8 ms·

Istanbul's blue tile paradise

151 points by keiferski 3y ago

sithadmin 3y ago
The Rüstem Pasha mosque is truly a gem, and much less frequently trafficked than many other tourist-destination mosques. I always advise people visiting Istanbul to stop in, but almost feel bad about it because too much traffic would sort of kill its 'hole in the wall' charm.
thriftwy 3y ago
Saint Petersburg mosque is decorated with blue tiles on its exterior. It is also built in Art Nouveau style. Local Buddhist temple also got built in it, though.
earino 3y ago
I was in Istanbul recently, and what surprised me was the absolute depth of the cities attractions. I stayed in the Kadıköy and Sultanahmet districts, and it was so incredible to walk through a society which had been Monkey Patched through millennia. The runtime behavior of the objects, streets, buildings and the city had been adapted time and time again. Roman temples becoming Churches becoming Mosques becoming Museums, sometimes simply with some new tiles or a freshly laid down carpet. Each layer rich in artifacts. My favorite attraction was the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, some of the most detailed and vibrant mosaics I had ever seen. I hope to return soon.
- cpursley 3y ago
  It was blown away by Istanbul. Highly recommend that city.
- mkoubaa 3y ago
  "the runtime behavior of the objects" took me from Istanbul right back to my day job which I thought I was taking a break from on HN
  - Lacerda69 3y ago
    You can take a break but you can never leave
    - lionkor 3y ago
      https://xkcd.com/303/ https://xkcd.com/303/
- ycombinete 3y ago
  It’s truly beautiful. After many visits though, the rundown nature of the history started to distress me. See the Hagia Sophia, which appears to have been left to dilapidate since it was turned into a mosque all those centuries ago. A conversion process which appears to have amounted to plastering over the stunning mosaics, and drilling some Arabic script plaques into the walls. Some of which were exposed while it was a museum, but have been cordoned off again now that it’s been re-mosqued I only noticed this when, on a recent trip, I travelled around the city with a well educated Turkish millennial, and amateur historian, who pointed out these abuses of historical sites over and over again. Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things. The palimpsest of history in the city is quite stunning though. And some stunning beauty in unexpected places. For example, the ceilings in the University of Istanbul are incredible.
  - dizhn 3y ago
    > Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things. Either you were not actually allowed to go in or things have changed a lot since the last time I visited those places. Dolmabahçe is real "palace" palace. There are a lot of rooms with really extravagant furnishings, carpets, mirrors etc as well as lots of original art on the walls. Topkapı is more like a museum with artifacts from the time displayed behind glass. Still worth a visit. Contrast this to the "palaces" in Seoul where all the buildings are completely empty except for one of them having one large sofa or something. You are not allowed inside any of the buildings. You spend 3 hours walking around the (admittedly beautiful) gardens and ponds. What I have seen happening though is with every passing year the percentage of the are that are open to tourists is decreasing. It used to be that you could do a relaxed tour of Dolmabahçe with the guide explaining everything in detail. Tours were in groups but people could fall behind and the guide would wait for you. Last time I was there the tour was more like a factory conveyor belt. The frequency of tours had increased dramatically and it took maybe 30 minutes to do the thing in a rush. If I remember correctly Atatürk's room wasn't even included. Guides would keep telling you to hurry up and not to fall back. Plus, photography was forbidden. I belive these changes to be designed for money making purposes. (I noticed similar things in Cappadocia. The natural open areas where you could visit a few years ago are now cordoned off. There are more venues in venues where you have to pay extra to visit etc.) I've been meaning to visit Göbekli Tepe but they alread got their hands on it. I don't know that it would be a worthwhile trip now. So. I don't know why you said Dolmabahçe and Topkapı are empty buildings. Maybe they are now but I really do find that hard to believe. Did you visit only the Harem in Dolmabahçe or something. The Harem is basically like a huge dormatory. There's nothing fancy there.
fatihpense 3y ago
A bit tangential, but while choosing a logo idea for Rust Istanbul community, I went with something that resembles blue tile tulip motif. As another commenter noted there are so many objects/animals/historical artifacts to choose from... https://rustistanbul.org/ https://rustistanbul.org/ If you are a Rust developer and planning to visit Istanbul let us know! (We know good kebap/baklava places ;) )
- mighmi 3y ago
  I wish I had known that! I just left after ~8 months in Istanbul.
- RGBCube 3y ago
  What if we live in Istanbul?
  - fatihpense 3y ago
    You are welcome! Then, we will be on the side that shows hospitality to guests. You know we can eat stuff too :)
pirate787 3y ago
The Hagia Sophia "mosque" was a Christian orthodox church that dates from Roman times and was a secular museum from the 1930s until 2020. That decision to reclassify as a mosque is widely condemned by historians and others.
- mda 3y ago
  You forgot to mention that it was converted to a mosque in 1453 and stayed like that until 1930s. It was the symbol of the victory by Mehmet II.
