Sunday 29 March 2015

I'm Listening to Istanbul, Poem Written by Orhan Veli Kanik, Translated by Talat Sait Halman

I'm Listening to Istanbul

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed;

At first there blows a gentle breeze
And the leaves on the trees
Softly flutter or sway;
Out there, far away,
The bells of water carriers incessantly ring;
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed;
Then suddenly birds fly by,
Flocks of birds, high up, in a hue and cry
While nets are drawn in the fishing grounds
And a woman’s feet begin to dabble in the water.
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.
The Grand Bazaar is serene and cool,
A hubbub at the hub of the market,
Mosque yards are brimful of pigeons,
At the docks while hammers bang and clang
Spring winds bear the smell of sweat;
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.
Still giddy since bygone bacchanals,
A seaside mansion with dingy boathouses is fast asleep,
Amid the din and drone of southern winds, reposed,
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed;
Now a dainty girl walks by on the sidewalk:
Cusswords, tunes and songs, malapert remarks;
Something falls on the ground out of her hand,
It’s a rose I guess.
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed;
A bird flutters round your skirt;
I know your brow is moist with sweat
And your lips are wet.
A silver moon rises beyond the pine trees:
I can sense it all in your heart’s throbbing.
I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed.

Orhan Veli Kanık

Translated by Talât Sait Halman (1982)

* You can listen the poem from this video:

Saturday 14 March 2015

Teşvikiye: Both Historical and Plush

Tesvikiye is a Sisli neighbourhood next to Nisantasi, but the confines are not definite anyway. You just walk by. Tesvikiye means "incentive" in Turkish. The neighbourhood was built upon an incentive.

Turkish writer Leyla Erbil lived in Tesvikiye and spent her last days there. She was a revolutionary writer in changing the dictation and syntax.

Teşvikiye Houses and Restaurant

There are many beautiful buildings around, so don't forget to look above and take photos. One of my favourite buildings is Tesvikiye Palace (the grey one on the left). Actually apartments began to be built after 1920's, when the city started to expand.

There are many restaurants, some of which are very fancy. There is House Cafe next to Tesvikiye Mosque and on the opposite of it, there is a little restaurant that makes the best "trilece" dessert of the town. You need to visit there early in the day, because it is almost impossible to find trilece after 12:00 AM.

Tesvikiye Mosque

Tesvikiye Mosque was built at the reign of Selim III in 1794-1795 as a small mosque (mescit). It was renewed by Sultan Abdulmecit in 1853-1854. There is a marking stone on its yard. (Nisantasi has a marking stone, too. They were actually to mark the borders of the hunting and shooting area.)

Harbiye Police Station is also an old building dates back to the same years as Tesvikiye Mosque. There is also a marking stones on its yard.

Transportation in Tesvikiye

The roads are quite narrow so there is no public transport. I prefer walking. You can also take a taxi, or get on a Nisantasi bus to shorten the way.

For accommodation, you can also prefer Nisantasi, Harbiye or Besiktas.

Tuesday 10 March 2015

Macka for a Nice City Walk

Macka is a neigbourhood between Besiktas and Harbiye. Macka supposedly took its name from people of Macka from Trabzon province, who were send to Istanbul by Mehmed the Conqueror after the conquest of Trabzon.

Macka is close to central districts, so I think it would be a nice part of a city walk. There are beautiful houses, some of which have a view of Marmara Sea (and presumably are expensive). Apart from the view, there are some interesting things in Macka, including a telfer, an open concert arena and old buildings.

Macka-Taskisla Telfer

This telfer has a short but pleasant route. It is over Macka Demokrasi Park and Beyoglu Marriage Office. It isn't actually for touristic purposes, it eases the traffic and transportation between the area. It works very frequently between 8:15-19.00, and every five minutes at working hours. It is only 3,5 minutes.

Istanbul Technical University Macka Campus

The main building of the campus was formerly Macka Armoury. It is a three-storey Ottoman building. Since 1955, it is used by Istanbul Technical University. It is really a massive and impressive building. Don't forget to take photos of it!

