ISTANBUL, TURKEY:, Guest Post by Kathryn Mohrman

Istanbul, Turkey.  Hagia Sofia at Sunset

My friend, Kathryn Mohrman, an avid and excellent photographer, visited Turkey earlier this year when she was on her way to Ethiopia.  She has graciously agreed to share some of her photos and impressions of her visit to Turkey. Kathryn is a professor at Arizona State University and travels widely for her job as director of several projects with partner universities in China and Vietnam. You can see photos from her trip to Lalibela, Ethiopia, at her 2/17/14 post on this blog.  I have known Kathryn since we were students together at Grinnell College in Iowa. Here is her report of part of her trip to Istanbul.

Around Christmas and New Year's, 2013, I traveled to Istanbul to see the only city in the world that straddles two continents.

Olives, tomatoes, and cheese are standard items for a Turkish breakfast

Breakfast in my hotel.  I became especially fond of soft yoghurt with local honey (the small dish on the left).

The most impressive structures in Istanbul are the mosques.  The Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Byzantine Christian cathedral  in the 6th century, converted to a mosque in the 15th century, and is now a museum. It is huge!  The great dome is 184 feet above the floor of Hagia Sophia. The medallions around the nave are the names of important prophets. The small structure near the center of the photo (where the altar would be in a Christian church) is the mihrab, the niche indicating the direction of Mecca, and thus the direction to face for prayer.

Blue Mosque

About four blocks from my hotel, on the opposite side of Sultanahmet Square from the Hagia Sophia, is the Blue Mosque.  It gets its name from the predominantly blue Itzik tiles in the interior.

Tahrir Square

Early on I went to Tahrir Square, site of significant protests not too long ago.  It was peaceful when I was there, but I noticed a significant police presence (lots of police cars and soldiers in the background).  Tahrir Square is rather small--I was expecting something larger given the importance of the place in recent history.

Trams go throughout Istanbul

This is the main street running downhill from Tahrir Square toward the Golden Horn

Inside the Grand Bazaar

Istanbul is known for its covered markets, and the Grand Bazaar is THE grand bazaar.  I found it overwhelming.  After an hour or so, I fled.

Rustum Pasha Mosque

I also walked around open-air markets that were frequented by local people. But I found mosques to be more peaceful, even with lots of tourists. On the day I took a food tour of Istanbul (see my post for 7/3) we stopped at Rustum Pasha mosque, known for its wonderful tile work.  Unlike the situation in larger mosques, we could walk throughout the mosque when there were no services.

Entrance to Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace, former residence of the rulers, is a must-see.

Whirling Dervishes

I also attended a whirling dervish religious ceremony.  I'm not a particularly religious person but I found the ceremony to be very spiritual.

EPHESUS, TURKEY: Guest Post by Kathryn Mohrman

Library of Celsus, Ephesus, Turkey. 

My friend, Kathryn Mohrman, an avid and excellent photographer, visited Turkey earlier this year when she was on her way to Ethiopia.  She has graciously agreed to share some of her photos and impressions of her visit to Ephesus, the ancient city in southeastern Turkey known for its Greco-Roman ruins. Kathryn is a professor at Arizona State University and travels widely for her job as director of several projects with partner universities in China and Vietnam. You can see photos from her trip to Lalibela, Ethiopia, at her 2/17/14 post on this blog.  I have known Kathryn since we were students together at Grinnell College in Iowa. 

Ephesus is organized along the Curetes Way, the grand marble-paved main street of the town.

The site of Ephesus has been occupied for at least 6000 years, with Mycenaean, Hittite, Lydean, Greek, Persian, Macedonian, Roman, and Byzantine citizens, up to 250,000 when the city was the capital of Roman Asia Minor. By the 6th century AD the harbor had silted up, however, so Ephesus was no longer a lively trading port. Earthquakes also damaged the city. Gradually people moved away and the site was abandoned.

