We are a market only because we cannot become a sector, an industry. As the people of this market, we are trying to improve cinema,” he said.
“There are also serious initiations to make a law for cinema market. In this sense, producers have turned their eyes to world-renowned actors. Turkey has many actors like the ones in Hollywood, too. We have opened the doors. A Turkish director can work with an American actor just like an American director can work with a Turkish actor,” Şahin said.
Film dedicated to nephew
Dacascos said he recently came to Turkey but had not yet become involved in the film. “As far I see, this is a very professional film. There is a family atmosphere. They have made me feel at home.”
Bettencourt, tragically, said his nephew had died on the first day of the shooting.
“At first I did not know what to do but life goes on,” he said through tears. “I will spend all my energy for this film and dedicate this film to my nephew.”
Bettencourt said he was acting in a Turkish film for the first time and also expressed his pleasure at acting in a film with Dacascos once again after so many years.
Other actors in the film include Başak Daşman, Sinan Albayrak, Zeynep Beşerler, Şerif Sezer and Burak Sezer.
The film tells the story of an American professor, Carty Ciano, who learns the secrets of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II about crude oil. The professor comes to Istanbul and begins to work hard to find the sultan’s mysterious chest, kept in the depot of the Topkapı Palace Museum.
Istanbul’s must-sees
Continental drift ... the Bosphorus and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
Explore a little-known palace or take an early morning boat trip on the Bospherus with our guide to the essential Istanbul
The Süleymaniye mosque
The ultimate architectural experience was designed for Süleyman the Magnificent. This wonderful Friday mosque works only if you go in by the front door, not the side door, which is what everyone is encouraged to do. Sinan, the great 16th-century architect, was the absolute master of the framed vista: the modest outer gate leads to the gigantic but austere courtyard gate, which leads to a courtyard about to be submerged in a vast cascade of domes, which leads to a huge wall of grey stone, pierced by windows with miniature tesserae of stained glass, veiled by a curtain of lantern ropes. Fortify yourself first with a bowl of beans at Kanaat (Selmanipak Caddesi, 9). Follow it with a glass of boza (fermented millet) in nearby Vefa Bozacısı (Katip Çelebi Caddesi 104), an impeccable 1920s café with mirrored columns.
Prof Sıddık Sami Onar Caddesi.
Sokullu Mehmet Pasha mosque
Sinan again designed this mosque, just below the Hippodrome. Enter by the front portal, up a marvellous staircase with a pointed arch framing the dome of the ablution fountain, in turn framed by the domes of the mosque. It's even better when it rains and the lead is gleaming. This is a much more intimate affair than Süleymaniye, built not for the Grand Vizier but his wife, Süleyman's granddaughter. Just around the corner stands Küçük Ayasofya, a stunning Byzantine church, now converted into a mosque.
Sehit Çesmesi Sok, Sultanahmet.
Yıldız Palace
The Sale Kiosk of the Yıldız Palace is perhaps Europe's most astonishing Victorian guesthouse. And nobody can stay there, unless – like Kaiser Wilhelm II, Churchill or De Gaulle, for whom the state bed was specially extended – they are invited. But it is open for the public to visit. It is an attractive if rather steep walk through woods to get there. Inside, tiptoe through room after glorious room until you emerge in the ballroom, with the second largest carpet in the world reflected in a long wall of art nouveau mirrors.
Barbaros Bulvarı Yıldız Park, Besiktas.
Walk in the hills
Take a bus from Sariyer, the city's northernmost district, to the hilltop above. Get out a few bends after passing Koç university into unspoilt countryside where there are migrating birds in spring and autumn. If you're feeling energetic you can walk down the hill all the way back to Sariyer.
Princes' Islands
A picnic on Heybeliada or Büyükada, two of the Princes' Islands, close to Istanbul in the sea of Marmara, makes a serene break from the busy city. On Heybeliada, the recommended spot is a small chapel on the hills above the large naval academy in the middle of the island. The end of the island is like a prow of a huge leafy ship. The other spot is Varan on Büyükada, or the best beach, at Eskibag Halka Acik Plaji. This summer a museum dedicated to the islands' heritage will open.
