Off to Istanbul

The call to prayer became our call to driving. We headed out early for Istanbul. It was an easy drive- taking the ferry cut off about 100 km and the driving was generally easy except for the last few hours in Monday morning Istanbul rush hour traffic. We managed to make a few stops before heading to the hotel.

We stopped at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. The Patriarchate has been on the site since 1601 and it was hard to believe that this very simple church is (or was) the center of the entire Orthodox Church. They actually had a service in progress with the Patriarch, Demetrios – no parishioners, but the service went on.
Martin and Christine made it in about 12:00 and they were ready to go. We grabbed a taxi to Ortokoy and had lunch by the Bosphorus.

We spent a bit of time walking around Istanbul before stopping for drinks at the rooftop terrace at Rami, across from the Blue Mosque. We had an early dinner and sent the jet-lagged duo back to the hotel.

The hotel was spectacular. Set against the walls of Topkapi Palace, it’s a row of old 19th Century Ottoman houses that have been renovated and filled with antiques.

A day in Bursa

Our day to explore Bursa and we managed to see all the major sites. We started at the tombs of sultans Osman and Orhan, the founders of the Ottoman Empire. The tomb of Orhan Gazi was built on the foundations of a Byzantine Church (some of the mosaic floor is still visible).

We headed to the Muradiye Complex, dating from 1426. Since it was Memorial Day weekend in the States, it seemed appropriate to visit the tombs of some of Turkey’s great leaders. The complex has a series of 12 tombs dating from the 1400’s, including Sultan Murat II (1494-51). Since the Ottoman dynasty didn’t follow the practice of succession of the first-born, any son of a sultan could claim the throne upon his father’s death. So, the strongest son would have his brothers killed. Many of the tombs are filled with the brothers’ tombs. Sultan Murat II’s tomb has an opening to the sky so that the rain could wash his grave and his sarcophagus has no lid, following common Islamic tradition. Cem Turbesi, the youngest son of Mehmet the Conqueror has a mausoleum filled with Isnik tiles.

We stopped at the mosque of the complex and met our first muezzin (the folks that wake us up every morning at 4:15). He gave us a tour through the mosque. The locals were amazingly hospitable- and with virtually no tourists, we got the finest treatment.
Across the river was the Yildrim Beyazit Camii, the mosque of Beyazit I. Beyazit was brought down by Tamerlane, who defeated him and took him as prisoner at the Battle of Ankara in 1402.

Continuing our mosque/tomb tour, we went to the most beautiful of them, Yesil Cami (Green Mosque) and Yesil Turbe (Green Tomb). It houses the tomb of Mehmet I and his children.
Our final stop- the Emir Sultan Camii. This mosque/tomb is a favorite of Bursa’s pious Muslims and we saw a huge number of very traditionally dressed women and very emotional men surrounding the tomb.

Late lunch at Iskander’s Kebaps- a famous dish of Bursa. It’s basically lamb over pita bread, covered with tomato sauce, yogurt and butter. We topped off the lunch with another afternoon at the Jewish quarter restaurants for wine and beer

Bursa

From Cannukale, we headed to Bursa and (after much struggle) found our way to a hotel in Bursa. Driving in Bursa was a less than pleasant experience. After much frustration, I found a local cop who offered to show me the way to the hotel. Once he started backing down the main street of Bursa in his patrol car, I had to frantically tell him that John was waiting for me up the street and we finally got directions and found our way to the hotel.

Since it was Saturday, we did a quick walkthrough of the Koza and Emir Hans. They are old caravanserais, now serving as shops and restaurants/bars (no alcohol, only tea and soda). The Koza Han was built in 1490 and is lively with silk dealers. In the center of the courtyard is a small mosque constructed by Yildrim Beyazie in 1493.

We walked through the city and found a wonderful little street called Sakarya Caddesi. The street is lined with mehanes” (taverns/restaurants) serving wine, beer and fresh fish. The street was once the main street of Bursa’s Jewish Quarter. Decades ago, a man named Arup Sikru opened a fish restaurant and it was so popular and successful that his descendants have gone into the business and there are now multiple restaurants with his name. The food was spectacular- fresh fish, cleaned and boned in front of your eyes.

From Gallipoli to Cannukale

We had an early start to head to Gallipoli. We stopped in the town of Gallipoli and had lunch at a dockside restaurant (fresh fish). We found a guide at the national park museum who actually wrote the book on the battle. He was quite a character- full of stories and full of passion for Ataturk. The site was very moving- a memorial to Australians, New Zealanders and the Turks who lost their lives in the battle.

The trenches were still accessible- and it was horrifying to see how close the trenches of the two sides were…. Close enough that they often threw cigarettes and candy back and forth to each other.

Ataturk’s words are on the Australian memorial:

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…
You the mothers who sent their sons from far away, countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace after having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well”

After our tour, our guide directed us to the ferry to take us to Cannukale (pronounced “Channukale”) and helped us find a great hotel right on the water.

We had a great view and a room for only $25.00. John scoped out the waterside restaurants and found a wonderful place on the harbor. We had the best time trying to learn a little Turkish with the owner and his son. So far, we’ve been able to master “Thank you, cheese, white wine, numbers 1-4, “and”, fish, tomatoes, good and bread. Not bad for one night- especially after multiple beers and wine (plus a great fish dinner)

Exploring Edirne

Time to sleep in a bit… Breakfast was goat cheese, tomatoes, olives and bread. We did a mini walking tour around Edirne, seeing the Ali Pasa Arasta (covered street with shops), Mehmet Pasa Hamami (Turkish baths), Ucserefeli Cami (Mosque), Rustem Pasa’s Caravanserai (now a hotel), the Bedestan (built by Mehmet I).

We got to see the Eski Cami mosque (built by Beyazit I in 1411)>

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)
and the Selimiye Camii (built in 1569 by Sinan, the most famous Ottoman architect). It is a classical Ottoman mosque- and probably one of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. Outside the mosque was a shopping arcade- where we found our first “Ataturk” plate- we bought 2 of them (one with Ataturk, the other with Ataturk, Ali and Melavana).

We took the car and drove to a riverside (Emirgan Riverside Bar on the Meric Nehri River) restaurant for beers. Dinner back at the hotel

Off to Istanbul

On the road again…. Newark to Amsterdam. A North “Worst” experience. We’d been so spoiled by Singapore Airlines and the attention to detail (champagne, individual in-seat movies) that getting standard U.S. service with a bad American movie was disappointing. Since we couldn’t sleep, we watched “Enemy of the State” and got off the plane feeling like paste.
Amsterdam has the most consumer un-friendly airport in the world. There were no places to sit and nothing to do while you waited for your transit flight. We were lucky enough to meet a charming Turkish woman who was living in Atlanta. She offered suggestions and warnings about travel in Turkey. She said that when she talks to people in Atlanta, they don’t know where Turkey is!
Once we landed in Istanbul, it was an easy transfer from baggage claim to car rental. We got a brand new Ford Escort and headed off for Edirna. The drive was on a deserted superhighway and we made our way into Edirne and found a hotel (Sultan Otel) for $45 a night. We were so beat- and had dinner on their terrace restaurant (kofta with cheese)

Turkey Map and Route