This post is part 16 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

Apartment of The Sultan's Mother

The line for the harem can get ridiculously long so if there was ever a short line, take advantage of it. To our luck, there were only about five or six people ahead of us when JC and I awaited to purchase our tickets. The entrance to the Harem is not included in the admission ticket you first purchased to get into the Topkapi Palace. (Way to make money right?)

The Harem is the home of the sultan’s mother, all of his concubines, his children and their eunuch servants. One of the first rooms is the Hall of Ablution Fountain. Its interior is beautifully decorated in Iznik tiles. The room leads to the courtyard of the eunuchs. The main entrance of the harem separates the concubines and their families from the courtyard of the eunuchs. The main entrance is followed by the sultan’s mother and then the courtyard for the sultan’s consorts and his concubines.

The room of the sultan’s mother is one of the largest and most important part in the harem. The only rooms that were open to the public was the dining room and her bedroom. The interior was also beautifully decorated with Iznik tiles. Her room is connected to the sultan’s mother’s bathroom and the quarters of the sultan. Her bathroom consists of multiple rooms with domes and glass tiles for natural sunlight. The floor is covered in white and gray marble and the marble tub includes an extravagant fountain with gilded iron grills. These iron grills seem to be the characteristic features of the Topkapi Palace.

Our self guided tour took as outside to the Twin Kiosk. The interior is beautifully decorated in stained-glass windows. From the inside, it has an amazing view of the Galata Tower. This is where the crown prince resided until they became adults.

Outside of the Twin Kiosk is the The Courtyard of the Favorites.  This is where the sultan’s favorite consorts lived. They were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery from their windows.

This post is part 15 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

Gate of Salutation

The more I travel, the more I realize that the less explored sites often take my breath away more so than popular touristy sites that everyone says it’s a “must-do.” Maybe it’s because I have higher expectation for sites that everyone talks about and less expectations for sites that aren’t mentioned in every single guide book and travel blog.

When I come across something totally unexpected, it leaves an impression and makes me wonder why it doesn’t receive the same amount of publicity as other popular sites. Maybe the impressiveness of the sites becomes diminished once it’s a major tourist attraction. To me it’s no longer as authentic as something that’s hidden in a back alley. It becomes another form of western commercialism charging additional fees for this and that and higher fees for more experiences.

However, not all popular tourist destinations fail to live up to it’s hype. For example, everything I’ve ever read about the Forbidden City was nothing but praises of beauty and extravagance. Even with high expectations, it still blew me away. I had the same kind of expectation for the Topkapi Palace but it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Maybe my expectations were too high.

It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the former primary residence for the Ottoman Sultans before they moved to the more westernized Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosporus River. The Topkapi Palace became museum for it’s fine example of Ottoman architecture and it’s collection of porcelains, weapons, armors, calligraphic manuscripts and it’s most prized treasure and jewelry.

JC and I bought our entrance tickets and proceeded through the Imperial Gate. It was covered in marble and written with gilded inscriptions over a high arch. The gate led to the first courtyard followed by the Gate of Salutation, which was also richly inscribed with calligraphy.

Imperial Council

The first building that instantly caught my eye was the Imperial Council. You can’t miss it with it’s naturally illuminating gilded exterior. The porch and floor was made entirely of marble. The white and green wooden ceiling was decorated in gold.  The exterior walls and entrance was plastered in gilded gold. No other building in the Topkapi Palace that I had seen matched up to the lavishness of this one.

JC and I wandered in and out of the courtyards just to get a feel of the palace. It was grand in size but it didn’t match up to my expectations. Like any other major tourist attractions, swarms of tour groups and visitors filled up the palace as the day progressed. Lines were getting excessively long and visitors were getting impatient.

The Imperial Treasury was one of the main sites of the palace. The line to enter snaked around and around and it moved at a snail’s pace. When we finally got in the air was humid and musky. Swarms of people crowded around the glass windows to get a glimpse of the glistening jewels. I’m not a big fan of things that sparkle but curiousity made me wonder what everyone was drooling over.

View From Topkapi Palace

The one thing that did make me go ga-ga was the view from the balcony. Of course, the photo doesn’t do it justice but I had an amazing front row seat since every one was too busy being enchanged my jewels. I got to enjoyed another one of Mother Nature’s masterpiece.