Catch the IDO ferry from the Kabatas (2.80TL each way, 2 hours).
Boat ride
Take a taxi to the Sarıyer ferry dock on the Bosphorus and catch the 7am commuter boat from Sariyer into the city. (You could also pick it up in Yeniköy or Istiniye, if you sleep in.) The boat is almost deserted and the Bosphorus lovely in the morning light.
Art and nightlife
Don't miss Beyoglu – Istanbul's turn-of-the-century downtown – where art galleries jostle with bars and meyhanes (traditional restaurants). Rodeo Gallery (Lüleci Hendek Caddesi 12, +90 212 2935800), and its neighbour DEPO (same address) are unmissable, as is Banu Cennetoglu's space, BAS (Nuri Ziya Sokak 7). Meanwhile the Pera museum (Mesrutiyet Caddesi 65) offers a fantastic collection of orientalist art as well as excellent temporary exhibitions and film seasons. Sidestep the expensive bars and quench your thirst at the lovably eccentric Hotel Buyuk Londra's terrace bar (Mesrutiyet Caddesi 53) or the new Marmara Pera Hotel before descending into the melee of Asmalımescit for fish and rakı at Refik (Sofyalı Sokak 10) or Yakup 2 (Asmalı Mescit Sokak 35).
Day trip
Close to Istanbul, the hauntingly beautiful city of Edirne is Turkey's true gateway to Europe and the Balkans. Home to Sinan's masterpiece, the Selimiye mosque, as well as stunning examples of Ottoman architecture, it remains well off the beaten track. The Eski mosque and Ottoman bridges are astonishing. If possible, find a way into the neglected Murad II mosque, with its unique, Chinese-inspired tiles.
John Scott, editor, and Thomas Roueché, contributing editor, of Turkey's English language Cornucopia Magazine
The Guardian, Saturday 10 April 2010
Discovering Byzantine traces in İstanbul
What is this life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.
These are the opening lines of a poem by William Henry Davies in which he bemoans that we miss so many beautiful things in life because we are rushing.
The Chora Museum is one of the numerous Byzantine sites in İstanbul Robert van den Graven recounts in his book.
Crowds and rush describe Istanbul. You only need to be on one of the mighty suspension bridges spanning the Bosporus during rush hour to see the crowds of people trying to get from one continent to another, often sounding their horns in frustration at the task. Or witness the mighty tide of pedestrians pouring over Galata Bridge to get to work.
The city is full of millions of people who are all in a rush to get the next job done, get to the next appointment or just to get home after an extremely tiring day amongst all the crowds.
We are all so busy that often day after day we pass by familiar landmarks neglecting to look up and admire their beauty. Many passengers on the ferry home to Asia close their eyes and rest after a hard day and miss the view of the İstanbul skyline, which has thrilled and amazed travelers for nearly two millennia.
In our haste to catch the train, to purchase our jeton before the ferry departs, not to miss the bus we race past sites that have been silent witnesses to the journeys of centuries of İstanbulites.
Not only do we not know what hidden treasures lie under our feet, we don’t have time to look up at ancient buildings and walls or peer over fences to see old ruins or explore down hidden alleyways.
In his self-guided tour to Byzantine İstanbul, Robert van den Graven encourages us to take time to explore the amazing history of the city that is easily accessible today to the one who takes the time to find it.
Graven introduces us to İstanbul’s glorious history as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire for over 1,000 years. The book says of itself, “From the awe-inspiring domed nave of Hagia Sophia to the majestic remains of the fifth-century Theodosian walls, from the exquisite mosaics of Chora Church to dungeons and underground cisterns, from Greek Orthodox churches to sacred springs, the ten walking routes in this book take visitors through every layer of İstanbul’s rich Byzantine past.”
The name Byzantines was invented by 19th century historians. The Byzantines themselves thought of themselves as Romans, citizens of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. At heart, though, they were Greeks, as they spoke this language, and its learning influenced the church and state. For example, they taught Platonic philosophy.
