Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2019 | Page 112

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Travel | Istanbul
Massive dome of Suleymaniye Mosque
with Bosphorus strait at the back. The
strait straddles between the two
continents, Asia and Europe.
1
Few cities offer such a wealth of Islamic architecture
and culture as Istanbul, the fabulous Ottoman city on
the Bosphorus. From mosques to markets and palaces
to priceless museum exhibits, Brian Johnston guides
us around the best of Islamic Istanbul.
One minute you’re eyeing the mud and
potholes in the street, the next minute
you glance up and see an exquisite mosque
whose minarets overlook a sea of concrete
apartment blocks. The sound of the call
to prayer rises above the noise of the
street vendors selling olives or postcards.
Grandmothers swathed head-to-toe in
black bustle past businesswomen in the
latest fashions, clutching mobile phones.
The sound of the call to prayer is a reminder
that bustling, modern Istanbul is a place rich
in Islamic history and culture, which boasts
some of the most marvellous achievements
in Islamic architecture in the world. Follow
the Islamic trail around the city and you’re
in for a treat. Mosques of staggering beauty,
huge covered markets, shuttered palace
harem quarters and much more attest
to a wealth of culture and art from
the time when Istanbul was the centre
of the mighty Ottoman Empire.
Start your exploration in the district of
Fatih, one of the most conservative and
deeply Muslim parts of modern Istanbul.
In Ottoman times this was a prominent city
district, and many monuments crumble in
its side streets. Fatih Mosque was built by
Sultan Mehmet II over the ruins of a former
church. It was Mehmet II who conquered the
failing Constantinople in 1453 and made it
the capital of his empire, earning him the
sobriquet Fatih, or Conqueror.
Mehmet’s tomb lies behind the mosque,
but the sultan is better noted for erecting
the Eyüp Sultan Mosque over another,
more important tomb: that of Halid bin Zeyd
Ebu Eyyûb, standard-bearer to the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH). Although the current
mosque was rebuilt after an earthquake in
1800, it remains the most important religious
site in the city, and one of the most
significant in the Islamic world. Many
consider it an honour to be buried in the
surrounding cemetery, while the tomb inside
draws a line of meditating pilgrims. The aura
of peace and religious devotion is palpable.
Stay for a while in the shady courtyard,
where pigeons flutter and families parade
with their well-dressed children.
Mehmet II was also responsible for
Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Founded in 1453,
the market, with its vaulted ceilings, old-time
teahouses and marble fountains, crams 4,000
shops into 65 covered streets. You can buy
almost anything here, but those on the trail
of Islamic Istanbul should seek out Ottoman
jewellery, old textiles, calligraphy and
perhaps an elegant brass coffee pot or
hubble-bubble.
Another legacy of the busy sultan is Topkapi
Palace, which Mehmet started and which
was later to develop into a sprawling complex
that was part pleasure palace, part political
centre of the Ottoman Empire. The