Shopping and Sultans besides the Bosphorus
Istanbul happens to be the Capital of Culture for the year 2010. Hence, the city is a must to be visited and explored by any visitor. Taking a first visit in the city of Istanbul, we had decided to stay in the hotel the Ciragan Palace Kempinski, which is on the European shore of the river Bosphorus.
And the time of our visit to Istanbul was when Istanbul was holding its annual marathon. So, the traffic was quite hectic and traveling by cabs was proving to be a costly affair for us because the hotel where we were staying was at some distance away from the areas of sightseeing.
Nonetheless, our efforts( financially, too) proved their worth as we entered the delightfully colored and decorated images of the national flag, the celebrations joined by the elated football fans and the presence of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the republic of Turkey.
But, the enjoyment that we were experiencing was brought to a screeching half when the sudden brake of the cab by the driver compelled us to get down even though we were yet at a distance of hundred yards from our hotel. And to make things take even an ugly turn, the driver asked to be given another L40 for his fare since the 50 Lira note that we had handed over to him was just a five Lira note.
That was not the end of my journey on that fateful night. And the fact that I was completely alien with the local language complicated the matter for me. As if that was not enough, he wanted to have another note of 50 lira. Although, this rude and treacherous behavior of the cab driver made me notify the issue with the hotel authorities, however, I still did not went forward to lodge an official complaint with the police station.
Once back in our own country, the US, my partner Emma read about the 10 biggest blunders to be avoided while travelling. The feature which was published in the New York Times also mentioned the trick so peculiar with many, if not all, Istanbul cab drivers, who drop the L 50 handed over by the passenger under their feet and show a L5 to harass the traveler. With the mention of this trick also came an advice to report any such issue to the concerned authorities in Istanbul as they are aware of such happenings with the tourists in Istanbul.
However, barring such few incidents, there seems to be no solid reason for any traveler or tourist to put off his visit to Istanbul which is indeed one of the most fascinating destinations thriving with several historical monuments and shopping sprees to be enjoyed for. Istanbul is not just Western-friendly but also a Muslim-friendly city, and boasts of several great gems into its periphery including Ottoman palaces, Turkish hamams, shopping bazaars and its mosques which all join hands to make Istanbul a city to be explored by all visitors, at least once in their life-time.
With numerous ancient sights dotting its geographical map, the year 2010’s Capital of Culture is an international and fast city which boasts of modern shopping bazaars, big hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and art galleries. So, now you know the reason why Istanbul is a beautiful blend of history amalgamating with modernity.
The hotel (The Ciragan Palace)where I was staying during my visit to this modern and traditional city called Istanbul happens to be the one and only hotel on the European shore of the Bosphorus having a five-star rating. Indeed, with several gardens, shops, ballroom of its own and even helipads, the hotel deserves the rating it has been given. Staying in the master suite will cost you L 30,000 for each night (£12,300). However, if your pocket does not allow you to spend so lavishly, then you can go in for standard rooms which are also fitted with all the luxury amenities required.
The good thing about this hotel is that it’s located just next to a former harem which now functions as a high school. There are several buildings in Istanbul which have an interesting history to relate. For example, the Four Seasons hotel was once a notorious jail.
Talking about the journey in the cab the night when we were harassed by the cab driver, we found ourselves to be trapped in the marathon that engulfed and spread wide across the road. Hence, to fight our tiredness, we had our lunch at the Gazebo Lounge and the dinner at the Tugra restaurant. The Tugra restaurant provides some exotic views of the river Bosphorus although it provides only Ottoman cuisine. The waiters were always there making the whole visit a bit less relaxing.
However, it was only later that we came to know about the varied and some of the most glorious varieties of cuisines available in Istanbul, including the stand-up lunches offered by several street carts and other eating places. We were told that while in Istanbul, we could eat like the sultans and enjoy almost every variety among which never to be missed included hot figs and balik ekmet (fish in sandwich).
Istanbul’s history proves that it offers a wide variety of Indian cuisine for locals and tourists alike. The best Indian restaurant in the city of Sultanahmet happens to be Dubb. If you want to have the best tables, just climb up the stairs. However, a word of caution for heavy drinkers. Do not drink beyond your capacity or you may be at the risk of behaving in a sober manner. Candlelight dinner is to be enjoyed best when accompanied by gazing at the floodlit historical landmarks of Istanbul including Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque.