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The Spoonmaker's Diamond in the Topkapi Palace

The story I’d like to tell you now is the story of the Spoonmaker’s Diamond (Turkish: Kaşıkçı Elması), the pride of the Topkapi Palace Museum. Although the Imperial Treasury is full of ancient daggers, pendants, book covers, chests, rings, and various other ancient artifacts artfully decorated with beautiful stones, the Spoonmaker’s Diamond rests its most valuable single exhibit. It is an 86 carat (17 g) pear-shaped diamond, surrounded by a double row of smaller forty-nine diamonds, giving it the appearance of a full moon lighting a bright and shining sky full of stars.

According to one of the origin myths of the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, a poor fisherman was wandering penniless and empty-handed around Istanbul,  when he found a shiny stone among the litter. Unsure of what the stone was, but recognizing it as beautiful, he carried it about in his pocket for a few days, and then stopped by the jewelers’ market, showing it to the jeweler, who recognizes it as an extremely valuable diamond, but feigning disinterest gave it a cursory glance-over, and stated that it was just a hunk of glass. So he’d had give the fisherman three spoons for his trouble, out of sympathy. The fisherman agreed, and walked away from the deal feeling better off.

According to a slightly different version of the story, the person finding the diamond was Rashid, an impoverished man who found the diamond in 1699 while scouring the Istanbul garbage dumps. He haggled with a spoonmaker and managed to get three wooden spoons in exchange for the shiny rock. The spoonmaker, recognizing the gem as valuable but not realizing that it was worth a fortune, sells it to a jeweler for ten silver coins. After changing a number of hands, the diamond was confiscated by Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha and soon passed into the hands of Sultan Mehmed IV.

According to researchers and historians, was a French officer named Pigot who purchased the diamond in 1774 from Maharajah of Madras and brought it back home with him to France. But during his trip some thieves robbed him, and the diamond ended up in numerous auctions, where it was first bought by Casanova and then by Napoleon’s mother, who had to put it up for sale in order to save her son when Napoleon went into exile. Who bought the diamond from her was a man who worked for Tepedeleni Ali Pasha, who later, during the reign of Mahmud II, was killed under charges of rebellion and treason. His treasury, including the Pigot Diamond, was confiscated by the state.
It is still unsure if the Spoonmaker’s Diamond was cast with the forty nine brilliant cut diamonds by Mahmud II’s men or by Tepedeleni Ali Pasha’s men, but what is true is that they increase its dazzling appearance as well as its market value.

So, whatever happened, now I’m sure you have another good reason to visit Istanbul and the wonderful Topkapi Palace!
You’ll find yourself completely dazzled, and recalling its incredible story, you’ll be able to fantasize about the characters and the misadventures of the marvellous diamond in front of you.

Perv shots sell… or so I am told. I am an equal opportunity photographer and just because some ladies happened to find themselves into a mildly interesting frame that I attempted to capture with my camera is no reason to discriminate and not take the shot and/or post online.. Right? This first one was taken at the Topkapı Palace when me and a buddy found an empty pool beside a walkway and some interesting lighting. We tried and tried to get some interesting shots, but the human subjects were not cooperating. This one was one of the few decent shots, but I had to crop a whole lot out to make it interesting.

This next one I saw these two walking up to the window and my photography senses started to tingle, but I had my 14-24 wide angle lens on and didn’t want to run up about 3 feet behind these ladies to get the shot; so I dropped my bag on the floor and rushed to switch out my lens, fired off two shots as fast as I could while still kneeling, then they walked away. This scene had massive amounts of dynamic range so I had to do a lot of work in Photoshop after trying to compress that range. I ended up trying black and white which helped the grain take on a more film-like look.

If you want to get a little taste of history, there are few places that rival Istanbul. Fantastic museums, mosques, churches, buildings, palaces – Istanbul has it all. Unfortunately, it is not cheap. For the Turks, you can buy a Muze Kart for only 20 TL and it permits you entrance to almost every museum in the city. It is not available for foreigners, and there are no student discounts offered. Aya Sofya and the Topkapi Palace now cost 20 TL each (15 more at the Palace if you want to go inside the Harem). Others are cheaper, but how nice it would be to be a Turkish student.

