Merkel visits Istanbul’s historical peninsula
Always a crowded location, Tuesday was especially busy in Istanbul’s historical Sultanahmet neighborhood as German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited popular tourist sites in the area.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center left, speaks with Professor Mustafa Çağrıcı, second right, during her visit to the Blue Mosque. AP photo
Taking off her shoes, but not covering her head while visiting the Blue Mosque, Merkel was accompanied by muezzin Durmuş Akbulut, who also accompanied U.S. President Barack Obama and Pope Jean Paul II when they visited the site.
Merkel was in Istanbul on Tuesday after earlier meetings with Turkish political players in Ankara. Her visit to Istanbul’s historical peninsula drew a large crowd of domestic and foreign reporters.
Merkel also visited the Hagia Sophia Museum where she was accompanied by museum director Haluk Dursun, who was her guide to the building, which was built as a church in Byzantine times before becoming a mosque during the Ottoman Empire. In the 20th century, the building became museum.
“[Merkel is] a very curious visitor who frequently asked questions,” Dursun said in comments to the press after Merkel left.
According to Dursun, the dome of the building, the sultan’s library, calligraphy on the walls and the graves of five Ottoman sultans, together with their wives, interested Merkel the most.
Asked about Merkel’s uncovered hair following her visit to the nearby Blue Mosque, Akbulut said covering oneself is not mandatory during visits. “We tell the visitors that ‘this is a temple, the house of Allah.’ Those who feel it is necessary wear [a headscarf].”
Istanbul’s German school
Under strict security Merkel then visited the Private German High School in Beyoğlu, where she was joined by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay.
Her visit to the high school came after a debate with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the establishment of Turkish high schools in Germany for migrant Turks.
In preparation for the high school visit, police cordoned off the street in front of the building and checked the bags and identities of passersby. For the actual visit, only reporters from the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or TRT, and Anatolia news agency permitted inside.
The chancellor was greeted by a banner reading "Herzlich Willkommen-Hoş Geldiniz” (Welcome), along with the cheers of assembled students. Later, Merkel spoke with the students, gave autographs and posed for photographs with the pupils.
During the visit, Merkel asked the Turkish ministers how they perceived German schools in Turkey from their political points of view.
Davutoğlu responded, saying the German schools have a cultural function that strengthens the political ground between the two countries.
Svetoslava Vasileva, a grade 12 student, cited a lack of integration between the German and Turkish students when Merkel asked the students if they had any criticisms about the school.
Cüneyt Zapsu, a 1974 graduate, said there was no difference between German and Turkish classes during his time. However, he said, the eight years of Turkey’s mandatory schooling worked against German and French schools because language education only starts now in grade 9, as opposed to the previous grade 5.
Davutoğlu agreed with Zapsu, saying language classes in the grades 6, 7 and 8 could be added to the curriculum in the future pending legal adjustments.
Merkel, meanwhile, said, “It would be possible to change this system during the next reform, perhaps.”
After the school, Merkel visited the German Protestant Church at Beyoğlu Aynalıçeşmı where police enacted even stricter security measures, checking the identities of passersby and reporters via portable electronic devices.
The chancellor spoke to priest Holger Nollman and German Catholic Church priest Aloys Butzkamm for an hour in private before informally looking around the church along with Günay and the priests.
Nollman told Anatolia news agency that they discussed problems such as the dialogue between the German community and the local government, along with the lack of legal status for the church.
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.
Yedikule – City Walls of Istanbul
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
People from the world over love to throng to various famous sights and places in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. This is because this is one city which is home to not one or two but countless tourist destinations located within the province of one city. And no tourist can afford to miss visiting such a place.
The map of Istanbul is full of several historical gems hitherto unexplored by many of us. You can choose to travel by taxi to enjoy the beauties of Sultanahmet. As you pass by through the old city walls and lanes, you will witness the falling ruins of the old structures. Also, you will see many new establishments including houses, parks and businesses rising on the ruins of the falling structures.
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
Nonetheless, one thing is for sure, that you cannot fail to see the exotic blend of ancient era into the modern in the most perfect and natural manner. This is exactly true for the fortress of Yedikule, which is an amalgamation of Ottoman as well as Byzantine architecture. This is a monument of history that offers some stunning views of not only the city but also of the Marmara Sea as well.
Also known by the name of Seven Tower Castle, the famous complex of Yedikule was built way back in 388 to mark the celebrations of the win of Theodius I (379-395) over the ruler Magnus Maximus. This monument originally started as the Golden Gate. Made in the Roman style, Yedikule gate had a huge archway in the center with two small and plain arches on both sides.
Yedikule - City walls of Istanbul
Originally, the structure had decorations of sculptures including two winged victories and four bronze elephants. Also, it had beautiful gold plating. The gate of Yedikule was situated on the Via Egnatia, a common Roman roadway stretching from Constantinople right through the three provinces namely Thrace, Illyria and Macedonia.
The city walls were extended to include the famous Golden Gate after Theodosius II rose to power in 408. Until the year 1261, the Golden Gate remained to be used as a venue for important imperial ceremonies. It was only when Michael VIII Palaeologus came riding a white horse after winning Constantinople that this practice came to a halt. And the wall had to be closed after a series of defeats in fight during the last two centuries of the Byzantine Era.
After the city was conquered by the Ottomans, the gate was amalgamated and merged into the structure of Yedikule. Majority of the workforce required for erecting the fortress was provided by the military.
The construction details and related works were done under the observation of Karistiran Mustafa Bey. The name refers, no doubt, to a castle, but it was seldom used for as a residence by the royals. Rather, it was used extensively as the state prison and the royal treasury. Many foreign emissaries, after earning disfavor and wrath of the sultans, used to be incarnated at this place. And many knew that once they went inside the tine cells of this prison, they would not see the open air of the sky any more. So, in their desperation, several prisoners wrote their names or last words on the tiny and dark chambers of the prison.
It was a general trend or the practice to either behead the prisoners or to throw them from the top of its walls so as to let them suffer an agonizing and painful death. But, it was believed that those, who were beheaded, had to die a slow death. Also, many were subject to extreme torture even as the hands and ears of the prisoners were cut off before executing death sentence.
Just to the left of the main or the central gate lies the bloody well commonly referred as ‘kanlikuyu’. All the executions were performed near this well and the severed heads of the prisoners were thrown inside the bloody well that were eventually sweeped and taken away by the channel into the Marmara Sea. The channel was a connecting link between the open water and the well.
Yedikule, with its glorious history of honor, torture and death, happens to quite an important relic reminiscing of the past of Istanbul. However, the sad thing about most tourists from various parts of the world is that they, somehow, fail to realize the significance of this timeless monument that is, undoubtedly, beyond the confines of time. The small chambers as well as the too narrow corridors of the historical towers certainly give a feeling of foreboding even on a day full of bright sunshine.
The warm and inviting breezes coming from the famous Marmara Sea greet the visitors and offer the much sought after relief from the drag, dreary and horrific cells located just below. And as one sees all around, it is not uncommon to know and accept the reason why Yedikule had an important relation with the old walls of the city.
The visit to this grand fortress is certainly worth enjoying, especially when accompanied by your friends. the gatekeeper at the entry point to this fortress is all the more happy to see you coming for exploring this great monument. The reason being that this is one site, an interesting mixture of Ottoman and Byzantine history and architecture, which is rarely included in the list of the sites to be visited by the tourists visiting Istanbul.