But, the fact is that the historical gems of Istanbul including the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya are no less magnificent even in the broad day light. Aya Sofya was first a church, then converted into a mosque and presently functions as a museum. You need to pay an entrance fee of L20 for making your way into the museum. And you will be spell cast by the imagery representing both the Muslim and the Christian religions together at the same time. This monument was built in the 16th century and represents beautiful mingling of twin cultures in the history of Istanbul.
The harmony factor prevalent in this building was proved by the people from various cultures and religions enjoying the beauty of this place. Some also ventured upstairs to enjoy the view from the gallery at the first floor. We also came across some women dressed traditionally who went towards the Weeping Column and could be seen pushing their hands towards it. As a famous legend has it, a St. Gregory (a miracle worker) appeared at the Weeping Column and since then, it is said that this column has curative properties.
Just a few steps away is the famous Topkapi Palace which has the distinction of having served as the political and spiritual hub of Turkey for several centuries. Amidst the crowd having a sun bath out in the sun, some cats too joined them to play in the manicured lawns of the palace. In Istanbul, cats enjoy a special place in the life of locals since they are considered to bring good fortune.
Topkapi Palace has so much to offer for a visitor that it can hardly be seen and enjoyed by any visitor in a single visit. So you must plan for your visit to this palace to at least be of two days to see a spree of courtyards and buildings waiting to be explored and enjoyed. While some are the domestic buildings of the Ottoman sultans like the bakeries or kitchens, others are state business buildings.
The not to be missed include the Topkapi Dagger, and the Spoonmaker’s Diamond which is the fifth biggest in the world. You will be delighted to find religious relics like the Saucepan of Abraham and the Footprint of Prophet Mohammed.
Hammam Rejuvenation – Istanbul’s Booming Spa Culture Is Revisiting Old Turkish Bathhouse Rituals
A 300-year-old Cagaloglu hammam on Istanbul's European side.
For centuries, pleasure combined with practicality in the hammams, or bathhouses, of Istanbul, where everyone from the humblest worker to the sultan himself regularly kept clean by indulging in the local tradition of a steam bath and professional body scrub. With the rise of modern bathrooms during the past 50 years, the tradition threatened to die out. Private bathing facilities replaced public hammams, and private hammams in the city's great houses became too expensive to maintain. Many of the city's most treasured hammam buildings, often important works of Ottoman architecture, have been converted into everything from cafes to warehouses.
Today, the hammam tradition is coming back in a new form, as the old rituals of steaming and scrubbing take pride of place in Istanbul's booming spa culture. Five-star hotels and upmarket health clubs automatically include strikingly designed hammam facilities in their spa complexes, and a new generation of Istanbul residents are reinterpreting the tradition to suit contemporary needs.
Classic hammams -- often attached to mosques, and built out of traditional white marble from Turkey's Marmara region -- developed an elaborate regimen, with every phase of gradual warming leading up to an intensive body scrub and a final soap massage. The center of a typical bathhouse was a domed room with a large heated stone slab, usually surrounded by cisterns of flowing water. Visitors would lounge on the hot stone, while keeping cool by pouring water over themselves, in preparation for the scrub. Although strictly divided by gender, Istanbul's hammams were also an alternative public space, where the city's vast array of religions, classes, and ethnicities mingled.
A washroom designed by architect Zeynep Fadillioglu features an antique stone kurna (basin) and a mirror from a traditional Turkish hammam.
The new designer hammams, in which the architect often playfully alludes to Ottoman decorative traditions, still offer the traditional scrub, but are refuges of privacy -- tiny by traditional standards, and usually reserved for one person or a couple. Some of the most popular of the new hammams are those in the four-year-old Hotel Les Ottomans, housed in a refurbished Bosphorus mansion; the Swissôtel The Bosphorus, which recently redesigned its hammam in a nontraditional style; and the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus, arguably the most luxurious, which opened in 2008.