I picked the biggest attractions to see, since my time in Istanbul was quite limited. The first day I went to the Blue Mosque, which was very beautiful. The line for foreign visitors was incredibly long. Again, the Turks have it best and are able to go through a very short line to enter the mosque. After being denied once, my Turkish host and I finally convinced the security guard to let us in the Turkish line, after being told I needed to cover up a bit more.  Luckily I had my sweater. The mosque is beautifully decorated with mosaic tiles inside, but seems very small compared to the enormous structure that you see from the outside. I’m sure that most of the mosque is just off limits to tourists, but it would be interesting to see. Although the Blue Mosque is very nice, (and I hate to sound irreverent or disrespectful here, but I’m saying it anyway) it smells terrible. So many people coming through without shoes on, it is almost unbearable. Consider yourself warned.

Blue Mosque from the outside

Inside the Blue Mosque

Next stop was Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), a church constructed in 532 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was the largest church in the world for about 1000 years. In 1453, Constantinople (sorry, Istanbul – not Constantinople) was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who converted it into a mosque. Almost all the semblances of Christianity were removed or covered over.  In 1935, Ataturk declared that it be turned into a museum, and many of the original mosaics were discovered. It’s an incredible building, huge and beautiful, despite the constant construction going on. It’s a pricey one, but if you go to Istanbul, you must go see Ayasofya.

Ayasofya - it's really big. Trust me

Topkapi Palace is really big. I’m not going to say much about it, other than 1. You can see the arm of John the Baptist and part of his skull in the room of Holy Relics (how do they know that is his arm? It seems so weird to me, but it was still grotesquely awesome) 2. There is an 86 carat diamond on display – it is huge and 3. Be careful of creepy Turkish men that might decide they want to accompany you around the palace (all ladies should be escorted by a man, after all).

Oh, and don’t drop your sweater when trying to escape the creepy men. It will only invite more creepy men to help you look for it then try to convince you to have tea (cay, with a little squiggle under the c).

One of the rooms in the Harem

The last thing I will mention is the Basilica Cistern. This one is only 15 TL! But it also has the least to see. That being said, I think it is one of the more interesting things in Istanbul. The cistern was also built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. It was used to supply water to the palace up until the 15th century. It’s a dark, damp place illuminated by orange light. You can barely  see the large, ghostly fish floating in the shallow water. There are 336 marble columns of different styles that fill the underground space. You walk along an illuminated path to the back of the cistern, where there are two heads of Medusa used as bases for columns. One is upside down, the other on her side. It is unknown where these heads came from, but they are an odd addition to the cistern. It’s a short visit, but well worth it.

Basilica Cistern - hard to capture in good light since it is, of course, dark. I'll do some photoshop work later, but for now - look close! I'll make it bigger than the rest.

And there you have it. The four best (or best known) historical sights in Istanbul. You could accomplish all this easily in 2 days, and spend the rest of your time shopping. That is what I did, and now my wallet is much lighter. There is still more to come on Istanbul including my day at the Grand Bazaar and some interesting cultural notes.

Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul

Nowadays we’re getting used to short and low budget holidays and the “3 days formula” is becoming the most used to visit a city or take a weekend off. So I decided to start a mini guide collecting useful tips on what to see, where to stay or eat in your 3 days in Istanbul. Let’s start with the “what to see”, the top destinations you can’t miss:

In Sultanahmet:
Topkapi Palace – it takes you at least half a day, but it’s amazing! Although many people see the Topkapi as a too commercial and touristic attraction, I think that with the right mood it may let you understand the real culture and way of life of the Ottoman Istanbul.
Sultanhamet Mosque and Haghia Sophia – the first one, the Blue Mosque, is my favourite. I’m used to stay at a hotel just in front of it, where I can stay on the terrace and admire that great dome and the minarets. Haghia Sophia has a great story too so it’s another place you can’t miss.
Yerebatan Sarnici – I’ve already explained why I love so much this cistern (I was there 3 times), however the beautiful atmosphere you can breath in the red light between the 336 marble columns is unforgettable.
The Gran Bazaar – an incredible mixture of colors, scents, languages, tastes will leave you breathless, and after the first minutes you will love the way they have to call you here and there and to haggle offering you an apple tea!
Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque – I recently discovered this Mosque, and in spite of my love for the Sultanhamet Mosque, I must say that this one is less crowded, fit to understand the real muslim customs, and it has magnificent Iznik tiles. Here I could see the real Adhan, the islamic call to prayer recited by a muezzin (in Istanbul and in other big cities the Adhan is principally tape-recorded)

Out of Sultanahmet:
- walking on the Galata Bridge up till the Galata Tower, proceeding along Istiklal Cad. having a look at the fish market (Balik Pazar) and the flower market (Cicek Pasaji).

