Friday is cuma. (In Turkish, there
seems to be no compulsion to capitalize your days of the week.) It
comes from the Persian and Arabic words for “reunion.” Then
Saturday is cumartesi. This literally means “after Friday.”
Sunday is pazar which means “market.”
Maybe Sunday was historically the market day? I don't know. And
Monday is pazartesi, which, as you may have guessed means “after
Sunday.”
So then we get to lonely Tuesday which
is salɩ
(that's the dotless 'i'.) I don't know the origin of this name.
Wednesday
is called çarşamba which
comes from a Persian phrase meaning “four days after the Sabbath.”
And then Thursday is perşembe, again from Persian meaning “five
days after the Sabbath.”
Now,
having told you all of these things you didn't need to know to
understand my post, let me begin.
On
cuma, which is on Friday, we got together with another family from
the United States who are also traveling the world. We first met them
in Athens, and as luck would have it, we are both in Istanbul at the
same time as well.
We
first visited the Basilica Cistern. It is a dark, eerie, and amazing
place. It was built by the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th
century to hold water for use in the imperial palace of the time. The
water came from the Belgrade woods which are about 19 km away. Of
course, being Romans, they brought the water to the city (then called
Constantinople) by means of aqueducts.
 |
| The cistern |
The
cistern is underground. It is a large chamber held up by 336 columns,
each 9 meters tall. Most of the columns were not built for the
cistern itself, but were taken from other Roman buildings and brought
here. So there is a variety in the materials they are made of, the
capitals on them, and even if they are one whole piece of marble or
two pieces fused together.
The
walls and floor are made of brick and were waterproofed with a thick
coating of mortar. The area of the place is about 9,800 square meters
and it could hold 100,000 tons of water. Today, there is a lot less
water in it, but there is some. And there are fish living within it.
 |
| Dark and spooky |
The
Turkish government has built some walkways that allow you to walk
over the water and see the area. Plus, they lead you to a few of the
unique features.
One
of the columns is not just a plain cylinder, but is carved with
teardrop shaped engravings all along its length. It is called the
crying column, and is said to always appear to be wet as though it
was crying.
But
perhaps the most fascinating feature is near the southwestern corner
of the cistern. Two of the columns there have unique plinths (or
platforms on which their pedestals stand.) These are Medusa heads.
Yes, the lady with snakes for hair is here, twice!
Archaeologists
believe that, like the columns, these sculptures were not carved in
Istanbul. Rather, they were brought here from other sites in the
Roman Empire, though no one knows which site or sites these two
Medusae (I think that's the plural of Medusa) came from. Another
mystery is why are they here? Were they just brought as convenient
stands for pillars? Or were they brought to ward off evil spirits? Or
is there another reason? No record has been found explaining their
presence.
But
that's not all. They aren't just in the space. They are placed in an
unusual way. One of the Medusa heads is laying on its side, as though
her ear were to the ground with the pillar sprouting out of her other
ear. Perhaps this was the only way she would fit under the pillar.
But the other Medusa head is upside-down. Again, why is a mystery.
Maybe they believed that if she were upside-down, no one would be
turned to stone.
 |
| Does the blood all rush to her head? |
It
is a dimly lit, somewhat creepy, and incredibly cool place.
Together
with our friends, we also took a cruise on the Bosporus. I guess it
was a watery day.
The
Bosporus is a long strait that connects the Black Sea at its north
and higher end to the Sea of Marmara at its lower southern end. From
there, the waters flow through the Sea of Marmara to another strait
interior to Turkey called the Dardanelles. Through this the waters
pass into the Mediterranean Sea. The Bosporus separates the European
side of Turkey from the Anatolian or Asian side.
 |
| The waters of the Bosporus |
The
Bosporus means the crossing of the cow and comes from the myth of Io.
Zeus fell in love with Io and covered the world in a thick blanket of
clouds so no one would see him pursue her. However, his wife, Hera,
saw the clouds and immediately suspected something was up. She came
to see what he was up to. Zeus turned Io into a heifer and insisted
he hadn't been doing anything particularly interesting. He had never
seen the white heifer before. Hera, not believing him, asked if she
could have the heifer. How could Zeus say no without giving away
everything? So he gave it to her.
 |
| Waterfront property |
Hera
imprisoned poor Io, guarded by Argus who had one-hundred arms and
one-hundred eyes. Argus never let all of his eyes sleep at the same
time, so it was impossible to catch him off guard. Zeus sent Hermes
to rescue the heifer. Hermes played such soothing music that all of
Argus's eyes fell asleep at the same time. Then Hermes killed Argus
and set Io free. (I'm not sure why Zeus didn't just change her back
at this point. But he's Zeus. He isn't known for being considerate.)
Hera
sent a giant gadfly to chase Io and torment her everywhere she went.
And so she ran all around the world. The Ionian Sea was named for
her. As so was the Bosporus, the crossing of the cow, which is where
she crossed from Europe to Asia.
 |
| It's a bit easier to cross these days then in Io's time |
The
myth does eventually get happier for her. She meets Prometheus, who
is chained to a rock and tortured daily. Because he ticked off Zeus.
And as we mentioned, Zeus isn't considerate. Anyway, Prometheus tells
her she must wander as a cow for many more years, but eventually she
will be changed back into a woman. And she will have a family. In
fact, she is the beginning of a line of descent that will lead to
great heroes, including the one who will eventually free Prometheus.
 |
| The Ortakoy Mosque |
It
all comes true. Eventually she reaches the Nile River and here Zeus
turns her back into a woman. She marries, has children. Way down the
line is the great hero, Herakles (who has his own problems with Hera,
because guess who his father is and who his mother is not.) And
Herakles frees Prometheus.
The
Turkish name of the strait is Boğaz, which has a less mythic and
more anatomical origin. It means throat. And I suppose it is somewhat
esophageal.
 |
| One of the fortifications for fighting across the strait |
We
enjoyed seeing the Bosporus, the many mansions and palaces built
along its waters, and the immense bridges that span it connecting two
continents. I should say we, meaning the four adults in the families,
enjoyed this. The children enjoyed running about the ship, up the
stairs, down the stairs, hiding, and chasing. I assume they saw the
water and the features from time to time, but only occasionally.
Still, they were probably happier that way.
 |
| The Istanbul Modern (a museum of modern art) |
I'm
not sure where the official boundary between Europe and Asia is (or
if there even is one) but assuming it is in the middle of the
Bosporus, then I have officially been in Asia. However, I have not
yet set foot on land in Asia.
Don't
worry, I plan to do that tomorrow. Monday. Or should I say pazartesi?
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