Grand Bazaar – A Day in Turkey
Our Turkish travels continued through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı, “Covered Bazaar”; also Büyük Çarşı, “Grand Bazaar”).
We have been reading Strolling Through Istanbul by Hilary Sumner-Boyd & John Freely, a good book for background, but too dense for a walking tour guide on a first visit. The book cites an 1880 survey of the Bazaar recording 4,399 shops, 2,195 ateliers, 497 stalls, 12 storehouses, 18 fountains, 12 small mosques, a larger mosque, a primary school, and a türbe (tomb). The maze-like Bazaar is much the same same today, with restaurants, tea houses, banks, toilets and a tourist information center added for modern conveniences.
We spoke with Mohammed M., a jeweler from Aleppo, Syria. M. fled to Istanbul with his family 7 months ago, taking the inventory from his two stores in the Aleppo Souk al-Madina. The world’s largest covered market and an UNESCO world heritage site, this Souk was recently engulfed by a fire in the current conflict. M. hopes the stone structures still stands and that the Souk can be rebuilt. S. will be enjoying some silver earrings and a necklace from M.’s shop…
Another jeweler from Istanbul mentioned the recent video from America crudely defaming Islam and the Prophet. With halting English, we quickly established haraket meant insult. I tried to convey that there are 330,000,000 people in the US, and only 5-50 people produced and uploaded that disgusting film. The level of debate and discussion has generally sunk to a very low level, and hate speech like this film only debases dialogue further, as does violent protests, terrorism and murder.
Istanbul Universitesi is outside the Great Bazaar walking towards the Golden Horn, adjacent to Beyazit Square. Founded in 1453, the precursor schools were the University of Constantinople and the Pandidakterion founded in 425. Depending upon the international ranking service, Istanbul Universitesi is either the top or second ranked university in Turkey and ranked about 400th internationally. The school colors are green and gold, but the mascot is unknown.
Süleymaniye Mosque (or Camii) commands the view of the Third Hill behind Istanbul University. Completed in 1558 by Sultan Süleyman (“Süleyman the Magnificent” in the West and “Süleyman the Lawgiver” within the Ottoman Empire), Mimar Sidan was the very talented and prolific architect and builder.
Hagia Sofia, Istanbul
As with most of the prominent mosques in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque is largely based on the Hagia Sofia completed by Emperor Constantine in 537 AD and which represents the height of Byzantine architecture. Using the three dome approach of Hagia Sofia with the large central dome, Mimar Sidan incorporated the buttresses for three walls within the walls, providing a cleaner appearance inside and out. 
(Sidan also oversaw one of the many restorations of Hagia Sofia, and built the ornate tomb next to it for Sultan Selim II, the first of several tombs).
The sunset views over the mosque’s ancillary buildings of the Beyoğlu district cityscape across the Golden Horn sweeps from the Bosphorus across the Galata/Karaköy, Tophane, Cihangir and Şişhane neighborhoods known to readers of The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. 
The Genoese Galata Tower
A wonderful day…
seoulsessions 