Hope you enjoy your 3 days in Istanbul!

In the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

The Topkapi Palace of Istanbul is one of the most interesting place to visit, maybe the first one between the many Istanbul attractions. A complete visit may takes the whole day if you’re eager to see the entire compound, but as Istanbul has a lot of monuments and attractions to see, I suggest you to feel the ottoman fascination of the Topkapi Palace in half a day. The most beautiful and interesting place in the Topkapi is the Harem, where you can feel the history, touch and breath the Ottoman Empire, pretending to be the Sultan of Istanbul in his rooms or a concubin in the courtyard. Visit also the Baghdad Pavillion and the Library of Ahmed III.

For further information visit  Istanbul City Guide

I missed breakfast this morning, what kind of hour is 09:30 to suspend it? Facists.

Though I love the roof garden, another thing I don’t like about this hostel is that they don’t allow you to bring your own beer in but neither do they subsidise the price of their own (it’s around £2.50 a pint). Bad hostelling that. There is a lot that’s right about the gaff as well though.

Istanbul is going to be a relatively expensive few days I think as prices are a lot closer to what it would be at home (and sometimes well beyond). But I’ll be back in the Balkans in a few days so it’ll be back in the cheap scene then.

Today the Topkapi Palace is on the agenda and I might even have a Turkish bath once I’ve priced it up. There was a lad from Shrewsbury who said he fancied trying it last night, though I will probably have missed him now with not making it up for brekkie.

I also need to sit down in front of a PC and plan the next week or so beyond Istanbul. I think it’s likely to involve more night buses, boo.

By the time I got out it was time for lunch rather than breakfast, finding some where cheap is not easy round here though. I has this rice and meatball combo and a couple of baklava and it was well over a tenner.

Food in the belly, I trundled around Gulhane Park just outside Topkapi Palace, it’s a lovely little place. Then it was on into the Palace itself, entry was a little steep at 20 Turkish Lira but there’s not really much point coming here if you don’t see stuff like that.

The Palace was nice, I wasn’t overly interested in the Ottoman artefacts on display but the grounds and the interiors of the buildings are definetely worth a butchers.

I bumped into the lad (Dave) from Shrewsbury by chance while I was there so afterwards we tool the Galata Bridge over the Bosphorus into the Galata region of the city (I presume Galatasaray have something to do with this area).

There were loads of locals fishing off the brıdge and I thınk you can hire the gear and have a go yourself, that may be somethıng I do tomorrow if I have tıme.

Across the bridge you can go up the Galata Tower for 10 Turkish Lira. It offers great views of the city and was well worth the dosh.

I had to buy some more Zovirax earlier, that was another tenner (Sterling) more or less, what a sneak!

Tonight’s agenda will pretty much mirror last night’s I reckon. More Vole and hookah pipes are likely.

By PAT HARTMAN
News Editor

Simon Winchester … where have we heard that name before? Ah yes, he wrote The Professor and the Madman, a surpassingly fascinating dual biography of…. but that’s another story. What we’re looking at today is Winchester’s recent review of The East, the West, and Sex, by Richard Bernstein, in “Books of the Times” from The New York Times Sunday last.

One of the Bernstein’s claims – and who could deny it? – is that the person most responsible for creating the reputation enjoyed (or suffered) by certain parts of the world today, was Sir Richard Burton. Not the actor, but the explorer, the one whose wife burned his journals and manuscripts when he died, rather than let everybody find out what her husband got up to in his travels. Winchester says:

Tales of the odalisque, the harem, the seraglio, the concubine, the geisha and the Kama Sutra have all become combined in the past century or so into a sweetly perfumed mélange of exoticism and eroticism…

It was that sex-as-an-art-form thing. Young men from the West have always been dispatched to the East with a nod and a wink, the result of the racist, colonialist mindset that fantasized the entire Orient as a conscience-free zone. There’s a whole other side to the mystique, as any feminist will tell you, and as Winchester also points out. Imagine an entire wasted lifetime with no options but to hang with a bunch of other women around a fancy indoor swimming pool, waiting for a sultanic booty call.