Today's hammams are seen as "detox treatments," says Viviana Quesada, spa manager at the Four Seasons, who notes that the hammam method of heating and scrubbing now serves as a consummate spa treatment. "It's a whole experience," more complete than a mere sauna and a massage, she says. Ms. Quesada is quick to point out the difference between the rather rough centuries-old massage method, still on offer in Istanbul's surviving public baths, and what the Four Seasons provides in its 2,100 square meter spa. "Outside, the traditional massage is very strong, almost like hitting. Here our concept is more about pampering: long -- not deep -- strokes."
A hammam designed by Sinan Kafader for the Swissôtel The Bosphorus.
Ms. Quesada says that the Four Seasons hammam caters to Istanbul natives, who make up to three-quarters of the spa's customers in the off-season, as well as to the city's visitors. Foreigners, she notices, "are not used to being in a hot treatment for 45 minutes," the usual time for a completed scrub on the elaborate heated stone, while "the locals request even more steam."
A hammam at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus.
Another difference, she says, is the new mixing of genders. "Guests can choose male or female scrubbers," she says -- a dramatic contrast to traditional hammams, where the scrubbers and the scrubbed were always the same sex. Also, a man and a woman can now share a session. "We have a lot of couples requesting to be together," she says. "Even the local Turkish people."
The need to cater to both a Turkish and non-Turkish clientele led the spa's designer, Istanbul architect Sinan Kafadar, to combine a range of styles throughout the spa's spacious rooms. "There are Turkish figures and patterns, but they're hidden," he says, explaining that the spa's domed swimming pool contains a Byzantine-style mosaic. However, once you walk into the actual hammam room, he says, "it's completely Turkish."
Mr. Kafadar, who is the co-director of the Turkish-Italian firm Metex Design Group, also recently redesigned Istanbul's Swissotel spa by getting rid of recognizable Turkish elements in its hammam rooms. By dispensing with the space's traditional octagonal design and substituting a sleek modernist sink design, Mr. Kafadar, preserves the hammam's traditional functions but achieves a radically different, distinctly contemporary atmosphere.
A detail inside the hammam at the Four Seasons
Mr. Kafadar and his firm are responsible for many of the city's leading hammams, and are currently working on the spa and hammam for the spring re-opening of the Pera Palace, Istanbul's legendary belle-epoque hotel. However, he isn't an enthusiastic hammam-goer, limiting himself to a few visits a year. "I like it," he says, "but not regularly."
The same cannot be said of architect Zeynep Fadillioglu, another leading Istanbul hammam designer, who grew up in a yali, or Bosphorus mansion, on Istanbul's European shore, where her family maintained a private hammam. Now a regular customer at the spa and hammam at the Hotel Les Ottomans, which she designed, she describes the whole process as a "a body facial."
"In my childhood, hammams were part of daily life," she says, speaking in the office of her Istanbul firm, ZF Design. "It was the way we cleaned ourselves."
"The main idea is that the middle stone has to be hot," she says, noting that the private hammams often were heated with wood and required monitoring by a vigilant staff of servants. "The hot atmosphere makes you mildly relaxed, so you are ready for the scrub."
Ms. Fadillioglu, now 54 years old, says that good scrubbers are as sought after as good hairdressers, and that, in the Istanbul of her youth, an exfoliated look was a sign of prestige. "The ladies all used to have pink skin," she says.
Ms. Fadillioglu also designs new domestic hammams for a select group of private clients, in which she makes modifications that reflect the tremendous cost and bother of maintaining the heated room. The hammams she now designs, she says, are "mostly with a twist," describing one hammam that features heatable marble benches rather than a more traditional, more cumbersome central stone.
Ms. Fadillioglu, who helped revive the eclectic Ottoman style in the 1990s, also uses traditional hammam interiors as an inspiration for bathroom design, as well as design details elsewhere in the home. She uses hammam-style bathroom sinks, in both antique and newly produced versions, in many commissions, and is especially fond of pestemals, the traditional wraps used instead of bathrobes. "The old ones are fantastic," she says, and she regularly looks for antique hammam textiles, which can be made of either silk or cotton, in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. "I use them for cushions," she says.
