Blogger, Grace Bramer
Good morning campers!!
Today was filled with presentations and transportation adventures.
The highlights:
- Kariye Camii with a presentation by Jemma.
- Park with a view of the Land Walls of Constantinople and a presentation by Kacie
- Lunch and shopping with scrumptious ice cream
- The Basilica Cistern with a presentation by yours truly (Grace)
- The Blue Mosque
The Morning
Dear reader, how deeply I regret not taking a picture of my breakfast this morning. It was a masterpiece. My plate was full of menemen (a scrambled egg dish), chicken nuggets (served every morning), cherries, toast with apricot jam and cucumber.
The plan for today was to take a ferry to get to our morning sites. So after breakfast, we got on a tram that would take us to the dock. The first boarding area we arrived at was the wrong one so we crossed under the streets through an underground market to the other side, where we learned that there was no ferry. We persevered though and found a bus station that would take us to where we needed to go.
Kariye Camii
A short walk from the bus station and down a large hill led us to Kariye Camii. It was a residential neighborhood, and was much quieter compared to the streets of a more central Istanbul.
When I first walked in the building, I was struck by how vibrant and in-tact the mosaics on the ceiling were. They shined with gold and I could make out the narratives they displayed. So many of the mosaics in other mosques or churches that we have seen show their age through lacklustre tiles and are patchy, barely alluding to what they used to be; sometimes almost invisible to the untrained eye and surviving in arches.
The frescos in the outer narthex were also still visible. To me, the most striking was the “Descent into Hell” at the end of the hall.
Jemma’s presentation touched on the history of the building and some of the narratives visible in the frescos and mosaics.
Jemma Presenting outside Kariye Camii
Mosaic of Christ and the Apostles inside Kariye Camii
Stray cat outside Kariye Camii
Mosaics on ceiling in Kariye Camii
The Land Walls of Constantinople
A short walk from the last presentation (and back up the large hill) brought us to the park where Kacie presented. We learned about the fortifications that protected Constantinople on land, as opposed to defensive sea walls which we have seen a few examples of.
The walls were originally built in the fourth century during the Byzantine period and they were expanded throughout their life of use. We learned that there were rooms within the walls that contained frescos of Saints related to protection.
One of Kacie’s discussion questions asked about connections between old and modern interpretations of borders, which was very interesting.
The Land Walls and a Basketball Court
The Land WallsLunch!!
For lunch we walked towards what seemed to be a hub of activity. The group settled on a dürüm place to appease the hunger of the day. I ordered an urfa dürüm, which is lamb. I usually order chicken but was excited when my food came and it was delicious. Urfa is a type of seasoning often with flavors of a sun-dried Turkish pepper with underlying sweet tones of raisins and chocolate.
After lunch, we did some souvenir shopping. There was much time spent at a sunglasses stand. We also found an ice cream shop where I ordered chocolate orange. It was so good I ordered seconds.
After the chill afternoon break, we were back on our Medieval Mediterranean Cities class grind. We got on a bus that took us to the tram station, which was maybe one of the most crowded places I have ever been. We were uncomfortably packed on to the tram like sardines. It was hot, loud and personal space was nonexistent. We preserved though, and got to our destination.
Luncg
Gabby trying on glasses
Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern was the last stop of the day. It was also the last student presentation location which was presented by yours truly (me!).
The Cistern was built for water storage during the Byzantine period but was abandoned under Ottoman rule. It is a huge underground storage room that is as big as a warehouse. It is supported by columns that were taken from other sites during construction, this results in nearly each of the 336 columns being unique.
A column that looks like a trunk of a tree covered in knots is one of the most famous. There were also two statue heads of Medusa that supported some columns near the back of the cistern.
Interior of the Basilica Cistern
Medusa column
The Rest of the Evening
We went to the Blue Mosque as a class, something we have been trying to make time for since the first day in Istanbul. It was gorgeous inside, with ornate ceiling decoration and stained glass.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped for some corn and roasted chestnuts from the stands that are all over the city. It was a tasty snack!
I ended my day by playing a card game with Sophie, Ana and Gabby.
Goodnight!