Magnificent Mosques

Under the beautiful roofs of Istanbul’s mosques are havens of art, history and religious tolerance.
By Julia Suryakusuma

Photos courtesy Ministry of Culture and Toursim of The Republic of Turkey
Before my recent trip to Turkey, I sought tips from a friend who had been there before. “Turkey is one of those countries you can’t visit just once,” she said. “You have to go several times!” Once I had arrived, I understood what she meant – and I only got as far as Istanbul!

I spent six days in Turkey’s most famous city, even with a crammed sightseeing schedule, it allowed  only for the major sights. Among these, however, were some of the most magnificent mosques in the world. Although Turkey is a secular state, its population is 99 percent Muslim, so you’d expect a lot of mosques. A lot? There are about 2,500 in Istanbul alone, to say nothing of  the myriad historical churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers.

The history of Istanbul – previously known also as Constantinople and Byzantium – starts before 600 BC. The city is one of the world’s great melting pots and always has been, its development influenced by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Genoese, Ottomans and modern Turkish  cultures. This is why the Turks have always been good at religious tolerance – an attitude I found reflected in their architecture.

When the Ottomans won Constantinople from the Christians, they didn’t destroy the churches of the infidels, they simply converted them into mosques by plastering over the Christian elements.
Remove the plaster and voilà! The beautiful mosaics are intact underneath.

The most famous example is the Hagia Sophia, which began as an Orthodox patriarchal basilica (360–1261 AD) serving first as the cathedral of the Byzantine Empire and then, between 1204 and 1261, of the Latin Empire. When Sultan Mehmet conquered the city in 1453, he ordered this gigantic imperial church be turned into a mosque through the addition of minarets, the mihrab (a niche  indicating the qibla or the direction to Mecca), a mimbar (a pulpit) and other Islamic elements.
After Mustafa Kemal Ataturk reinvented Turkey as a republic in 1923, this famous church-cum-mosque underwent another transformation, and officially opened as a museum in 1935.

Close by the Hagia Sophia is the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, recognized as one of the most beautiful mosques in Turkey and in the world. Built between 1609 and 1616, it is popularly known as the Blue Mosque because of the 20,000 superb blue tiles that line its interior, each decorated with elaborate floral designs. Grand in size, the Blue Mosque gazes at Hagia Sopia across a park dotted with fountains. These two massive monuments, products of the two empires that made this city great, dominate the city center today just as their builders had intended centuries ago.

The third mosque I visited was the Yeni Mosque (also called the New Mosque), another Ottoman Imperial mosque constructed in 1597 at the order of Safiye Sultan, the wife of Sultan Murad III.
Situated on the Golden Horn close to the swarming Spice Bazaar, it is another must-see. Where  Hagia Sophia is famous for the size of its dome, the Yeni mosque is noted for the sheer number of its domes: 66 domes and semi-domes in a pyramidal arrangement, plus two minarets. Like the Blue Mosque, the Yeni was part of a complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs – in fact the Spice Bazaar (also known as the Egyptian Market) began life as way of covering the mosque’s construction costs.

The much-smaller Chora is another essential stop – a true gem. It is one of the most beautiful surviving examples of a Byzantine church, despite being used as a mosque after the Ottomans took over. Now a museum, its interior is covered by glittering and delicate mosaics, with one wing plastered with pastel-colored frescoes. The Islamic prohibition against iconic images led to these being covered by a layer of plaster or wooden shutters. Frequent earthquakes also took their toll, but in 1948 restoration work began and the Chora again opened to the public in 1958.

I also went to see the Suleymaniye Mosque, another famous imperial mosque. Although it is second to the Blue Mosque in size, its imposing design makes it seem even larger. It was being restored, so I was only able to see the surrounding tombs and the rose gardens, but it was breathtaking  nevertheless.

My tour of mosques-that-are-not-always-mosques in Istanbul left me impressed by the deep respect Turks have for their cultural artifacts, and their serious attitude toward restoration and preservation. I was overawed as well by the sheer beauty of the buildings: it is hard not to be deeply moved when you stand in their vast open interiors, surrounded by soaring domes and elaborate decoration.

But what meant the most to me was what Istanbul’s mosques said about the culture of religious  tolerance that has existed for centuries in Turkey. This didn’t begin with Ataturk, as might be imagined, but goes way back to the Tanzimat (reorganization) reforms of the Ottoman Empire in 1839 and beyond.

After the attacks on churches in Jakarta carried out by religious hardliners this year, visiting
the historical mosques of Istanbul was refreshing. A visit to the mosques of Istanbul might help open those hardliners’ hardened hearts and narrow minds to the real meaning of religion.

Turkish Tips

* Getting there: There’s no better way to get to Turkey than by Turkish Airlines, which operates five times weekly from Jakarta to Istanbul. The economy seats are comparatively spacious (more legroom than most), and the food is great.
Make sure you try the Turkish walnuts they serve with drinks, and the cherry juice, which are to die for!
* Food finds: Must-try dishes during your stay? Everything! The kebabs, the mezes, the desserts, ice cream, soups, and of course, the Turkish Delight, are all dangerously more-ish (for an introduction to Turkish food, see my article “Come for the History, Stay for the Food”, in the Sunday Post, Aug. 1).
* Getting around: Transportation is easy (trams are simple to use and taxis are plentiful), and the city and the toilets – even the public ones – are clean! During my stay I had no hassles at all. In fact, I found people to be very polite, friendly and helpful. Guidebooks warn women traveling alone about minor groping and harassment, but nothing more serious than that.
* Best bargains: Want to get something for the folks back home? Well, if you go to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar (which doesn’t just sell spices, I can assure you), you’ll find there is something for everyone: the Turkish blue eye (a traditional amulet to ward off evil), pashmina shawls, hand-painted ceramics, jewelry (including beautiful amber), cushion covers, leather goods, carpets and kilims, belly-dance costumes, copper ornaments and spices … and, of course, more Turkish Delight!

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