A twist on traditional hammam culture is also behind the success of Jayda Uras, a Welsh-Turkish aroma therapist who opened her own apothecary shop, Vie en Rose, in Istanbul's hip Cihangir district two years ago. "We work like a bakery," she says, of her business, which features products like organic Turkish-coffee-and-rose facial scrub and custom-mixed herbal honeys, all made on site. Ms. Uras, a trained architect, currently works closely with hammams in Bursa, a three-hour drive from Istanbul and home to some of Turkey's best hot springs, and an eco-resort in Bodrum in southern Turkey. Both complexes use her products in conjunction with hammam treatments. "Because of the way essential oils work," she says, it's "important to use a heated environment" for the oils to penetrate the skin.
Istanbul's spa-like hammams have spread their influence to more traditional hammam settings, says Mary Senyuz, an American-born Istanbul resident and avid hammam-goer. Ms. Senyuz, an English teacher, regularly goes to a 300-year-old hammam, located on the city's Asian side, which is still connected to a mosque. Marked by an atmosphere that she calls "faded elegance" her local hammam costs her no more than 58 lira (€28), about a quarter of what visitors pay at the Four Seasons.
"It's set up very traditionally," she says, laughing out loud at the suggestion that there might be male scrubbers working on days when the bathhouse is reserved for women. But lately, she has noticed a change. Hammam-going, she says, has become "the healthy thing to do among a lot of the younger generation who have never been to a hammam before." She says that her local hammam began to offer oil massages about a year ago -- something she had never seen before in her decades of hammam-going; she chalks this up to the influence of the upscale hotel hammam-spas.
The cumulative effect of monthly exfoliation treatments has kept her skin remarkably soft, she says: "My skin is used to the hammam. Once you start going regularly, then you kind of need to go. You're trapped."
1600 year old Harbor of Theodosius in Istanbul
The Harbor of Theodosius in Istanbul dates back to the period of 4th century A.D. It was unearthed in Yenikapi in Istanbul. Various works of excavation in Yenikapi, Sirkeci and Uskudar count among the splendor remains of archaeology belonging to the periods ranging from Ottoman, Roman, Byzantine, Ancient Greek and Neolithic times.
Istanbul, which happens to be capital of these two empires for several centuries has been successfully preserving its importance in all the periods of history till now. Travelers from the world over have been inspired by the majestic beauty of the districts of Pera and Galata, the Golden Horn, the Virgin’s Tower and its grand mosques atop the seven hills. However, as of now, the city is facing the problem of transportation which originated way back in the 19th century and persists even today. The problem was meant to be solved by the construction of rail link projects namely Marmaray and the Metro. These two projects by the Department of Transportation will help in making a rail link between Asian and the European continents through a tunnel beneath the Bosphorus.
In the year 2004, the Istanbul Archaeological Museums undertook the work of archaeological excavations around the terminals before proceeding with the digging work for the Marmaray and the Metro construction. These excavations which are being carried out by the efforts of dig teams have unearthed several cultural treasures of historical importance for Istanbul.
The Harbor of Theodosius, which is regarded to be the most prominent harbor of the Byzantine era, is the result of these archaeological excavations. This harbor was unearthed in Yenikapi (‘Vlanga’ in the Ottoman times). The district of Yenikapi was known to be the fruit and vegetable garden of Istanbul. it has also become known by reading the notes of the travelers visiting Istanbul during the mid-16th century that the Harbor of Theodosius, built during the 4th century and used till 7th century was used as a truck garden after it silted up and became a part of the mainland.
Excavations undertaken at Yenikapi
Although the location of this harbor of Istanbul, namely, the Theodosius’ harbor was known from the maps in the ancient times, however, there was no knowledge about its exact size, position and the layout of this harbor which played an important role in the economy of the Byzantine period.
Founded on the crossroads between the Balkans and Anatolia and the pathway extending from the Aegean right up to the Black Sea, Byzantion’s location was a great contributor to the development of the city, so mush so that it dominated various commercial routes.
