rebecca soble » cami

İznik

r · j · s — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:28:40 +0000

With serendipitously coinciding days off, Kimby and I wandered to İznik for the day. Some pics:

A mosque in iznik covered with the meşhur eponymous tiles. and lots of men outside – it’s friday and we’ve just heard the ezan.

İznik was historically a walled city, with the walls in a pentagon shape and four gates at the major NSEW directions. Remnants of the gates and the walls still remain. This is the Yenişehir Gate, to the South. The gates were built in the time period 69-81 AD (Roman age).

This is the Lefke Gate, to the East. The gates are named for the city that is reachable by following the road in that direction.

A closeup of the Lefke gate.

A long section of the wall still standing near the Lefke gate.

In the museum, a carved decoration from the Roman period. I’m sorry I forgot to get a closeup of the placard, but I remember the figure is Hercules.

Meşhur Manyas kavunu, 1ytl/kg. (that’s kinda expensive melon, but hey, apparently it’s famous.)

Near the Yenişehir gate, we met a farmer on a tractor and his wife in the wagon being pulled behind. When we waved hello, they stopped and offered us nectarines.

Kids near the Lefke gate, they really wanted to have their picture taken.

Travel instructions from Istanbul: Take the fast ferry to Yalova (embark at Bostancı, Kartal, Pendik or Yenikapı depending on your location and timing) – fare from Kartal was 5.50 using the akbil, 7ytl without. Travel time less than an hour depending on your starting point.

Disembark in Yalova and walk about 10 mins to the left to a bus area right across the street from the bazaar (active on Saturdays). Find the minibus to İznik near the back, 7.50 fare. During the center of the day (9am to 6pm), the minibusses go every hour at 10 past the hour and a couple more times outside those hours. Travel time less than an hour, get off at the final stop in the center of town. Total travel time (including some waiting for the minibus) is less than 3 hours. Same path in reverse to get home except you have to get on the minibus at the İznik otogar (bus station) a little way away from the center of town (easy to find with the map from the tourist information center, or by asking a local).

photos : istanbul

r · j · s — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:31:44 +0000

vegetable truckThe vegetable sellers come around in trucks, park for a while and move on. Sometimes there’s a bit of trouble with the “moving on” part, when the streets are so narrow.

morning sun

every now and then, it’s possible to get a picture of Istanbul that looks calm and clean. A rare moment.

rooftop viewThis is the view from the roof of a hostel I stayed at for a few weeks in April 2006, in Tunel. The view is looking south across the halıç (golden horn). Suleymaniye Camii (mosque) is in the left background. I’m guessing that’s Fatih Camii on the far right.

Topkapı SarayıTopkapı Palace as seen from the Istanbul Modern museum, across the mouth of the golden horn.

me at Istanbul ModernA rare decent photo of me, so put it in! Photo taken by Emrah. It was his first (and probably last) visit to the modern art museum.

jenney on stairsIstanbul is a very hilly city (it is called Seven Hills but I think there are lots more than that). In some areas, they solved the steepness problem by building lots of stairs. These stairs are on the most direct path from my apartment down to the Bosphorus (on a clearer day, you could tell that there’s water past that red roof). I climb these stairs a lot (yes, down AND up). This day, Jenney and I are going exploring together.

The wall China has a great wall, but so does Istanbul. It is a massive, several-mile-long wall built in a semicircle around the old city of Istanbul as a protective barrier. You can still walk the wall from one end to the other, and find it in various stages of disrepair and restoration.

the wall 2Unfortunately, you can also find lots of garbage. Turks haven’t picked up on the anti-litter idea yet.

gateA massive gate in the wall.

Fatih streetSome houses on the streets of a poorer section of Fatih (a district of Istanbul known for very conservative religious practice), right next to the wall.

Fatih CamiiFatih mosque, as seen from the top of the wall.

Bustly streetA street scene of Istanbul, with the setting sun shining on the hills behind. Just a pic to show that not everything in this city is old. It’s rather bustly.

photos : tokat

r · j · s — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 04:29:40 +0000

meydan & hamam

At a corner of the central square (meydan) in Tokat, typical traffic. The building with the two domes is a historical hamam, now a museum (but closed on mondays!).

tokat fruit stand

fruit stand, mosque minaret in the distance, tile roofs.

tokat back street

A typical street scene of Turkey: Laundry hanging on balconies, buildings made of stone and cement, stone streets. The metal cylinders on the rooftops are hot water tanks, usually heated with solar power.

cami (mosque)

Emrah posing at the fountain outside the mosque (cami). The tank is filled with water for worshippers to wash with before entering the mosque.

Gök Medrese

This Gök Medrese (a medrese is a theological school) was constructed as a medical school in the 13th centry during the reign of the Anatolian Selçuk Sultan Giyaseddin Keyhusrev III. Apparently it is two stories with an inside courtyard, but I couldn’t see inside because we went on a Monday when all historic muesum sites across Turkey are closed. This is a closeup of the stonework on the front door.

outside gök medrese

Outside the Gök Medrese is a partially excavated archaeological site, where they have brought in lots of random ancient pieces covering hundreds of years. I believe these are grave markers but from where and when I have no idea. In the middle is me.

photos : amasya

r · j · s — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 05:02:25 +0000

Amasya Mezarlık

Dug into the walls of the mountainsides are the final resting places for old Sultans.

Amasya

Along the river in Amasya are some nicely restored Ottoman-style houses, of course with a lovely little mosque tucked in between.

closeup

Ottoman-style house, with a waterwheel in the river below it.

Emrah taking in the scenery

Behind him there are stairs which lead directly into the center of town. When I visited this town I felt right away that this was a place I would be comfortable living, given the opportunity.

Amasya

Looking back the other way from the river, you can see some of the normal city bustle. You can also see mountains rising on the other side of the city. Amasya is beautifully tucked into a valley with mountains rising all around, it has a very cosy feeling because of it.

Amasya mosque

One of the mosques in Amasya, near a lovely rock face.

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