Kucukciftlik Park

This is a open concert and event area, where famous singers and bands have come and will probably come. (The names I've seen there: Scorpions, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Alice Cooper...) It was formerly a lunapark, but and there was a connection with park, but it was kind of weird to walk down there. When it became an event area in 2009, it came alive. It is partly operated as a closed hall in winter.

If the concert is very crowded, you feel like packed, but the transportation is so easy that I don't really mind. After concerts it is almost impossible to take a taxi because of the rush. Instead walk towards Besiktas or Gumusuyu-Taksim.

Akaretler

Akaretler is actually a separate neighbourhood from Macka, but it is so close that it is good to mention about it. Akaretler Row Houses are between Macka and Besiktas. They are important examples of Istanbul architecture. The architect is Sarkis Balyan. (The Turkish-Armenian architect is famous for his impressive works, such as Macka Armoury mentioned above, Cıragan Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Baltalimani Mansion, Sale Pavilion, Kagithane Mosque, and many more. His brother Agop is also a prolific architect.) These houses were intended for rental income to built Aziziye Mosque (Kagithane Mosque). Today they are residences and offices.

Transportation in Macka

You can take a walking route from Besiktas to Taksim visiting Macka, Tesvikiye, Nisantasi, Harbiye, and Elmadag. If you want to use a public transport, take a bus that goes between Besiktas and Nisantasi, such as Mecidiyekoy-Taksim bus, 30M. I prefer walking. You can also take a taxi, if you're not a great fan of slopes.

Where to Stay in Macka

There are some beautiful hotels in Macka (mostly of which are five star hotels), but you don't have to stay in Macka. For example, you can find a budget hotel at Besiktas.

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Visit Rumelifeneri, if you want to escape the city!

Rumelifeneri is a neighbourhood of Sariyer. It is situated on the northern part of Bosphorus. Anadolufeneri is on the opposite side. There are some evidence that the ancient name of the village was Panion. The village welcomes you with a lovely view with trees and animals. When you walk for a few minutes, you can also sea the beautiful Bosphorus view.

General view

When it is written as "Anadolu Feneri", it refers to the lighthouse. It is situated on the spot that Bosphorus and Black Sea intersect. It is two miles away from Anadolu Feneri. Inside the lighthouse is the tomb of Sari Saltuk Dede, who is a legendary folk hero. The lighthouse used to be operated with gas oil and acetylene, but today it is operated with electricity. It began to be operated together with Anadolu Feneri by the French in 1856. After capitulations ended, the operation was handed to Turks.

Rumeli Feneri

Oreke Rocks

Oreke Rocks, or Roke (or Hera) are five massive rocks on the coast of Rumeli Feneri. Today the spaces between the rocks are filled for the harbour. Byzantines used to call these rocks "Kyanaeis" and "Symplegades". On the top of the biggest rock was the Pompeus Column, or Nisangah Stone (the marking stone). You can still see the ruins from the right angle. (We had hardship to catch a close capture.)

The inscriptions on the column says that it was erected as a dedication to Tiberius and that the seamen made sacrifices for gods in order to be safe from the hazards at the sea. After Ottomans got hold of the village, they also renamed the rock many times. The rocks were also mentions in the famous Travel Book of Evliya Celebi and the Atlas of Ali Macar Reis, which is in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library.

The Castle of Rumeli Feneri

The Castle of Rumeli Feneri is from 17th century. It has an arched gate at the entrance. It had two towers and was rebuilt at the reign of Murat II. Around 300 was living there then. In the early times of republic, it was used as a police station. Today it is unfortunately almost idle. I hope the municipality will take care of this impressive artifact.

Bosphorus view from inside the castle

The panaromic view of the castle

The entrance and the gate of the castle

Transportation in Rumeli Feneri

You can easily go to Rumeli Feneri with public transport. There are buses that use the coastal road. The route is rather scenic. However, the traffic jam can be very heavy on weekends. Then you can try the second option: Go to Haciosman metro stop and enter Haciosman bus terminal. The Rumeli Feneri bus operates half-hourly.

