ISTANBUL, CAPITAL OF EMPIRES AND CATS
BY
We arrived in Istanbul early in the morning, in teeth-chattering cold that was a prelude to recordbreaking snowfall, the day after the Reina nightclub shooting. The mood was antsy at first, security on high alert, and then everything resumed an air of normalcy because what else can one do? It was nothing Istanbul had not seen before, in its storied history that goes back thousands of years. Many of the ancient civilizations we read about in the classics came through here, and left monuments and artifacts that attest to their power.
Istanbul has been three cities. It was Byzantium, a Greek city founded over 2,000 years ago. It was rebuilt as Constantinople, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire. After Constantinople fell, it rose again as Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire that controlled much of Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, and North Africa. Istanbul was the capital of the world not once but twice, and you can see it in the way its citizens conduct themselves. Cosmopolitan and generous, dignified yet warm, Istanbulites know what it is to be the center of everything.
Today the city has a population of 16 million sprawled across 100 miles that straddle Asia and Europe. Most of the historical sites and touristy places are on the European side, but if you want to see how today’s Istanbulites really live, take a scenic boat or ferry ride across the Bosphorus Strait to the Asian side.
One of the most famous places in Istanbul is Hagia Sophia, and it sums up the cosmopolitanism of the city. A masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, it was constructed as an Eastern Orthodox church 1,500 years ago. When the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453, they didn’t tear down the church, they converted it into a mosque. Many of the Byzantine mosaics were covered with plaster, though they were still visible. These mosaics have since been or are being restored. The challenge of restoration involves creating a balance between Christian and Islamic iconography.
The Ottomans set about creating a true world capital, welcoming immigrants of different races and creeds. When the Inquisition exiled Jews from Europe, the Ottoman rulers invited them to settle in Turkey. Today, when people go to war over their religious beliefs and nations are divided by their views on immigration, we would do well to remember how the Ottomans built their empire.
Hagia Sophia is now a museum housing the finest examples of Byzantine and Islamic art. Being 1,500 years old, the structure requires periodic restoration. Amid the restoration work, there lives a colony of cats. Basically they own the place, playing and lolling about, unbothered by the tourists taking their pictures. There was one particular cat, a large and slightly cross-eyed tabby, who was grooming himself by the altar. When we sat next to the altar to talk to the museum director, the cat walked up to us and sat between Pepe and myself. Obviously, he felt that as the real authority on the museum, we should be talking to him. Later, I found that when Barack Obama visited Hagia Sophia in 2008, he stopped to pat a friendly tabby named Gli — the same cat who had interrupted our talk. We had encountered a global celebrity!
Which brings us to one of the things I love about Istanbul: its beautiful stray cats and dogs. They are vaccinated, tagged, and returned to their neighborhoods to be fed by the residents. Judging by the state of the dogs and cats we met, they are very well-fed. There are even vending machines that dispense pet kibble when you place plastic water bottles for recycling. Later in the week, when the mercury dropped and Istanbul was blanketed in snow, concerned citizens rounded up homeless people and animals and brought them to malls where there was central heating. You can tell a lot about a place by the way they treat animals. I took to carrying bits of cheese and cold cuts from the hotel breakfast buffets for the street cats and dogs I met. (A better idea would’ve been to carry dry kibble, because some of the pickier critters rejected food for humans.)
Steps away from Hagia Sophia is Topkapi Palace, the residence and headquarters of the Ottoman sultans. Here the imperial council ruled the empire, dispensed justice, and kept fabulous treasures such as the jewel-studded dagger that was once the subject of a Hollywood heist movie. The Topkapi museum also houses important relics of Islam such as Prophet Muhammad’s sword and cloak.
I was especially interested in the harem, where the most ferocious power struggles occurred. The wives didn’t just compete for the sultan’s attention; they vied to put their sons on the throne. The competition was so vicious that when a new sultan was crowned, his brothers would be executed to prevent them from plotting his overthrow. Royal blood, being sacred, could not be spilled, so they would be strangled; in one case death came by “constriction of the testicles.”
If you’re in the area, stop by the Basilica Cistern, the underground reservoir built in Roman times. Historians say 7,000 slaves worked on its construction. The reservoir, the majestic columns of which make it look like a basilica, could hold 100,000 tons of water. Among the columns are two giant heads of the Medusa, one sideways and one upside-down, probably to prevent the legendary eye contact that could turn the beholder to stone.
History and shopping mingle in Istanbul’s most famous markets, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. The Spice Market is the center for spice trade while also selling other merchandise. A shopkeeper not only identified us as Filipino, but also lured us into his store by saying he was friends with Edu Manzano. He proceeded to ply us with different flavors of Turkish delight, including pomegranate and cranberry, and the classic honey with pistachio nuts. We washed them down with winter tea, a mixture of herbs and eucalyptus with honey. Of course, he made a sale.
The grandparent of the world’s shopping malls is the Grand Bazaar, which houses 4,000 stores spread out over 61 streets. These centuries-old markets remind us that trade is a driver of exploration. After all, Magellan discovered the Philippines on his way to the Spice Islands. Also, shopping is a basic human instinct. Go to the Grand Bazaar to gawk at the intricate mosaic interiors and dizzying array of merchandise or to listen to the dramatic sales pitches and practice your bargaining skills. Shopping at the Grand Bazaar is an essential tourist experience. For real bargains, you have to go to where the locals shop. From Taksim Square, walk down Istiklal Avenue, which is lined with stores, cinemas, and cafes.
To feel contemporary Istanbul, cross the Bosphorus to the Asian side, to bustling Kadikoy. At the market you can sample staples of Turkish cuisine, including dozens of varieties of olives and grape leaves. Do not be surprised if the shopkeepers feed you by hand — they really want you to enjoy their food. We tried an appetizer called midye, mussels stuffed with rice, herbs and spices. A quick stop at Cafer Erol, a candy shop that opened in 1807, turned into mad shopping for pasalubong.
For lunch, we had the good fortune to dine at Ciya Sofrasi, one of the restaurants of master chef Musa Dağdeviren. The chef is a passionate scholar of Turkish cuisine — not the chichi stuff, but traditional village home cooking that has earned raves from the snootiest foodies.
Before I set foot in a foreign country, I try to read a novel from that country. There are many great Turkish writers whose works have been translated into English — Yasar Kemal, Bilge Karasu, Elif Shafak — but the one best known outside of Turkey is Orhan Pamuk, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. It’s not unusual for well-loved books to be turned into movies; Pamuk’s novel gave birth to a museum.
In 2008, Pamuk published The Museum of Innocence, about a wealthy businessman in love with a poor cousin. He collects objects that remind him of her, and finally converts her house into a museum of their relationship. In 2012, Pamuk inaugurated an actual Museum of Innocence, which houses mementoes of that romantic obsession and offers a look at the lives of upper-class Istanbul citizens of the 1970s and ’80s. The exhibits are a combination of actual items like perfume and food packaging, and madeup advertisements. I was especially interested in the display in the attic, which includes pages from the manuscript of the novel, and the writer’s notes and random doodles.
I would’ve happily stayed in Istanbul for a few more months, sitting in centuries-old cafés sipping coffee, eating baklava, and trying to communicate with the cats. But we had to see what else was out there, outside the capital, and what we did see was out of this world. Next stop: Cappadocia.
The best way to get to Istanbul is via Turkish Airlines, which flies direct from Manila seven times a week. It flies to more countries than any other airline with over 299 destinations in 120 countries. On Business Class, Turkish Airlines spoils its passengers with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and games on demand, seats that recline fully into beds, and an On-Board Chef.