On the other hand, we did get some fantastic architecture out of it. For instance, the harem complex at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Kevin Dolgin, in The Third Tower Up from the Road, notes the differences between this edifice and the typical strongholds of European kings, with the Turkish version being kind of a castle “lite,” featuring

elegant courtyards dotted with small white buildings boasting gilded roofs; every door carved with flowing designs; window grates so delicate they seem to be made of wooden lace.

If you go there, Dolgin recommends shunning any kind of group tour. Get one of those top-notch, specially certified harem guides, and brace yourself for sensory overload.

SOURCE: ” Lands of Erotic Fantasy and Their Complex Reality ” 06/07/09
photo courtesy of Allie_Caulfield, used under this Creative Commons license

The Gallery Hotel, Istanbul.
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Situated in the centre of the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul and close to all the tourist attractions such as Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and The Grand Bazaar, The Gallery Hotel is an ideal opportunity to invest in this thriving city where the demand for hotel rooms is amongst the strongest in the world.
The apart hotel investment is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most consistent of the property asset classes with occupancy rates in Istanbul currently running at around 85%, the hotel operator has issued and incredible 10% fixed income for 10 years. This is the ideal mid/long term income profit opportunity with guaranteed annual profit and a clear resale’s and exit strategy including a guaranteed buy back from the developer at 5% per annum uplift.

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Istanbul, Turkey
April 10, 2009 Friday

Webcam from the Bridge of the Queen Victoria is HERE.

Istanbul was the second of four straight of port days (Turkey two days; Greece two days more)

We had high hopes for our day in Istanbul. Carol Anne planned to head off for the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, while I would go to Topkapi Palace. When we completed these morning tours, we would catch up on Internet in the afternoon.

The Victoria was scheduled to dock at 8 a.m., but soon the relief Captain Ian McNaught (Paul Wright is on leave) was on the loudspeaker complaining that the U.S. Navy (huh? what?) was not getting out of his berth, adding that the U.S. officers were still “eating breakfast”. This would be the same U.S. Navy that a few days earlier had surrounded and protected the Victoria in the Strait of Hormuz, right?

I was hardly alone in thinking Mr. McNaught’s comments were unnecessary and tasteless.

The delay getting into port made a hash of the day.

By the time tour buses pulled away, Istanbul traffic was snarled for the day. Getting to Topkapi took more than half an hour and the tour guide was busy trying to figure out how she could get a three-hour tour into an hour. In the end, everyone decided to extend the hours of the tour, but then a woman got lost at Topkapi and cost the other 40 of us half a hour more while someone went to find her.

At this point a fair number on the tour including me bailed. I had been expecting to use half a day in Istanbul to catch up on business using the Internet The last time I had reliable fast Internet had been in Mumbai, six ports two weeks previously. The Victoria’s Internet, although I get it free, is terrible and trying to conduct business on it, impossible. Lack of reliable high speed Internet was fast becoming a major concern.

Carol Anne had better luck with her tour, but not much. She toured the Blue Mosque and other sites ending at the Grand Bazaar. But she, too, did not linger long, opting to search for reliable Internet. She found it, but by then time had grown too short. She managed to upload her pictures, but little else. I never found high speed Internet at all.

Near dusk, the Victoria slipped her lines and sailed past the Golden Horn across the Sea of Mamara back west toward the Mediterranean, Aegean and Ionian Seas. Leaving Istanbul we had four ports left and nine days before arriving in Southampton.

PHOTOGRAPHS
Istanbul, striking at dawn from the Victoria
Hagia Sophia.
Decorative colorful art on wall along street
The Grand Bazaar, famous for selling anything, and haggling about everything
Map (below)

Copyright 2009, Seine-Harbour Productions LLC, Studio City, California

In 1924 Topkapi Palace was converted into a museum of the imperial era and is now looked after by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers with the most important being open to the public. In these rooms it is possible to see examples of Ottoman architecture and also large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry.

The Palace is a treasure trove of Turkey’s historical past and hence in 1985 Topkapı Palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Latest Post 2-7-08:

I should have updated my original post back in November, when I had just returned from my second trip to Istanbul, during  the week of  Thanksgiving (yes, Turkey for America’s “Turkey Day”).  I had another great trip, met more terrific people from Coca-Cola Icecek, and enjoyed seeing Cem Kozlu again, the former head of Turkish Airlines.

