Two sides of Istanbul

There were two sides to Istanbul. Yes, we all know the European and Asian sides. When the Crusaders attacked and sacked the rich city of Constantinople in 1204, it was still a Christian city. It was then the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire). That was during the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204). At that time, Constantinople had been in existence since 330 CE, created by Constantine the Great of the Roman Empire. By then, settlements existed in the area since the 13th century BC.

Constantinople fell to the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1453. It's called the conquest of Constantinople on the 29th of May 1453, ending a 53-day siege. The siege was led by Sultan Mehmed II, and he made Constantinople the new capital of the Ottoman Empire, replacing Adrianople. After the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was renamed Istanbul in 1930. It is the largest city in Europe, lying in both Europe and Asia, divided only by a 3.7 km wide, 30 km long narrow stretch of seawater called the Bosphorus Strait.

We stayed on the European side, and all the restaurants and tourist food prices are similar to European or British prices. We heard many stories of crafty tour guides and salesmen in Istanbul, but that is most probably if you stay on the European side.

When we first went to the hotel, alas it was under repair. We could not stay there and moved to a different one on the same night. The hotel staff was okay with it, and they realized we would not stay in a hotel still undergoing repairs. Strangely enough, it was Booking.com that advertised the hotel. The owner of the next hotel was Kurdish but spoke Turkish. They were quite nice and helpful too.

I heard Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish-speaking people in a lot of places. Some hotel workers in the hotel we stayed were from Turkmenistan who spoke to me in Russian. One Turkmen woman told me that the maximum monthly wage there (in Turmenisthan)  is about 100 US dollars, so it's better for them to work in Turkey. I told her, 'You came to the place where the original Nomadic Turkmen built.' She did not get the joke, though.

There was a Russian mom and two daughters who were very politely talking to us in the morning. I talked to her in Russian, and she explained that they are coming to buy Turkish and some Western products to sell in Moscow. 'What kind of goodies?' I asked. 'You know, perfumes, cosmetics for women, clothes. Now they don't come to Russia easily.' 'Oh,' I told her, 'foreign students did the same back in the '80s in the Soviet Union. It's like what Karl Marx said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."'. There was a mild smile from her at that quip.

On the second day, our tour guide took us to the ferry, and we went to the other side of the strait. Food is one-third cheaper, and most items sold to tourists are not exorbitantly priced. People are friendlier in a good way.

This chain there for the Sultan so he lower his head before the god. 

I went inside a mosque for the first time, and I found it calming. Inside, there is a large space to pray, and there was only a place for the sermon. I like this kind of large space in religious places; it's calming and ideal for meditation.

One of the most touching things I saw in Istanbul is their treatment of stray dogs and cats. This is a really compassionate act of not only safeguarding the animals but effectively caring for them, leaving food and drink in many places, and looking after the dogs with necessary injections, etc

You can see in one of the buildings there was a little inbuilt nests for birds.

Ajith Dharma 28/03/2024