On our sixth day in Istanbul we visited two Byzantium churches. One as tourists, the other as visitors. Had to go West to reach the Chora, outside the old city’s first wall. Quite an adventure getting to their. We were all set to take the ferry to Ayvansaray as recommended by Lonely Planet only to find the service no longer running. May be temporary while renovations to the public park surrounding the ferry station underway. Left high and dry Joe engaged in negotiations with a chap on the wharf.
We were ushered to a very small taxi boat and told to wait and our man disappeared to get someone to take us to our destination for a bargain price of a hundred Turkish Lira. Nice sitting on the water. A slightly bigger brown boat pulled up alongside and unloaded some people. There was a discussion between some men on the wharf (not including our original man) and we were ushered on to the brown boat.
More discussion and we were invited to go back to the blue boat. More discussion (not involving us and still no sign of our man). Some other people got into the brown boat. Then we were ushered back on. And off we went. I had the vague feeling our custom had been kidnapped but who cared we were off. Travelling up the Golden Horn. Lots of different views of the city. We saw a sea-plane land – we all gasped as it looked like hitting the bridge.
The first passengers disembarked a bit up further along – charged five lira each. We were safely deposited at Ayvansaray and charged ten lira – half our previously negotiated price! All good.
We then set off on a long trek around the old wall only to realise we were going away from the church not towards it.
Assisted with directions – people are very helpful here, we realised we had to go directly up the hill from where we left the water. It was a long climb but past beautiful old houses
and some interesting graffiti
and people going about their work. We went past a little boy sitting at a ground level window with his arms and legs stuck out of the bars, little girls at the same level who shyly said Hello as we passed. Eleanor leading us. She sent a couple of cheeky kids who wanted money to guide us packing – seasoned traveller!
We went a little too far, seduced by the roof of a mosque. A man there directed us back, said he would walk us there after prayers if we waited. We went on and an old man walked with us part of the way and gave us directions when he turned into his house. So nice. We eventually got to the church but we were pretty hot and bothered so we decided to have lunch before visiting. Good plan! At the Asitane Restaurant which is attached to a hotel nearby. Modern and very delightful setting. Al fresco. Dishes were traditional Ottoman. The mezzes were very dry. My quail in aubergine was delicious. Joe had mackerel and Eleanor meat cooked in melon.
It was a lovely meal. Joe and I had a glass of white wine recommended by the waiter which was also nice. So on into the church.
Pretty building Harks back to the sixth century.
The frescos and mosaics within are from the 1300s and are beautiful still so vibrant and full of colour. The frescos are the first thing you see inside the door. Their age is apparent. But the images are so familiar!
Then you come to the mosaics which are nothing short of spectacular. I am running out of superlatives which means I must stop and let the pictures tell the story. You can see the richness of the colour in the close ups of the tiles.
The building was used for a mosque in the past because it is called a camii which is Turkish for mosque and it also had a mihrab pointing to Mecca and some Islamic looking frescos.
But the Christian iconography had been kept – not plastered over as in the Hagia Sofia. Thank goodness. Most are incomplete to varying degrees but some are exactly as they were when first created. The images were all familiar. Worth the long walk up in the boiling sun! We took taxis home – a man hailed them for us and was surprised when we tipped him for doing so. Nice people.
Our visit to the second Byzantium church occurred later in the evening. We got dressed in our Sunday best and trammed it back to Sultanahmet. Our destination was the Aya Ireni which is just inside the gate of the Topkapi Palace. We actually went one stop further than usual, thinking it would be quicker, which it was. But it meant we had to walk through a park that was very dark. Coming towards a gate into the palace grounds we could see the silhouette of the soldier guard with his rifle hanging loosely. Unsettling. Concerti?, he asked us, and waved us through.
And there we were, mingling with Istanbul’s musical glitterati on the lawns outside Aya Ireni. There was a television OB (outside broadcast) there – all lights and cameras and people being interviewed. We were there for the finals of the Leyla Gencer Voice Competition. Leyla was a famous Istanbul soprano in the 1950s.
This had been going on some months in different places around the world. An international Australian Idol for Opera singers. There were nine finalists; two men and seven women. All young. All great. The venue, our second Byzantium church of the day, was wonderful. Unlike the first almost completely without adornment. A single, austere black cross inside the cupola was all there was. But a beautiful space. Big dome, columns either side. It was used as a storage space – stables, armoury – for centuries after being built in the sixth. It was very hot during the concert. About four hundred people there seated on wooden chairs. Could have held more. Here was our concert programme.
We seemed to be the only tourists there although families and friends of the contestants were from all over the world. Only one with a half English background – Jessica Rose Cambio (Italy/USA). We got to vote for the audience favourite. The winner of that was the overall winner as well – Fatma Said from Egypt. She was beautiful, dressed in a spectacular red dress as well as being a fantastic singer. Second prize winner was from Brazil – Ludmilla Bauerfeldt. Jessica came third. We really liked, and voted for, the Romanian, Irina Ioana Baiant. She looked amazing, like a Greek statue, and sang a wonderful modern song by Erich Korngold. We also liked the tenor, Medte Chotabayev from Kazakhstan. He gave his Tosca excerpt everything he had. The other bloke was Turkish and got a rousing reception from the crowd – Caner Akgun. He looked like a body builder but had a great baritone voice. A great night had by all!
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