To meet the growing needs of the expanding capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Theodosius I commissioned the construction of the Theodosius Harbor between 379-395 A.D. so, a breakwater extending from east to west along the south way of a natural bay was built for creating this harbor. And a large tower that stood at the far end for keeping a guard on the entrance of the harbor was among several other structures and silos for keeping the grain brought by big ships from Alexandria and neighboring ports that stood around the harbor. Sources claim that the Alexandria silo was the only silo of the city that was in wide use during the 10th century when this harbor silted up.
During the archaeological excavation undertaken in the harbor, 34 ships were excavated out of which 21 were in the Metro while 13 were in the Marmaray excavations. Once again, this harbor silted up from the alluvion brought by the waters of the Lycos (Bayrampasa) River which emptied in the natural bay. Apart from the alluvion, the built of enormous silt was also the result of the construction and farming carried out in the city.
From the excavations, it came to the notice that the majority of the shipwrecks in the Theodosius Harbor are at the eastern side nearing the entrance of the harbor. While the harbor was thought to have been silted up from the western end towards the east, the eastern end continued to be in wide use till a natural calamity that took place in the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century rendered extensive damage to the ships there.
The YK 1 ship that carried amphorae from the Marmara Island and was anchored here was claimed by the excavations to have been sunk. The YK 12 was another shipwreck that was found in the excavations in the area of the harbor. Several fragments of amphorae along with 16 intact amphorae were found on this YK 12. Although, at present, the exact cause of the disaster that struck these ships cannot be found, however, the assumption is some natural disaster or tragedy including tsunami or a storm might be the possible reason behind the cause of the disaster to these ships.
The history of Istanbul has got some very crucial data from the architectural remains recovered to the western side of the Yenikapi excavation area in the work being carried out in the 3rd and 2nd Zone towards the east. A quay consisting of stone blocks of rectangular shape has been found at the western edge within the breakwater.
The excavations in the Metro area uncovered a church building that was believed to be built in the 13th century A.D. when large amount of silt was piling up in the harbor. And around this church building were found twenty-three graves. The excavations also unearthed a gold coin belonging to the time of Justinian the Great (527-565 A.D.).
In the Yenikapi excavations being carried out under the Marmaray and Metro Project, nearly 25,000 artifacts have been unearthed so far. And the most distinguishing factor or such findings happens to be the vital information provided by them regarding day-to-day life, economy, trade, culture and religious aspects of the period to which they belong. Some of the findings uncovered during the excavations include hawsers of the sunken ships, inscribed image of a ship on an amphora that belongs to the 10th century, iron and stone anchors and baked clay tablets with names, place of origin of the owners of the ship inscribed on them. All such findings also provide important information regarding the types of ships and the shipping during the period.
Apart from the above named findings, there are nearly 2,500 items made of wood including combs, different varieties of spoons, bath clogs etc. that have been found by the excavation work. Also, a Christ figure, tools of bone and ivory, a bronze balance, bronze weights, lead tablets and a scale weight in the form of Athena’s bust throw light on the lifestyle of the period they belong.
Archaeological excavations in Sirkeci
Under the Marmaray Project, the archaeological works being carried out in the eastern and the western shafts and in the south and the north entrance areas of the Rail Station in Sirkeci provide an excellent opportunity for knowing the stratigraphy of the city of Istanbul. In such excavation works, several structural remains that belong to the period ranging from the Early Byzantine to the Byzantine and even the Late Ottoman times along with a considerable number of small items and pottery have been found. These relate important details about the different aspects of the life of these periods.
Archaeological excavations in Uskudar Square
As part of the Marmaray project, a large number of archaeological excavations were undertaken from the year 2004 which continued till the year 2008. These excavations conducted in the Uskudar Square found the remains of the foundation of a bazaar whose existence was although known from a number of other sources but was unable to have been unearthed so far. And to unearth the foundation of this bazaar, the workers involved in the excavation work had to drill up quite deep up to nearly 7 meters. The archaeological remains was found deep in the fill dirt. In the excavations, there were no traces or archaeological remains belonging to the Roman period or the earlier periods. But, the excavations uncovered a huge amount of pottery, along with coins, oil-lamps, stamp seals that dated back to the different periods ranging from the Roman period to the Late Roman period and the Byzantine period.