Some of the sites that van Graven takes us to are well known and open to the public: the Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome, Çemberlitaş (the Burnt Column), Yerebatan Sarayı (the Underground Cisterns), the Mosaic Museum, Galata Tower, Kariye (Chora Museum) and the walls of the city. Even with the advent of the Müze Kartı, which gives unlimited annual access to museums for a fixed price, the majority of residents of İstanbul have not visited all of these places.
But, even if you have visited them, you may well have missed some of the excellent detail included in this guide. For example, few of us exploring the Hippodrome have gone down a side street at its seeming end and crossed a school playground to see the drop down towards the shore, which was the old wall at the end of the Hippodrome enclosing the spectators’ area. Also it is rare to find a guide that explains the story of each of the frescos of the Chora Museum, including the gallery that shows the life of the Virgin Mary; even the museum doesn’t have this available.
Here is a quick overview of what is covered in each of the walks:
1: Where else could you start but with the Hagia Sophia? Constantinople was the biggest metropolis in the world, and the Hagia Sophia was one of the greatest buildings in the world. The Slavs who came here were so awestruck that “they knew not whether they were in heaven or on earth.”
2: Coming out of the Hagia Sophia you enter the political powerhouse of Constantinople. With the Hagia Sophia, the emperor’s palace and the Hippodrome in the vicinity, this was where the will of the emperor, God and the people could be heard.
3: In Cankurtaran “you find little bits of Byzantine history wherever you go,” whether this is the basement under a carpet shop or going up a few flights of stairs in a building to peer down at excavations that are hidden from sight at street level.
4: The “Mese” was the Byzantine Fifth Avenue, with smart shops and restaurants.
5: Around the Grand Bazaar life seems not to have changed for generations. Twelfth century resident John Tzetzes complained that “workers kept digging up the road so it was impossible for him to get in or out.”
6 &7: Take a walk and train ride around the sea walls. This section has been updated to include the amazing finds during the Marmaray project.
8: Later Byzantine palaces, churches and dungeons! This section contains a transition to the modern day with the Palace of Blachernae over which the Ottoman flag first flew when the city of Constantinople fell to Mehmet the Conqueror.
9: The old districts of Fener and Balat by the Golden Horn contain many treasures that are unknown to those of us who race past on the coast road. Turning aside you can explore such beauties as St. Mary of the Mongols, the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos (Fethiye Camii), the Church of St. Theodosia (Gül Camii) and the Church of the Pantokrator (Zeyrek Camii). Many of these sites have amazing significance relating to the Ottoman conquest of the city, for some of the fiercest fighting in 1453 was along this stretch of the walls. Gül Camii (Rose Mosque) in fact gets its name from this time. May 29 was St. Theodosia’s feast day. On the day the city was to fall, a large congregation gathered here to pray for deliverance from the hands of the Turks. The church was decorated with garlands of roses for the occasion, and when the Ottoman soldiers stormed in they found these still in place -– hence the Turkish name.
10: It is not just the old city that has Byzantine remains. Galata was called “Sycae” -- the fig orchard -- in Byzantine times, but apart from the tower it does have other buildings and remains. So, too, have various villages along the Bosporus -- for example, Kuruçeşme -- right up to the amazing Byzantine keep above the village of Anadolu Kavağı at the entrance to the Black Sea on the Asian side.
What if you can’t come to İstanbul to explore the back streets, push open gateways, walk down steps to see basement remains and lift up your head to gaze up at tall columns? Van den Graven recommends a fascinating Web site www.byzantium1200.com, which has reconstructions of what the city would have looked like in A.D. 1200. As well as general views of the city, this intriguing site contains pictures of what 66 different buildings would have looked like. Using this site in conjunction with the photos in van den Graven’s book gives you an amazing armchair tour of the old city.
“Byzantine Istanbul,” by Robert van den Graven, published by Çitlembik
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-206326-110-discovering-byzantine-traces-in-istanbul.html