The weather wasn’t nearly as nice as it was in June, but I still had a clear day to enjoy walking around before my executive education program, and then enjoyed walking around one of the shopping districts after the conclusion of my program with a couple of the participants.  Once again, the wonderful people made this trip so worthwhile, no matter what the weather.  The food was wholesome if a bit boring, but that’s institutional food for you at an executive conference center.

Next time I will avoid both returning home on the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day, and JFK airport — the combination of travel date, rain, and airport location resulted in canceled flight which I was lucky to get rescheduled the same evening.  Thousands of other passengers were not so lucky.  Next time, I’ll fly through Frankfurt, Paris, or Munich in order to avoid the JFK hub.

There are so many other places and activities for me to visit the next time I visit Istanbul and Turkey, and I can’t wait to go back!

Aneil

Original Post 6-18-08

I just returned from a week in Istanbul, conducting an executive education program for Coca-Cola Icecek.  While the air trip was long, and Munich is an airport to avoid, the stay itself in Istanbul was wonderful.  I was able to make a new friend in fellow Princeton alum Mehmet Ali Neyzi, who was a wonderful host for my first evening in Istanbul, and took me to a fabulous restaurant, Mikla, with wonderful views of the city and the Bosporus Strait.

I was only able to do a little bit of sightseeing before my teaching work began, but I did get to visit the Sultanahmet Camii or Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar, all within walking distance or a short tram ride from one another.  I took the tram for one stop just to experience it (more crowded than the trams in Vienna, but easy to get on and off) and walked for the remainder of the day.

Throughout my stay, the people were very friendly and helpful, it was relatively easy to get around using English, and the food was fresh and delicious, although blander than I expected.  (Maybe that’s just the Indian in me.)  The climate in mid-June was terrific:  temperature was in the 70s (F) and low humidity near the water, a bit hotter inland.  I only was able to sample the many cultures and complex history represented in Istanbul and Turkey, and I can’t wait to go back!

Aneil

At the beginning of the eighteenth century ancient maps which had belonged to an officer in the Turkish navy, Admiral Piri Reis were found in the Topkapi Palace. Two atlases preserved in the Berlin State Library which contains exact reproductions of the Mediterranean and the region round the Dead Sea also came from Piri reis. All these maps were handed over to the American cartographer Arlington H. Mallery for examination. Mallery confirmed the remarkable fact that all the geographical data were present, but was not drawn in the right places. He sought the help of Mr. Walters, cartographer in the US Navy hydrographic bureau.

Mallery and Walters constructed a grid and transferred the maps at modern globe. They made a sensation discovery. The maps were absolutely accurate – and not only as regards the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea .The coast of North and South America and even the contours of the Antarctic were also precisely delineated on Piri Reis maps. The maps not only reproduced the outlined of the contents, but also showed the topography of the interiors … Mountain ranges, mountain peaks; islands, rivers and plateau were drawn in with extreme accuracy. In 1957, the Geophysical year, the maps were handed over to the Jesuit Father Lineham.

After scrupulous tests Father Lineham, too, could confirm that the maps were fantastically accurate – even about regions which we have scarcely explored today. What is more the mountain ranges in the Antarctic, which already figure on Reiss maps, were not discovered until 1952. They have been covered in ice for hundreds of years and our present day maps have been drawn with the aid of echo sounding apparatus. The latest studies of Professor Charls H. Hapgood and the mathematician Richard W. Strachan give us some more shattering information.

Comparison with modern photographs of our globe taken from satellites showed that the originals of Piri Reiss maps must have been aerial photographs taken from a very great height. How can that be explained ? A space – ship hovers high above Cairo and points its camera straight downwards. When the film is developed , the following picture would emerge : everything that was in a radius of about 5.000 miles of Cairo is reproduced correctly , because it lay directly below the lens .But the countries and continents become increasingly distorted the further we move our eyes from the center of the picture . Why is this? Owing to the spherical shape of the earth, the continents away from the centre «sink downwards «.

South America, for example, appears strangely distorted lengthways, exactly as it does on the photographs taken from the USA lunar probes. There are one or two questions that can be answered quickly. Unquestionably our forefathers did not draw these maps. Yet there is no doubt that the maps must have been made with the most modern technical aids – from the air. How are we to explain that? Admittedly the Turkish Admirals maps are not originals. They are copies of copies of copies. Yet even if the maps dated only from the eighteen century when they were found these facts are just as unexplainable.