The village is small and there is almost no places to stay, but if you like you can stay around. Sariyer center, Tarabya, Yenikoy, and other places on the Bosphorus coast is good. You can also stay on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus. There are steamships that operate a couple of times in the day. You can add a Boshorus sea tour to your Istanbul travel. Check this link:

http://en.sehirhatlari.com.tr/en/timetable/to-bosphorus-from-bosphorus-365.html

There are lots of lovely cats and dogs (and birds, cows, horses) around Rumelihisari.

Monday 2 March 2015

Harbiye: From Military School to Events' Center

Harbiye is a neigbourhood at Sisli district. Harbiye means "the school of war/military school" and actually took its name from a "harbiye". It is neighbours with Nisantasi, Pangalti and Elmadag. Being close to popular attractions and the historical arcitecture makes Harbiye charming for both residents and tourist.

Like many neighbourhoods of this area, Harbiye was inhabited by Levantines, mostly by the ones who ended up homeless after Beyoglu fire in 1870. They moved in the beautiful stone buildings, some of which can still be seen today.

A lovely house among many more.

There are some good attractions to visit at Harbiye:

Istanbul Military Museum was built as Military School in 1834 by Mahmud II and the building used as museum was built in 1864 by Abdulhamit II. Today you can visit the museum and see the Ottoman architecture. Jewelry expoes are organized a couple of times a year, there you can find diamonds at good rates.

Istanbul Broadcasting House/Istanbul Radio building was opened in 1949. The radio began broadcasting in 1925, but it needed a better equipped building. Today it is still a broadcasting house, just situated on the main street, namely Cumhuriyet Street.

Another important building at Harbiye is the Vatican Embassy. It is situated in Papa Roncalli Street and opposite of the belfry of St. Esprit Cathedral. Papa stayed at the complex that belong to the embassy.

Notre Dame de Sion is one of the French high schools in Istanbul. It is a private school that was founded in 1856. It started as a school for girls at Ottoman times, but today it is a mixed-sex school. The building is simple and nice. Don't miss it, if you are walking around. It is also on Cumhuriyet Street.

You can enter St. Esprit Cathedral from one of the gates of Notre Dame de Sion. It is a little bit hidden and very well preserved. It has a small yard, but the interior is bigger. On Sunday services, it is totally full.

The belfry of St. Esprit Cathedral

Harbiye is also famous for its events:

Muhsin Ertugrul Theatre one of the biggest theatres in Istanbul, where you can watch the plays of Istanbul Municipality Theatre. Unfortunately, the plays are in Turkish.

Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theatre houses some open air plays and concerts at summertime. Games are again in Turkish, but you can listen to the concerts of local and global musicians.

Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center was Istanbul Sports and Exhibition Center in 1948-1988, then it was named after Lutfi Kirdar, who was a doctor, statesman, soldier, governor of Manisa and Istanbul, deputy and minister of health. The building went into some restorations and took its recent shape.

How to get to Harbiye?

Harbiye is ten minute walk away from Taksim and Nisantasi, so it is a convenient option. You can use the metro, but then you should either walk from Pangalti or Taksim station (for no more than ten minutes). You can also get on a bus that works between Mecidiyekoy-Taksim line. TRT Istanbul Radio stop is exactly in front of Notre Dame de Sion. There are also shared taxies from Harbiye to Besiktas.

Where to stay in Harbiye?

There are many hotels and suits to stay in Harbiye. The ones on the main street will be more expensive. Try the smaller streets. Harbiye is generally a nice neighbourhood and the number of suits are increasing day by day.

If you have the budget, you can stay at Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel. I have never stayed at the hotel, so I can't tell anything about its services. The reason for me to put a footnote for this hotel is that it is the first five star hotel of Istanbul. It was opened in 1955. Another interesting thing is that Conrad Hilton was the second husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, who convinced Conrad to open a Hilton hotel in Istanbul. Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian actress and socialite, whose first husband was Burhan Asaf Belge. (Burhan Asaf Belge was a Turkish intellectual, his son Murat Belge is also a famous intelectual who has a detailed Istanbul guide, and his deceased nephew Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu is a famous novelist. What a family!)

So much for the gossip and Harbiye!

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