Dust on My Feet: Overland to London

Towers on the 9th century walls of ancient Constantinople

Day 51 Tue 15 July KAVALA – ISTANBUL

Departure time: 8 am Tach reading: 131,190 Distance run: 453 kms

Today we continue along the Aegean Coast to the Turkish border, passing through the towns of Xanthi, Komotini and Alexandroupolis. We should reach the border, on the Evros River, around 12.30 and I don’t envisage any sort of hold-up here. From the the border it is about another 3½ hours drive on better roads, to Istanbul.

The Evros River which marks the border between Greece & Turkey

Turkey is a country caught between East and West, both geographically and culturally. It has an area of 780,000 sq.kms, 3% of which is in Europe, 97% in Asia. The Asian section is known as Anatolia, or Asia Minor and is geologically unique due to the contused and twisted sub-surface strata which makes accurate seismic testing for oil virtually impossible. The European 3% is known as Thrace and includes the cities of Istanbul (Constantinople) and Edirne (Adrianople). Population of Turkey is around 44 million (1980) - 85 million in 2021!

For the next three nights we will be staying in the BP Mocamp around 20kms from Istanbul.

Pax Comments: A nurse, a nurse was fair Pauline All the guides to see their eyes gleam Hitch of a skirt, wink of an eye Had all the locals ready, willing to try!

Day 52 Wed 16 July ISTANBUL

Departure time: 8.30 am Tach reading: 131,643 Distance (over 2 days) 203 kms

This morning we drive into the old city of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, formerly Byzantium, founded by the Greek leader Byzas the Megarian in the 7^th century BC. The old city is that part enclosed by the Great Walls of Theodosius II (AD 408-50), since restored and rebuilt by subsequent invaders. The walls are 19½ kms in extent, and 6½ kms from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Marmara.

The former Venetian suburb of Galata, across the Golden Horn, Istanbul

This ideal site, between the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, was first settled by Greek settlers from Megara, led by Byzas around 660 BC initially as a trading outpost. It was briefly occupied by the Persians before becoming part of the Athenian league. Long allied with Roman, Byzantium became part of the Roman Empire in 73 AD. Byzantium's rise to prominence occurred after Constantine the Great became emperor of the Roman Empire, having emerged victorious in the civil wars in 324 which followed the death of his father. Shortly after, Constantine began a re-building programme and the city was named Nova Roma, but most called it Constantinople. In 330 it became the capital of the Roman Empire and became a centre for Greek culture and Christianity. The city flourished with a number of churches, including Hagia Sofia, being built. Constantinople began to decline in the 11th century and in 1204, the 4th Crusade was diverted from Egypt and the city was pillaged. A Latin Empire was established which lasted until 1261 and Hagia Sofia was a Catholic Church during this period. Constantinople never recovered and on 29 May 1453, after an 8-week siege, fell to the Ottoman Turks of Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror, who immediately proclaimed the city to be the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.

At the Hippodrome, now Sultanahmet Square, once the chariot track of ancient Constantinople, we will meet our guide, Ali, who will take us on a walking tour of the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet), Hagia Sofia (Aya Sofya) and the Topkapı Palace, and later in the afternoon, will take you up to the Grand Bazaar. Ali will first explain the importance of the monuments that once stood inside the Hippodrome. Perhaps the most distinctive is the Obelisk of Theodosius, which once stood in the Temple at Karnak where it had been erected by the 18th Dynasty Egyptian Pharoah Thutmose III (mid 15th century BC) and was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius I in the late 4th century AD. On the marble pedestal at the base of the obelisk we can see a relief of Theodosius I and his court. Also in the spina or central line of the Hippodrome is a twisted copper column known today as the Serpent Column, or Delphi Tripod. This was originally surmounted by three serpent heads which supported a cauldron, one of which remains in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. This orginally stood in the Sancutary of Apollo in Delphi and was moved to Constantinople by Constantine the Great. The third column is known as the Walled Obelisk and was believed to have been built to provide a visual balance with the Obelisk of Theodosius at the opposite end of the Hippodrome. It was restored and covered with plates of gilt bronze, now missing, by the 10th century Emperor Constantine VII.