Whoever made them must have been able to fly and also to take photographs… Letter to Prof C.Hapgood from Lorenzo W.Burroughs Captain, USAF Chief, Cartographic Section 8th Reconnaissance Technical Sqdn (SAC) Westover, Mass. «It is not very often that we have the opportunity to evaluate maps of ancient origin. The Piri Reis (AD 1513) and the Oronteus Fineaus [sic] (AD 1531) maps sent to us by you, presented a delightful challenge for it was not readily conceivable that they could be so accurate without being forged.

With added enthusiasm we accepted this challenge and have expended many off duty hours evaluating your manuscript and the above maps. I am sure you will be pleased to know that we have concluded that both of these maps were compiled from accurate original source maps, irrespective of dates. The following is a brief summary of our findings: A. The solution of the portolano projection used by Admiral Piri Reis, developed by your class in Anthropology must be very nearly correct; for when known geographical locations are checked in relationship to the grid computed by Mr. Richard W. Strachan (MIT), there, is remarkably close agreement.

Piri Reis’ use of the Portolano projectio

n (centred on Syene, Egypt) is an excellent choice, for it is a developable surface that would permit the relative size and shape of the earth at that (lattitude) to be retained. It is our opinion that those who compiled the original map had an excellent knowledge of the continents covered by this map. B. As stated by Colonel Harold Z. Ohlmeyer in his letter (July 6, 1960) to you, the Princess Martha Coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, appears to be truly represented on the southern sector of the Piri Reis Map. The agreement of the Piri Reis map with the seismic profile of this area made by the Norwegian-British -Swedish Expedition of 1949, supported by your solution of the grid, places beyond a reasonable doubt the conclusion that the original source maps must have been made before the present Antarctic ice cap covered Queen Maud Land coasts. C. It is our opinion that the accuracy of the cartographic features shown in the Oronteus Fineaus [sic] Map ( AD 1530 ) suggests, beyond a doubt, that it also was compiled from accurate source maps of Antarctica, but in this case of the entire continent.

Close examination has proved the original source maps must have been compiled at a time when the land mass and inland waterways of the continent were relatively free of ice. This conclusion is further supported by a comparison of the Oronteus Finneaus [sic] Map with the results obtained by International Geophysical Year teams in their measurements of the subglacial topography. The comparison also suggests that the original source maps (compiled in remote antiquity) were prepared when Antarctica was presumably free of ice. The Cordiform projection used by Oronteus Fineaus [sic] suggests the use of advanced mathematics.

Further, the shape given to the Antarctic continent suggests the possibility, if not the probability, that the original source maps were compiled on a stereographic or gnomonic type of projection (involving the use of spherical trigonometry). D. We are convinced that the findings made by you and your associates are valid, and that they raise extremely important questions affecting geology and ancient history, questions which certainly require further investigation. We thank you for extending us the opportunity to have participated in the study of these maps. The following officers and airmen volunteered their time to assist Captain Lorenzo W.Burroughs in this evaluation: Captain Richard E. Covault, CWO Howard D.Minor, MSgt Clifton M.Dover, MSgt DAvid C.Carter, TSgt James H.Hood, SSgt James L.Carroll, and AIC Don R.Vance.” Lorenzo W.Burroughs Captain, USAF Chief, Cartographic Section 8th Reconnaissance Technical Sqdn (SAC) Westover, Mass. Every tourist knows the island of Elephantine with the famous Nilometer at Asswan.

The island is called Elephantine even in the oldest texts, because it was supposed to resemble an elephant. The texts were quite right – the island does look like an elephant. But how did the ancient Egyptians know that, because this shape can only be recognized from an airplane at a great height? For there is no hill offering a view of the island that would prompt anyone to make the comparison. The evidence presented by the ancient maps appears to suggest the existence in remote times , before the rise of any the known cultures , of a true civilization , of a comparatively advanced sort , which either was localized in one aria but had worldwide commerce , or it was , in a real sense , a worldwide culture .

This culture, at least in some respects, may well have been more advanced thin the civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome. In astronomy, nautical science, mapmaking, and possibly ship-building It was more advanced then any state of culture before the 18th Century of the Christian era. It was in the 18th Century that we first developed a practical means of finding long attitude. Not until the 19th Century did we begun to send out ships for purposes of whaling or exploration into the Arctic or Antarctic Seas. The maps indicate that some ancient people may have done all these things. Mapping on such a scale as this suggests both economic motivations and economic resources. Organized government is indicated. The mapping of a continent like Antarctica implies much organization, many exploring expeditions, many stages in compilation of local observations and local maps into a general map, all under a central direction. Whatever its attainment may have been, however, this civilization disappeared, perhaps suddenly, more likely by gradual stages.