Amphitheater

Today Ephesus is a national monument displaying artifacts unearthed by Turkish and European archeologists--but 80% of the ancient city remains buried. Like many Roman cities, Ephesus has a huge amphitheater.

Nike, goddess of victory.

While some walls and structures are standing, a more common sight while walking through Ephesus is a jumble of fragments, some of them beautifully carved. Most of the artifacts are simply displayed rather than reconstructed into actual buildings.

Library of Celsus, looking up

The highlight of the city is the Library of Celsus, built in the 2nd century AD. At one time it contained more than 12,000 scrolls!

Ephesus is full of stray cats, many of them existing on handouts from happy tourists (and field mice, too).

 What a fascinating place! I'd love to have the chance to see more of Turkey.

(For more about the amazing ruins of Ephesus, check out the Intrepid Tourist posts for June 10, 2013 and  August 27, 2012. )

BEIJING ZOO and PEKING DUCK, Beijing, China (Day 5)

Red Panda, Beijing Zoo

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots.

Golden Monkey, Beijing Zoo

Beijing, Day 5:  Our last day in Beijing was a free day with no organized tours.  In the morning, Art and I took a taxi to the zoo.  The weather was hot but not unbearable.  The panda exhibit is the first inside the gate and required an extra fee.  The inside enclosures were filled with cut bamboo and one panda was eating.  The others were more active outside.  We also photographed a red panda, which circled around and round its enclosure before finally climbing a tree to sleep.  After leaving the pandas we searched for other Chinese animals and saw some cranes and golden monkeys.  The zoo is huge and we got somewhat lost because there weren’t many maps.  At the far end we found two polar bears play-fighting in the water.

Polar bears, Beijing Zoo

After the zoo we took a taxi to the Great Bell Temple to see the biggest bell in China.  You can read more about the bell in my post on 6/30/14.

Preparation of Peking Duck

That evening we went out for a Peking duck dinner at a restaurant recommended by the hotel.  The waitress convinced us that we needed two ducks (for five of us) but we would have been better off with just one because they were so greasy and rich that we ate too much and felt sick the next day.  The waiter brings the whole roast duck on a cart and then carves the pieces into piles on small plates.  You eat them with your hands, folding the duck pieces inside thin pancakes that have been swabbed in bean sauce. Afterwards we watched them prepare and cook the ducks and bought a few souvenirs, including a duck hat for Art.

Tiananmen Square at Night

We then walked back to our hotel via Tiananmen Square, where people were picnicking, talking, playing badminton and soccer, and flying kites.  (Badminton was obviously very popular in China. Every night on television we saw broadcasts of the international badminton championships which were being played that week.)  The moon, which had been a crescent earlier in the week, was growing fuller and small bats flew among the kites catching insects.  After a hot day, the relatively cool night air was refreshing.

My bird kite purchased in Beijing

MINORITIES PARK and LAMA TEMPLE, Beijing, China (Day 4)

Musicians, Minorities Park, Beijing

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots.

Beijing Day 4:  On the morning of our third full day in Beijing we were scheduled to tour the Temple of Heaven, but as we had already visited several temples, we asked to visit the Minorities Park instead.  The Minorities Park was a government enterprise and had only opened a year before.  It is a sort of Disneyland approach to bringing samples of China’s many ethnic minorities to the capital–saving tourists the trouble of traveling to the hinterlands.  It also seemed to have an educational purpose–almost the only other people there on the day we visited was a school class on a field trip.

Prayer Wheel, Minorities Park, Beijing

The park was divided into sections by ethnic group and showed houses, gardens, tools, etc.  We started at the Tibet exhibit, where for a fee you could actually go into a small temple and take photographs.  Outside was a giant prayer wheel and a row of smaller ones.  The wheels are inscribed with prayers and as you turn them the prayers are repeated.

