[EXPAT VOICE] Where East and West meet

From touristic viewpoint, İstanbul has a galaxy of attractions. First, the 1.6-kilometer-long bridge over the 27-kilometer-long İstanbul Strait (popularly known as the Bosporus) connecting the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea takes you from Europe to Asia in less than two minutes. The resultant excitement is anybody’s guess. Among numerous other places worth seeing, the mausoleum of the famous companion and the “host” of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Ayyub (Turkish: Eyüp) al-Ansari enjoys the prime importance for a Muslim tourist. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was martyred in A.D. 669 during a war between Arabs and the Byzantine Empire. He was buried here as per his will. Legend has it that when Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople in 1453, one day he was travelling with his teacher. The latter went into the brushwood and started praying on his prayer rug. He then turned to the sultan and said: “Good news, my lord! Abu Ayyub al-Ansari is buried here. God Almighty has put our prayer rug over his tomb. Let us dig in this place.” When the ground was dug out, a stone inscribed with “Abu Ayyub al-Ansari” emerged. After this discovery, the sultan ordered a befitting mausoleum and mosque to be built at this site.

The construction of the mausoleum started in 1458. It was built on an octagonal plan and was embellished by successive kings. Inside the elegant mausoleum is the timber sarcophagus of Abu Ayyub. The mosque was built in 1459. The people of İstanbul love Ayyub al-Ansari so much that they call him “Ayyub Sultan” (Ayyub, the king). Children aged 5-10 years typically draped as courtiers are brought to the mausoleum by their parents to seek God’s blessings for them. The mausoleum is one of the most frequented places in İstanbul. We went there twice, and each time had to stand in a long queue to get in.

The Topkapı Palace Museum is yet another must-see in İstanbul. Constructed between 1460 and 1478, it was used as a management center of the Ottoman Empire and primary residence of the kings. The palace is entered into through the outer courtyard called the “First Courtyard,” comprising the central public administration buildings with offices outside the palace. This courtyard is connected through a gate, called the Gate of Salutation, to the Second Courtyard, known as Justice Square. Ceremonies of sultans’ accession to the throne and funerals were held in this courtyard. The main section of the palace starts from the middle of the Gate of Salutation and Justice Square called the inner palace. It is here where the sultan spent his life. The Audience Chamber is situated at the opposite side of the inner palace. The Faith Pavilion, constructed by Sultan Mehmet II, is situated on the corner facing the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus. The Privy Chamber occupied by the palace officials lies opposite the Faith Pavilion while the Chamber of Sacred Relics is located next to the Privy Chamber.

The museum has a rich collection of antiquities. The treasury section contains jewelry, golden and silver stirrups, turquoise, emerald and golden adorned stones. The racks, daggers, enamel and gold bowls catch the visitors’ eyes. In one room of the treasury, there is the 86-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond, the most precious article of the museum. Another section contains the feast throne, Ottoman signs and chandeliers of Sultan Selim III. The diamond-studded pieces of crockery of unique shapes and sizes hold the visitors spellbound. The robes section has 21 dresses of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, 77 of Süleyman the Magnificent, 21 of Sultan Ahmed I, 30 of Sultan Osman II and 27 of Sultan Murad IV.

For us, however, the most important part of the museum was the Sacred Relics section. It has, in a small gilded box, a tooth of Prophet Muhammad, broken in the battle of Uhud. Then, there are the stone with his revered footprint, which he stepped on during his ascension to Heaven, the black-colored banner, the gold-plated wood rain gutter for the Kaaba water to flow on, the cleansing (teyemmum) stone of the Prophet, letters of invitation to Islam sent by him to the rulers of Persia, Egypt and Byzantium, a rare copy of the Quran and 20 swords called the Suyuf-e-Mubarak belonging to the Prophet and his companions. One spectacular exhibit with the lettering Amanatun-Nabi-Yusuf is the turban of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph).

Situated close to the Topkapı Museum is the world-famous Blue Mosque. The foundation of this historic mosque was laid in 1609. Sultan Ahmed I was the first to start digging with a pickaxe and continued to work until he got tired. Currently, this pickaxe, encrusted with silver, is kept in the treasury of the Topkapı Palace Museum. The mosque is located on a vast rectangular courtyard 57 meters in width and 62 meters in length with seven gates. The mosque rests on a base higher than the courtyard at the sub-basement level. It is known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles adoring the walls of its interior. The woodworks enriched with inlays of mother-of-pearl, stonemasonry and handwritten calligraphy contribute to the splendor of the building.

Socially and culturally, İstanbul offers an amazing blend of Western and Eastern civilizations. Whereas promiscuity in public is commonplace, women clad in abayas (long dresses) and headgear are not uncommon either. It is the most tolerant society, one must say.