- resolutebat 3y ago
  It was an actual scare quote free mosque from 1453 to 1934, so if anything the secular museum phase was out of character.
  - OkayPhysicist 3y ago
    It's not a coincidence that the conversion to a museum coincided with Ataturk's sweeping reforms in making a secular state. The reversion is a mark of a return to fundamentalism and a decline into theocracy.
    - Scarblac 3y ago
      Hopefully there's something in between a pure secular state vs fundamentalism and theocracy that they'll settle on.
- nashashmi 3y ago
  A tidbit info: Today's Hagia Sophia is version three of the original church. The original was made of wood and burned down. The second version was of stone and collapsed in an earthquake. The third version took 20+ years to build. Another tidbit: Hagia Sophia can be translated to english as Saint Sofia. It is pronounced in Turkish as Aya Sofia. Aya is from an arabic word that means "sign" like sign of god (similar to "aya"-tullah in Iran). The similarity between "Hagia" and "Aya" is so strong as though it follows the concept of changing the "j" sound to "h" or "y" sound. When applying that same rule to "Ayatollah", you could basically translate the word to "Saint of God". Every time I think of this, it gives me the jitters.
arbuge 3y ago
Traditional handmade Maltese tiles, believed to be inspired by the Turkish ones, might also be of interest in this context. Wikipedia doesn't have an entry but Googling gets you some good pictures.
Qahlel 3y ago
I recently visited Istanbul as well. Too my surprise, I ate the best burger I had in my lifetime. It was a smash burger joint in Emirgan district. Forgot the name. but remember finding it on google maps. Give it a try if you are passing by.
- fsniper 3y ago
  In Istanbul you can possibly find best examples of many if not all of international cousines. It is a city for the all types of foodies.
  - objektif 3y ago
    I would definitely disagree with this. Apart from Turkish food you will probably only find good American, French and Italian ( may be few more) food in Turkiye. But the good news is you really do not need anything other that Turkish food because it is just amazing.
    - treesciencebot 3y ago
      Especially true for south / far-east Asian cuisines. Unlike many other major western metropolises, Istanbul simply lacks any authentic chinese, indian, vietnamese or japanese places. I wish (as a resident) we had more exposure to those cultures through better / relaxed immigration policies in the past.
      - nicolas_t 3y ago
        I'd argue after having lived in China and Hong Kong for numerous years that very few major western metropolises have proper authentic Chinese (and Chinese food is vast there's a huge amount of differences between regions). For example, try getting proper cantonese dim sum in Paris or Barcelona. I only know 2 places in Paris that are halfway decent after having searched quite a bit. Or try searching for good Zhejiang food (the Hangzhou or ningbo style) in Europe. And Chinese food in most of the US is bastardized to make it much sweeter and oily to conform to the taste there making it absolutely terrible and far from authentic.
mrtksn 3y ago
Istanbul is in the same league with London, Paris, Rome and probably nothing else. Not only the endless layers of multi-millennial history, even the current state of the inhabitants is extremely diverse. It's also surprisingly safe. IMHO the city got ruined in so many ways during the Turkish economic boom the last 5 decades and yet you can tell that the city "still got it". In your runtime analogy, the current state of the modern istanbul is like everything new being like bloated Electron app. The current mayor is from the secular Turks with western values and he is doing some great things to reduce the bloatware and re-surface the hidden gems through full rewrites. But sometimes he encounters unexpected behaviour. Just recently, he converted Feshane(old factory where they used to produce Fez style hats during the Ottoman times) into an art gallery but due to some undocumented API the islamist started protesting him for not respecting their values. Here is the Feshane after the conversion: https://twitter.com/ekrem_imamoglu/status/1671578928148881430 https://twitter.com/ekrem_imamoglu/status/167157892814888143... Here is the protest: https://twitter.com/tcbuyuksehir/status/1678147852453683206 https://twitter.com/tcbuyuksehir/status/1678147852453683206 Note: Before the conversion, Feshane was used for food markets and such.
- objektif 3y ago
  You are doing Istanbul and Rome a disservice by putting them in the same league with London and Paris.
  - ChainOfFools 3y ago
    Seconding this, these cities have a rich history but it's hardly a footnote compared to the chronology baked in to the stratigraphy of Rome and even more so, Istanbul. The latter city bridges two continents, and it shows it and feels it in every respect. plus, cats. In what city can you double your entertainment just by carrying a small laser pointer with you everywhere.
    - objektif 3y ago
      Istanbul is an incredibly complex city with endless things to do. However, it is just that I have never had this feeling of being in an ancient metropolis in any other city other than Istanbul. It may be the huge mosques on the hills combined with the natural beauty of the Bosphorus strait.
DrJokepu 3y ago
Interesting thing about these tiles: the earliest ones were trying to imitate tiles from China, but Ottoman artisans didn't have access to the same dyes, which is why they have this distinctive blue color.
luuurker 3y ago
You'll find similar tiles in Portugal, usually inside old churches. Probably not exactly the same, but similar style at least.