Water Play, Minorities Park, Beijing

We then went to another area to watch a dance celebrating a water festival.  At the end of each dance the dancers and people in the audience scooped water out of tubs placed around the dance floor and threw it at one another. It was the perfect activity for a hot day and, by the end, everyone was soaked.  (Later we saw the dancers’ clothes hung on a line to dry.)

Pagoda and Water Wheels, Minorities Park

For lunch we went to a restaurant housed in what once had been an imperial room–inside it was blessedly dark and cool and the food was the best in three days.  Like each of the other restaurants we had been taken to, this apparently only catered to tourist groups.

Incense, Lama Temple

For the afternoon we went to the Lama Temple, which we thought was pretty, but not that different from other temples.  I kept sneezing when I got near incense, which was everywhere.
For an article about the Ethnic Minorities park in the NY Times, click HERE.

Lama Temple, Beijing

TIANANMEN SQUARE, FORBIDDEN CITY and SUMMER PALACE, Beijing, China (Day 3)

"Female" lion, Forbidden City, Beijing, China

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots.

Tiananmen Tower and Gate to Forbidden City

Day 3:  On the morning of our second full day in Beijing we met our guide, Amy, after breakfast at our hotel and proceeded to Tiananmen Square.  Amy told us that she had been in her first year of college in 1989.  She had been in the square during the day, but at night her mother made her stay home because she thought it was too dangerous. When we got to the square it was crowded with people, including thousands of Chinese in a huge line snaking its way toward the monument where Mao is entombed.  Apparently, all Chinese learn a saying from the time they are very young: “Once in my life I will visit Beijing to see Chairman Mao.”  So these people were making their once in a lifetime pilgrimage.

Hall of Preserving Harmony.  The carving along the stairs weighs 250 metric tons.

The Square was made of stone blocks about a foot and half square.  Amy said that if one person stood on each of these, the Square would hold a half million people.  We than walked across to the gate to the Forbidden City, where we received tapes for our tour.

Bronze turtle, Forbidden City

This large bronze turtle is a symbol of longevity and stability.  It is also an incense burner–the smoke comes out of its mouth.

Roof carvings, Forbidden City

These elaborate roof carvings inside the Forbidden City tell a story of a cruel tyrant who was hung from the eaves of a roof.

Large water pot, Forbidden City

Fire was a constant threat in the Forbidden City.  This is one of many water pots in place to use for dousing fires.






After lunch, we drove to the Summer Palace.  Among the more interesting things was an exhibit of photos of the Dowager–in one case with an American woman who apparently lived at the palace. We saw a picture of a traditional wedding dress–which includes an elaborate headpiece.  I asked Amy if she would be wearing such a dress for her wedding in the fall.  She said she might rent one for a photo, but that it would be too expensive to rent one for the whole day.  The actual date for her wedding is not yet set.  She will consult a soothsayer who will look at all the factors and determine the most propitious day.

Summer Palace

At the Summer Palace we saw another example of recreated hills as well as “borrowed scenery”-- where a distant landscape is incorporated into the whole panorama. The long corridor and walk beside the lake was quite refreshing because of the breeze off the water, but the stone boat at the end was a bit anticlimactic.  Although one could go for a ride across the lake on a brightly painted real boat, we didn’t do that.

Marble boat at the Summer Palace

That evening we were on our own for dinner.  We went out to a local noodle shop and ordered by pointing to dishes on other people’s tables.  We were the only Westerners in the restaurant.  The meal was inexpensive and quite tasty.

CLOISONNE, MING TOMBS and THE GREAT WALL, Beijing, China (Day 2)

Great Wall of China, Badaling

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots. 

Detail of Cloisonne Vase

Day 2: On our first full day in Beijing, after breakfast at our hotel, we climbed into our van for a trip outside the city.  We drove northwest along wide streets and onto an expressway.  Our first stop was a cloisonne factory where we watched people making each step of the process–forming the patterns by gluing bent strips of copper onto the posts, applying the color paste, firing the pots and grinding and polishing them at the end.

