Istanbul: A magical city where Asia meets Europe
The two-week-long Second UN Conference on Human Settlements, or Habitat II, ended June 15 with the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration and Habitat Agenda. The meeting, which aimed at improving human living conditions in the urban world, was held in Istanbul. The Jakarta Post reporter, T. Sima Gunawan, records the condition of Istanbul and her impression on the city in the following article.
ISTANBUL (JP): It was the second week into the Second UN Conference of Human Settlements (Habitat II). After over 10 days of a daily menu of conference papers, debates, press briefings and some interviews, a break was indeed welcome.
It was, therefore, quite fortunate that I decided to accept an invitation from the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara to cruise the famous Strait of Bosphorus with a group of Indonesian delegates and journalists.
"There'll be dinner with a live belly dance show on board," a member of the embassy staff said.
It was not the meal or the show which impressed me. The food was just so-so, and I could not really find any beauty in the dance movements.
The best thing about the cruise was the magnificent view of the shores. It was summer and at 8 p.m. I could clearly see beautiful Istanbul from the ship deck. I was once told that Istanbul is rich with historic buildings. Oh, yes, it is very true.
Istanbul is unique. Part of the city is in Europe and part is in Asia. Between them, is the Strait of Bosphorus.
Ferries, buses and boats traverse at almost any time between the two parts of the city. The European part of Istanbul is split by a horn-shaped gulf, namely, the Golden Horn. Two bridges, the Galata and the Ataturk, link this European part of Istanbul.
Istanbul, which is eying to host the Olympic Games in 2004, was once the capital of the Eastern Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, all dating back to 5000 BC. Numerous historic buildings, including churches and mosques, are well preserved and are major tourist attractions.
Haghia Sophia, or Ayasofya, a masterpiece of Byzantine art built in 537, is among the must-see monuments in Turkey. Across from the building is the Blue Mosque, which was built between 1603 and 1617. Another famous site is the Topkapi Palace, where Ottoman sultans lived for more than 400 years.
The 100-meter-long Haghia Sophia covers a total area of 7,570 square meters and the nave measures 75 meters by 70 meters. The dome is 55.6 meters from the ground to the apex and the diameter is between 31 meters and 32 meters. It is not quite circular due to earthquakes and repairs.
Haghia Sophia is the fourth largest church in the world after St. Paul's in London, St. Peter in Rome and Duomo in Milan.
It is not only the size which is impressive. The dome is set on a rectangular basilica, instead of a circular building. The central space has been expanded by employing pairs of semidomes on either side of the main dome.
The Ottoman converted the church into a mosque in 1453, soon after it conquered Byzantine, leaving an Islamic imprint on the building in the form of giant verses from the Koran written under the image of Mother Mary in the enormous dome. The building was converted into a museum in 1935.
Secular
Turkey gained its independence in 1923. The modern founding father, Kemal Ataturk, introduced the principles of nationalism, republicanism, democracy, etatism, secularism, modernism and reformation. In short, he changed Turkey into a secular country.
An indication is evident in the way Turkish women dress. A few women don head scarves and long dresses, but the rest wear fashionable, daring outfits. Young people wearing sunglasses and jeans stroll along the Istiklal Caddesi, a shopping pedestrian zone famous for its two streetcars going up and down the street.
Turkey tries to catch up with the rest of the world in joining the ranks of developed countries. Today, industry, finance, commerce and tourism are the major sources of national revenue. In the manufacturing industry, the lion's share is generated from metal automotive products, textiles and leather. Aside from its automotive industry, Turkey also boasts an aircraft industry and has coproduced 30 CN-235s and 160 F-16s with CASA and Lockheed.
However, carpets remain one of its famous commodities. Foreign shoppers do not miss buying traditional Turkish carpets, which are popular worldwide. It is estimated that the people of Turkey have produced handmade carpets for 2,500 years. Traders from Genoa and Venice first introduced them to other countries in the 13th century. Today, Turkey exports its carpets to mainly Germany, Switzerland, the United States, France, England, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
These fine carpets, individually handmade from hand-spun wool and colorful natural dyes, are available in various shops. One good place to look for carpets is the Covered Bazaar.
Built in the 15th century, the Covered Bazaar claims the world's biggest emporium. It has 4,000 shops, workshops, restaurants and coffee houses in its labyrinthian streets.
There, as in many shopping areas, carpet traders are very keen to attract buyers with their sweet words.
"Madame, may I show you something? Please, take a look, you don't have to buy," is the common opening sentence of a trader as he sees tourists approaching -- or just passing by -- his shop.
He will immediately spread out a beautiful carpet and tell the visitors about the history of Turkish carpets and how they are made. And, at the end, he might say: "Oh, you break my heart," if the visitors say they are not interested in buying a carpet.
A tip for carpet shoppers: Ask for less than half the price offered.
Turkey has a population of 60 million. More than nine million people live in Istanbul, the old capital of Turkey until 1923.
Some Istanbul dwellers look like other Middle Easterners. They have black hair and wide eyes and the men are proud of their thick mustaches. Many others have blonde hair and blue or hazel eyes.
Tourism is booming in Istanbul. The number of airplanes landing and taking off at the Ataturk Air Terminal increased sharply from 53,000 in 1985 to 82,000 in 1991. The number of passengers increased from 3.5 million to 5.2 million during the same period.
At the end of 1995, the total number of hotel rooms was about 25,000 and the government generously put one-fifth of them in the "five-star" category. My comfortable five-star hotel, which is located in a busy district, does not have a parking lot, but it does have a casino.
Istanbul has many cafes where people can relax while sipping a cup of Turkish tea or coffee. During summer evenings, customers crowd open-air cafes near the park or along the streets. The atmosphere might remind one of Geneva or Rome, except that in Istanbul, child hawkers are likely to bother tourists with their tireless efforts to sell tissue papers. At certain traffic lights, there are children and adults selling newspapers, food and flowers. A few pan handlers are also seen at road sides.
Getting around in Istanbul is easy, there are many taxis available at reasonable fares. The only problem is, they don't have air conditioners. Many taxi drivers also smoke and they like to turn on the music loudly. Traffic jams occur during rush hours in certain parts of the densely-populated city. What might upset some passengers who are new to the city, however, is that they drive really fast -- they do not seem to care about other motorists, let alone pedestrians.