m00dy 3y ago
Just got back from Istanbul and let me tell you, the city's attractions blew me away! I stayed in Kadıköy and Sultanahmet, and it was mind-blowing to walk around a place that has seen so many changes throughout history. I mean, we're talking Roman temples turned into churches, then mosques, and now some cool museums. They just keep adding new stuff like tiles and carpets, giving the city a whole new vibe each time. And the best part? The Great Palace Mosaics Museum! Seriously, those mosaics were next level—so detailed and vibrant. I'm already planning my next trip back. Istanbul, you've got me hooked!
- egello 3y ago
  Is this a paraphrased copy of the top comment on the page or am I tripping?
  - GaggiX 3y ago
    It's definitely a paraphrased copy of the top comment.
    - dizhn 3y ago
      Maybe these are the ones they wanted us to find.
pazimzadeh 3y ago
> What makes the mosque truly special, however, isn’t simply that it’s hidden. It is the balance between its understated view from the street and an extravagant, richly adorned interior This is the exact same feeling you get when visiting Iran. Except for Isfahan, which is also beautiful on the outside
toyg 3y ago
As an Italian, I felt very at home in Istanbul when I visited in 2016; it felt very much like "Rome but with mosques". The locals adore children so much, it felt like my kids were VIPs and us parents just their staff. It's unfortunate that the political situation continues to be bad.
- dizhn 3y ago
  My brother and his family lived in Germany for a few years and they had the same comments about Italy regarding children when they visited Italy. They loved going to Italy for this reason.
weinzierl 3y ago
Blue tiles are pretty common in Arabic culture and were brought that way to the southern parts of Spain and Portugal, where they are called Azulejos from the Arabic الزليج. Unfortunately some of them are a radiation hazard, because the blue color is made out of radiocactive cobalt. A blue tile also plays an important role in the short film Zima Blue, which I cannot recommend highly enough - because of the story and its aesthetics.
t43562 3y ago
I'm probably going to annoy someone but Turkish Camiler usually seem to be built to a particular pattern of a dome with two pointed thin towers. For some odd reason whenever I pass one I imagine an alien invasion in which it will turn out that the domes are a radar and the very pointy towers will be the space missile defence.
- dizhn 3y ago
  Domes are inherited from Roman architecture. They don't have the missiles though.
t43562 3y ago
I spent quite a lot of time in Istanbul - mostly in suburbs far from the tourist bits. I have certainly not seen it all - probably a more tourist with more dedication has seen more in less time. I do like living there. It is always nice to have a strong currency in a place with a more variable one so it's not really fair but it has a kind of living which is a balance to my own. As someone said already, kids are treated excellently and so you can go to many more places with them without annoying anyone. It isn't that green and its very dense but there are great little parks all over the place with very good things for kids to play on. Anyone will say hi and start talking to you even though it is much huger city than London where everyone seems to resent having to share the space. Every week or two there will be a market in your area with huge canvas sheets stretched across from one block of apartments/buildings to the other and the quantity of wonderful vegetables and fruit is just incredible. You have to bargain. My town in the UK has a market but God preserve anyone who attempts to haggle - it's small and expensive and yet it's the best one for miles around and I'm glad to have it at all. There are a million reastaurants in every suburb in Istanbul - I think it's more common than most areas to have commercial properties in the ground floor of blocks of flats so that you don't absolutely have to travel just to have some tea and a simit or a few slices of borek. I like it when you put money in a bucket and lower it from your balcony to the simit seller in the street - who puts your simit and change in for you to pull them up. Sokak Simit is the "bees knees". You must buy it off a street (sokak) vendor as the one from the pastane (bakery shop) tends to be soft and pointless. It's a kind of woven ring of bread covered thickly with sesame seeds and it should be dark coloured and very chewy. Some people use the word "bagel" to describe it in English but it's isn't really anything like them and you don't eat it with stuff inside. A simit with a tomato and some olives and possibly a boiled egg is just fabulous - nutty and chewy and satisfying. You have to wash it down with a glass of golden acik cay (a-chuk ch-eye) (light tea) in my personal opinion.
- dizhn 3y ago
  A traditional simit would not be eaten with something inside either. That was like the breakfast of commuters for many many years. Only in the 90s the vendors starting offering triangle shaped melted cheese products. The Simit Sarayı like places are a very recent invention. By the way, I think the reason pastane simit's aren't as good is that, simit really needs to be made in a traditional stone oven and I belive the temperatures are different to what the pastry shop would have. By the way what gives it the distinct flavor (in addition to sesame seeds) is grape molasses.
threesmegiste 3y ago
A less known masterpiece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertevniyal_Valide_Sultan_Mosque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertevniyal_Valide_Sultan_Mosq...

