istanbul 03

istanbul/ 0.3

[Notes from Istanbul trip, Dec 25-28]

Istanbul/Grand Bazaar

you had me at namaste...

The muezzins namaaz rends the cool winter air and slowly percolates

through all the hubbub around us. The ambient noises play spoilsport,

whittling it down to a surprisingly faint tone, a gentle entreaty of

sorts. In spite of the many distractions that abound in Old Istanbul,

the five-times-a-day prayer call clings to you like a shadow here,

never letting you go.

Today, we are deep in the heart of the aptly named Grand Bazaar. What

started out as a small souk (market) during the time of Mehmet the

Conqueror in the 15th century has now grown into a mini city, with

around 4000 shops clustered together, connected by narrow, serpentine

alleys. There are various sub-specialties in the bazaar, and you need

to wander around the place for an hour or two before you get the hang

of it .There is the heaping, colorful mounds of different spices in

the Spice Alley (there is a separate Spice Bazaar in Istanbul also -

they clearly take their spices seriously), sparkling diamonds

bracelets and rings in the jewelry Street, delicate Turkish pottery

and ceramics, leather jackets, books. Tapis. Fez caps. Candy. Belly

dancer costume. To top all this is the crowd (mostly tourists, though

locals hang out here also) that throngs the place, converting it into

a veritable Tower of Babel.

I half-expect store owners to pause for the prayer, but quickly

realize my foolishness: this is a shopper's paradise. Commerce is

King, and bargain hunting the top entertainment around. The

shopkeepers are at the top of their game here; they acknowledge each

tourist group that saunters by, quickly guess their nationality and

try to use that knowledge to lure them in. I hear greetings in

Japanese, French and German. As I walk past a leather jacket dealer,

he pipes up: "Namaste, Shah Rukh Khan! Kaise ho?" Business

man/stand-up comic, apparently. The hard sell comes at us from all

sides, fast and furious, and we finally cave. We enter a ceramic store

where we buy some stunning bowls and plates, but not before the

shopkeeper gives us his non-stop salesman patter - From Belgium?

Flemish side? Yes? Good..Flemish..good people. French bad. You are

married? Honeymoon? No? Where is baby? Inshallah! it will be soon..

and so on. After exchanging more personal notes - he is from near the

Iraq border, speaks fluent Japanese and has a brother who is also in

the pottery business - he finally offers the plate that we liked

earlier but thought was too expensive, at a more reasonable price.

"Brother, just for you, I am making loss on this sale. Boss will ask

me to pay for remaining amount". Sure, dude. I believe you.

For a good time, remember to add frequent stops for �ay and ...well,

if you read my previous entry on Istanbul, you know the drill.

Photos: Grand Bazaar [Slideshow version].

*

Istanbul/Blue Mosque

rhapsody in blue

While heading to the Aya Sofya the first day, we mistakenly end up at

the entrance to the Blue Mosque. To the casual observer, they look the

same. If you look a little bit closer, you will start noticing the

differences. You need some patience though; the Blue Mosque reveals

itself shyly, in stages. There is the unassuming outer wall that you

cross, then a tiny garden and then one more set of walls before you

find yourself in the courtyard, which is considered to be one of the

largest courtyards in an Ottoman mosque. This is the first inkling you

will get of the sheer grandeur of the place. The inside of the mosque

is a sheer slam-dunk of architectural marvels, which is exactly the

way Sultan Ahmet wanted it. The inside is inlaid with blue Iznik

tiles, which gives the mosque its name. The six minarets that surround

the mosque caused some controversy during construction - the only

other mosque with half a dozen minarets was the Mecca, and the attempt

to equal it was considered to be in poor taste. But the Sultan had his

way - legend has it that the Sultan worked side by side with the

laborers to make sure they got his vision, and built a mosque worthy

of being the Aya Sofya's neighbor.