the Selimiye Mosque - Sinan's masterpiece

The purpose of our trip to Edirne last weekend was chiefly to visit this mosque: 

 But first a little background information on its architect (via Wikipedia, thank you):

Sinan was the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than three hundred major structures and other more modest projects. His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and the Taj Mahal in the Mughal Empire.

The son of a stonemason, he received a technical education and became a military engineer. He rose rapidly through the ranks to become first an officer and finally a Janissary commander, with the honorific title of ağa. He refined his architectural and engineering skills while on campaign with the Janissaries, becoming expert at constructing fortifications of all kinds, as well as military infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and acqueducts. At about the age of fifty, he was appointed as chief royal architect, applying the technical skills he had acquired in the army to the "creation of fine religious buildings" and civic structures of all kinds. He remained in post for almost fifty years.

His masterpiece is considered to be the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, pictured above. It is thought to be the most perfect mosque of his design, the culmination of his many works. And indeed, it is stunning. I apologize for the borrowed images from the internet, but my camera pictures didn't turn out well enough to do this space justice. This is the interior:

I'll tell you what I loved the most about this mosque, and it wasn't the dome or the minarets or even the lanterns arranged so perfectly in circles... This mosque was ALIVE.  In the middle of the afternoon when we arrived, there was a traveling group of women in scarves, gathered around their guide leading them in supplication. There was a group of young women gathered together in a corner, talking and snacking on simit. There were children racing in circles around the fountain in the center, their shrieks punctuating the white noise, the hum of people talking. Countless little groups of old Turkish men, fingering their tasbihs and chatting. Everyone in the mosque had access to all areas except for the very front. It was amazing. I hope that our students noticed this shift. Many of the mosques we visit in Istanbul proper act as functioning mosques, yes, but so many of them have specific places for tourists, and people come in and out and travel through them, but rarely do they feel like so much of a community space as the mosques in the outlying areas do (Fatih Cami has this feel too). It is in the nature of a mosque to be irreverent in a way - in that it is a space for communion with the transcendent and a public space for regular, worldly life. My experience of the Selimiye was special because you could visibly see all its functions. 

That to me, is the "success" of this building.

The Sancaklar Cami - a mosque for hobbits

We took a day trip to Edirne last weekend and on the way there we visited my new favourite "modern" mosque in Turkey.

The Sancaklar Mosque is unique in many, many ways - the most notable being that it is built into the hillside, and the main area of the mosque is essentially underground. From the road, only the sparse minaret and low walls are in view.

Once you come in and pass the minaret, you see the steps leading down to the mosque itself.

Once you go down the stairs there is a small courtyard area and a shallow pool, a library on the left, and the entrances to the mosque on the right. 

The inspiration for this mosque is story of the Prophet Muhammad who would often seek solace and spiritual retreat in the cave of Hira in Mecca. The Sancaklar Mosque attempts to mirror that cave-like space, playing with natural light and shadow, creating a peaceful space for reflection and prayer.

It is hard to find tranquility when traveling with 30 students, but my heart really did feel something special in this mosque. I hope that it has given you some different ideas of what a mosque can be in Turkey! You can see more pictures at the architect's website, here.

Street Foods of Istanbul

Eating on the street in Istanbul is a fun and easy thing to do as you walk around the city, seeing the sights. Here are the most common 'street foods' you can get here:

SIMIT

The most quintessential of all Turkish street foods. Resembling most closely a sesame seed bagel, but a little more dense, and hard. Hafsa's favourite. Sold on the street either in a little covered cart, or on top of the head on a large platter. You would pay no more than 2 TL for a simit (and that would be stretching it) but usually about a lira - under 50 cents.

CORN ON THE COB

You can buy freshly cooked ears of corn on the street! Joy! No explanation necessary!

ROASTED CHESTNUTS

Been partaking in these a lot, especially when we first got here and the weather was cool. Always wish they had a bit of salt, but good. Sometimes sold on the same cart as corn, but not always. You pay according to weight (you can see the scales in this picture). The girls and I sat in the plaza between the Hagia Sofya and the Blue Mosque and shared a small bag for 5 TL (2 dollars).

PORTAKAL SU (and other juices)

Apart from çay, probably the most popular refreshment on the street is freshly squeezed juice. Be on the lookout for a cart, stall or patio with one of these nifty clamping, cranking, squeezing contraptions, and you can be sure to have an absolutely fresh and pure glass of orange juice poured before your very eyes. If you prefer, there is often pomegranate or any variety of other flavours in a mix, depending on which fruits you see available at their cart or stand.

Just off the street (stalls or open to the street restaurants):

KUMPIR

Kumpir is a massive baked potato, which they open up and fill with your choice of toppings. Among them: corn, pickles, peas, bulgur type rice, olive green or black, macaroni salad, cheese, butter, beets, hot dog slices and sauces like mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, optional hot pepper flakes. You are not doing the kumpir justice if you don't get at least 5 toppings. If you go to Ortakoy, you will find "Kumpir Street" - a line of kumpir stalls, from which the kumpir-guys yell out to try and coax you into visiting their particular stand...

WAFFLES

Somehow related to the kumpir - I don't know how, but somehow they always seem to be sold in the same place or stand - the Turkish waffle is pretty awesome. It is a fairly hearty waffle which folds easily but does not break. Then, and this is the similarity to the kumpir, I suppose - you get to choose your filling... All the great, sweet toppings you can imagine are there - fruits, nutella, chocolate sauces, nuts... Lovely, lovely... I stole this picture off the internet, but I'm pretty sure that mine looked exactly like this...