"Painting" the cloisonne designs

Our guide, Amy, revealed that the workers we saw were only representative and that the real factory was somewhere else.  Flying over the yard were hundreds of swallows, by far the most common bird we saw in China.  After buying souvenirs I went to the bathroom–my first experience with a half-door floor toilet.

Taking the cloisonne pots out of the kiln

Next stop was the Ming Tombs.  We climbed up to the top of a hill and then descended a long stairway into the tombs–a series of underground rooms empty except for a few huge stone chairs. The locks on the doors were large versions of the anti-burglar poles that you jam into your door from the floor.  After the tombs were built they were buried to create a large hill.  Apparently all the workers were killed and buried in them so that no one except the next in line to the throne knew the location of the tombs.  (The ancient Chinese seemed to have no compunction about rearranging the landscape to their liking–moving rocks hundreds of miles to create gardens, digging lakes, and using the earth to build small mountains.)

We left the Ming Tombs and drove through the countryside and a small town, and then began to wind our way up into the mountains past small houses made of brick or stone, each with a fenced in courtyard in front.  We passed several sections of the Great Wall–including a large section being restored with a stone bridge across the road.  All along the way we saw beehives and small tents pitched next to the road with signs offering honey for sale.  We finally arrived at Badaling, a point where the Wall crosses a pass.

We made our way from the huge parking lot past a dusty camel, dozens of tourist stalls selling T-shirts (“I climbed the Great Wall”, etc.) and went through the gate up onto the wall.  The choice was between right–less steep but more crowded, or left.  We went left.  The most steep part (reminiscent of the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan in Mexico because the steps were so short your whole foot didn’t fit) was toward the beginning.

Alongside the wall, below, was another camel and a clothes rack of costumes.  For a fee you could dress up as a Mongol warrior and be photographed. As we made our way along the top of the wall we saw three species of butterflies and a magpie.  The sunlight became more golden as we walked and the crowds fewer so that by the time we got to the end of the reconstructed part we were the only people there. 

BEHEI PARK, Beijing, China (Day 1)

Behei Park, Beijing

The following is an excerpt from the diary of our trip to China July, 1995.  We were traveling with three friends, spending five days in Beijing and then three days in Xian.  China has changed greatly since our visit but many of the places we went to are still among the popular tourist spots. 

Temple roof decoration, Behei Park

Day 1:  We arrived in Beijing in the morning and were met at the airport by our guide, Amy. She led us to a car where our driver was waiting and we drove into the city. After helping us check into our hotel (Xinqiao) near the city center, we drove to the entrance to Behei Park, one of the oldest and best preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. We walked through the park to a temple, where, after paying a fee, we climbed up through two or three temple buildings with Buddha figures and then up a steep flight of steps.  Finally, we reached the top of the hill where we had a sweeping vista over the city.

View of Forbidden City and Beijing skyline from Behei Park

We climbed down over rocks on the back side of the hill.  At the bottom we walked under a covered walkway at the edge of the lake and chose to continue around the lake on a sidewalk rather than taking a boat across.  The lake was dotted with people in pastel colored pedal boats.

Walkway along lake, Behei Park

At the other end of the lake we went to a small “People’s Park” where groups of men played cards, dominoes, and a form of checkers on a board marked with intersecting lines. We then walked along the edge of the lake where there was a sort of street fair with stalls of toys, books, clothing, pottery, antiques, fruit, etc.

After returning to the hotel, we walked to the Foreign Language bookstore to look for a book of birds of China, but were unable to find one.  The street was crowded with shoppers.  We walked through a crowded department store filled with people buying purses, perfume, appliances, and a whole array of consumer goods.  On our way back to our hotel we passed McDonalds–the biggest McDonalds in the world, with 200 plus seats.  We went to bed early, to be ready for a full day of touring in the morning.