Every culture contains the seeds of its own disintegration. At every moment forces of progress and of decay co-exist, building up or tearing down, all too evidently the destructive forces have often gained the upper hand; witness such known cases as the extinctions of the high cultures of Ancient Summer, Grete, Troy, Babylon, Greece and Rome… Every civilization seems eventually to develop a technology sufficient for its own destruction. As soon as men learned to build walls for defense, other men learned how to tear them down. The vaster the achievements of a civilization, the farther it spreads. , the greater must be engines of destruction

Last night the time feel back one hour and I woke up to the sound of rain outside my hostel window. I looked at the clock and it was about 7:30am (the new time) so I thought I would continue to sleep a bit more since there was no rush to go out in weather like this. Plus I was waiting for Gokhan to call so we could make arrangements to see Topkapi Palace. The next thing I know it’s 8:30am and I’m being woken up by the door flinging open and lights turning on to my hostel bedroom (which I was sharing with four other people). It was the hostel reception and Gokhan standing in the doorway and I shot straight up! I rubbed my eyes thinking surely that wasn’t Gokhan! Surely he would have called before showing up to the hostel like that! But nope, it was him. Apparently he had called, and even called last night to make plans but no one ever told me he called. He lives on the Asian side of Istanbul so it was quite a trek for him to get to me on the European side of the city. I was a little freaked out at first but on the other hand I was flattered that he made such an effort to come to the hostel in such awful weather on a Sunday morning!

I quickly got dressed and packed my bags to put in the downstairs storage and off I went with Gokhan to have breakfast and then head to the Old City. We took the Tunel, the world’s second oldest and shortest underground train, to the Galata Bridge.

When we came above ground we were in the middle of the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon, the only marathon that goes from one continent to another starting from the Asian side of Istanbul, and ending on the European side. It was so cool to see this race, I just felt sorry for all of them running in the cold and rainy weather!

From Istanbul, Turkey

So off we went to Topkapi Palace where we spent about an hour or so walking around. Topkapi Palace is the former residence and seat of government of the Ottoman sultans so there was quite a bit of history to see!

From Istanbul, Turkey

From there we went to Yerebatan Serayi, also known as the Basilica Cistern, part of Istanbul’s ancient system of underground reservoirs. Here we also saw two engraved columns of Medusa!

From Istanbul, Turkey

From Istanbul, Turkey

When we left the cistern I was absolutely freezing and all I could think about was going somewhere warm and having something hot to drink so Gokhan took me to Moda Cafe where we drank salep and had a yummy Turkish dessert…I can’t remember the name now but it was a custard like dessert with lots of cinnamon. Once there was circulation back in my fingers we went back out in the cold, rainy weather and he showed me the tower that was constructed (and is now being renovated) to represent the existence and coexistence of Christianity in Turkey. For some reason the name of this tower is slipping my mind and I couldn’t find it in my guide book…

My time with Gokhan was coming to an end because I wanted to go to a Turkish bath before I left for Tbilisi. Before he walked me to Cagaloglu Hamami (the Turkish bath house) he took me to a local store where he surprised me with a pair of gloves! I was complaining earlier how cold my hands were and how I really needed to buy some gloves as soon as I got to Georgia. Well he was a step ahead of me and thought the gloves would be a good way for me to remember him! How cute is that?! It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture. When we finally approached Gagaloglu Hamami we hugged and said our goodbyes. I really enjoyed my time with him and and really glad our paths crossed on the road to St. George’s Monastery! The road that I nearly didn’t walk up because I was so put out from the treacherous uphill walk I had already done! What a beautiful weekend this was and such great little surprises along the way! Minus the carpet salesman….

The Turkish bath was a true delight and definitely an experience everyone should have in their lifetime. There’s nothing like a full body scrub and massage on a warm stone platform performed by an overweight Turkish women! I couldn’t believe all the dead skin cells she was sluffing off my body! It was a great way to end my time here in Istanbul!

From Istanbul, Turkey

We took Bunny to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul and she was under the mistaken impression that we were actually going to allow her to stay there permanently. She kept making comments about how this was “finally a step up from that awful dorm room we’ve been living in”.