Monuments of the Hippodrome: Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius & base; the Serpent column,section of the sacrificial tripod from Delphi & the Walled Obelisk

The Sultan Ahmet, or Blue Mosque, was built between 1609 & 1616 and became the Imperial mosque of the Ottoman Empire. The Mosque has 5 main domes, 6 minarets and 8 secondary domes and is said to have rivaled the Great Mosque in Mecca. It is unique in that it has 6 minarets – which equalled the number in Mecca. When the Imams protested, Sultan Ahmed I decided that as Mecca was also in the Ottoman Empire, he would add another minaret to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which now has 7, thus solving the problem! The tile-working of the interior of the Blue Mosque is something to be seen.

Sultanahmet, or the Blue Mosque of Istanbul

Beautiful interior tilework at the Blue Mosque

The Cathedral of Hagia Sofia has always been regarded as one of the architectural wonders of the world. It was built on the orders of Emperor Justinian in the 6^th century on the site of two earlier churches dating back to the time of Constantine in 4^th century. The architects were Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles and it took 10,000 men 5 years to build and was dedicated in 537. In 558 the main dome completely collapsed in an earthquake and it was subsequently realised that the original dome had been built far too flat. Isidore the younger, nephew of Isidore of Miletus, was called in by Emperor Justinian. This time lighter materials were used and a ribbed dome, elevated by around 6.5 metres, was erected. Justinian also ordered 8 massive Corinthian columns to be brought from Baalbek in Lebanon as additional support. The Cathedral was re-consecrated in 562. For over 900 years Hagia Sophia was the centre of Greek Orthodoxy. In 1453, Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks, and the Cathedral, with the addition of minarets, became the first Imperial mosque of the Ottomans.

In 1935, after the establishment of the Turkish Republic by Kemal Atatürk, this great Cathedral-cum-Mosque became a museum, and work began on the uncovering of the spectacular Byzantine mosaics which had been plastered over during the Ottoman rule. It is now interesting to note that under the stricter Islamic rule of the current President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, Hagia Sofia once more became a Mosque in 2020.

Hagia Sofia, the former great Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom, Constantinople

Hagia Sofia: the Imperial Entrance; domes & semi-domes; marble libation urn

The Comnenus mosaic in Hagia Sofia

No far from Hagia Sofia is the 6th century Yerebatan, or Basilica, Cistern which was the largest of the fresh water cisterns which originally supplied Constantinople with freshwater. This cistern gained fame in the 1960s when it featured in the early James Bond movie From Russia With Love. You may wish to have lunch at the nearby Pudding Shop, which came into prominence as a meeting point during the days of the Hippy Trail.

The 6th century Yerebatan or Basilca Cistern

This afternoon we visit Topkapı Palace, which was the Seraglio of the Ottoman Sultans, and was built on a peninsula between the Bosporus and the Golden Horn, now known as Seraglio Point. Besides being the main residence of the Sultans, it was also the main administrative headquarters of the Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries. The main harem of the Ottoman sultans was here at Topkapı and became notorious for the Palace intrigues among the various wives and concubines of the sultans over who should succeed the then ruling incumbent. The Imperial Treasury in Topkapı boasts some amazing riches including emeralds as big as bricks and a diamond (Spoonmakers) as big as a golf ball.

The Baghdad Kiosk, Topkapı

Here is the famous Topkapı dagger (subject of a 1964 film starring Peter Ustinov, Robert Morley & Melina Mercouri, who later became the Greek Minister of Culture) and two solid gold candelabras, each encrusted with 6,666 diamonds. One bizarre exhibit is a golden reliquary which is said to contain the arm of St John the Baptist, remains of bones and sinews being visible through an opening. At Topkapı then are also Museums of porcelain, calligraphy and costumes.

The Audience Hall in Topkapı Palace

The architectural decorations in the various palaces and kiosks of Topkapı, including the Harem, the Audience Hall, the Circumcision Room, the Baghdad kiosk and the Ottoman kitchens make it well-worth spending extra time on tomorrow's free day.

I will be trying to obtain Syrian visas here today – if not, I may have to go on ahead to Ankara by local bus this evening.

Mosques of Istanbul. Valide Mosque; Kariye Mosque (formerly Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Saviour; Yeni Camii, or New Mosque; Ortaköy Mosque

Day 53 Thu 17 July ISTANBUL

Backgammon boards on sale in the
Spice Bazaar.

A free day in ‘Ole Stamboul’. Time to explore the bazaars, or maybe take a boat trip down the Bosporus. I can’t write much today as I’m not here, but filling out, in a Lokanta near the Syrian Embassy in Ankara, 32 forms – in triplicate without carbon paper – for Syrian visas, & being very innovative, making up father's names for the forms - God knows why!! Who said that the Indians were the only true bureaucrats left in the World?