DONDURMA

Dondurma is the Turkish word for ice cream. Confession: I have never eaten this kind of ice cream.  Hafsa has and I think Ozayr has too. The ice cream is not like American ice cream or Italian gelato, but more... chewy? stretchy? The "fun" part is that you get a little show with your ice cream... This isn't us, but you can enjoy this little video if you're curious:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaQsiWtCvA

DURUM/DONER KEBAP

Stands selling these wraps are all over Istanbul, and even though it's a stereotype of Turkish food, it is just sooo good. Just like the Inuit have a multitude of words for snow, the Turks have a multitude of different varieties of "meat on a stick" - check out this guide, here. Of course, our favourite place to go for durum is Durumzade, which has achieved a certain degree of fame in recent years.

ISLAK HAMBURGER

I had a brief obsession with islak hamburger last year. It's essentially a thin hamburger that has been dipped in a slightly spicy tomato sauce and then kept warm in a somewhat humid glass box. I know! So strange right??  Anyway, they are like Sloppy Joes meets WhiteCastle sliders....

My last two picks for quintessential streets foods of Istanbul I have not tried yet, but I think this year IT IS HAPPENING:

STUFFED MUSSELS

Now, this just seems like a bad idea... but these guys are everywhere! And they do good business! As Anthony Bourdain said, you would not get very far if you poisoned your neighbours, would you? All along the water's edge, you see these trays of mussels stuffed with rice and apparently good vendors will go through hundreds a night. I'm thinking before the temperatures get too high, I'm going to try these.

FISH SANDWICHES

The area around the Galata Bridge is swarming with fishermen and boats, and throughout the day and night you can buy fresh fish from the surrounding restaurants, stores, or probably even straight from the person who caught it. As you can imagine, there are lots of stalls and carts set up with fish sandwiches for sale. The most famous ones are sold from boats that are docked along Eminonu pier.  I realize that things could go very wrong here, but apparently Ozayr's students have vetted all the different stands, and know the best ones. I'll get their advice prior to partaking in this delicacy... :-)

 Writing this post has made me very hungry! I hope you enjoyed it - I think that there is something for everyone in Turkey!!!

A proverbial cat, which is out of the bag, is still just as beautiful

Our dear friend Waverley taught us so much about Istanbul while we were here last year. One of Istanbul's best kept secrets is the Buyuk Valide Han. I've written about hans on the blog before, and actually blogged about this experience last year, here.

Earlier this month we went again and found our little man who let us up on the roof. We settled in to listen to what we had climbed all that way for. The adhan is the call to prayer, and it is called by every mosque here, five times a day. Usually you hear just one, maybe two, from the mosque closest to you, but up on the roof, you can hear the calls from countless mosques, all together... The Blue Mosque is the first - out of courtesy, the other mosques wait for it to start, then they chime in. Ozayr caught a snippet of the experience on his iPhone (but in actual fact, this will go on for almost 10 minutes).

It was a beautiful and sublime experience (that is not easily captured on a blog, sorry).

Then to our surprise, a film crew came up. We were pretty dismayed to see them coming through the door, one after another, more and more, until about 12 people stood directly in front of me, blocking my view. Boo! We pretty much prayed that they had an insider tip which they would keep to themselves, but then as we left the han, we saw two women with a guidebook, clearly looking for something... Hmmm...

Anyway, we still love this little spot, and thank you Waverley for sharing it with us!

Kusadasi

The second half of our week away was just sheer enjoyment and relaxation. We stayed for 3 nights in Kusadasi (pronounced KOO-sha-dah-see) on the coast of Turkey. The weather was a bit warmer and the atmosphere had a very resort-type feel.

I hereby confess (I confess!) that most people staying in Kusadasi do so because it is close to Ephesus. We went to Ephesus last year, and while it was very interesting, the kids and I could not face it again this year. We ask our kids to do a lot of adult type stuff on this trip. We take them to galleries and museums and we explore ruins and admire scenery, we bring them along to lectures and parties for grown ups - a lot. And I believe they can handle it, and they enjoy it and they learn a lot. But last year Ephesus was almost our undoing. It is a very big place with lots of ruins that are very historically relevant but not very climbable... There is no shade and it is absolutely packed with tourists. If we could leave when we wanted that would be one thing, but with the bus schedule, we would be committed to 3 or 4 hours there...

We decided instead that the kids would get a day just for them. They watched cartoons in ENGLISH in the hotel room, and we went out for ice cream and hung out on the beach. We got fizzy lemonade and watched more cartoons. We went out for lunch and they played on the play structures along the boardwalk, like, you know, ACTUAL CHILDREN. There is a line from the Secret Garden that I love and it applied to us on this day:  "And delight reigned."

Zelve Open Air Museum

The Zelve Open Air Museum is my favourite place in Cappadocia. It's a little off the beaten path since it is slightly out of the way - but the advantage is that the tour buses don't often stop here even though it's twice the size of the other, similar parks in the region. We rented a car and drove there - fulfilling Ozayr's dream of driving through the Cappadocian landscape.

It also reminded me that I have not driven a car since JANUARY. Oh my, I love that.

Zelve was actually a living community until 1952 - and many of the areas are still recognizable as homes, mosques, churches, and even a main square.

(you can click on the photos to see them enlarged)