151 points by keiferski 3y ago

The Rüstem Pasha mosque is truly a gem, and much less frequently trafficked than many other tourist-destination mosques. I always advise people visiting Istanbul to stop in, but almost feel bad about it because too much traffic would sort of kill its 'hole in the wall' charm.

thriftwy 3y ago

Saint Petersburg mosque is decorated with blue tiles on its exterior. It is also built in Art Nouveau style. Local Buddhist temple also got built in it, though.

earino 3y ago

I was in Istanbul recently, and what surprised me was the absolute depth of the cities attractions. I stayed in the Kadıköy and Sultanahmet districts, and it was so incredible to walk through a society which had been Monkey Patched through millennia. The runtime behavior of the objects, streets, buildings and the city had been adapted time and time again. Roman temples becoming Churches becoming Mosques becoming Museums, sometimes simply with some new tiles or a freshly laid down carpet. Each layer rich in artifacts. My favorite attraction was the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, some of the most detailed and vibrant mosaics I had ever seen. I hope to return soon.

cpursley 3y ago
It was blown away by Istanbul. Highly recommend that city.
mkoubaa 3y ago
"the runtime behavior of the objects" took me from Istanbul right back to my day job which I thought I was taking a break from on HN
- Lacerda69 3y ago
  You can take a break but you can never leave
  - lionkor 3y ago
    https://xkcd.com/303/ https://xkcd.com/303/
ycombinete 3y ago
It’s truly beautiful. After many visits though, the rundown nature of the history started to distress me. See the Hagia Sophia, which appears to have been left to dilapidate since it was turned into a mosque all those centuries ago. A conversion process which appears to have amounted to plastering over the stunning mosaics, and drilling some Arabic script plaques into the walls. Some of which were exposed while it was a museum, but have been cordoned off again now that it’s been re-mosqued I only noticed this when, on a recent trip, I travelled around the city with a well educated Turkish millennial, and amateur historian, who pointed out these abuses of historical sites over and over again. Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things. The palimpsest of history in the city is quite stunning though. And some stunning beauty in unexpected places. For example, the ceilings in the University of Istanbul are incredible.
- dizhn 3y ago
  > Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things. Either you were not actually allowed to go in or things have changed a lot since the last time I visited those places. Dolmabahçe is real "palace" palace. There are a lot of rooms with really extravagant furnishings, carpets, mirrors etc as well as lots of original art on the walls. Topkapı is more like a museum with artifacts from the time displayed behind glass. Still worth a visit. Contrast this to the "palaces" in Seoul where all the buildings are completely empty except for one of them having one large sofa or something. You are not allowed inside any of the buildings. You spend 3 hours walking around the (admittedly beautiful) gardens and ponds. What I have seen happening though is with every passing year the percentage of the are that are open to tourists is decreasing. It used to be that you could do a relaxed tour of Dolmabahçe with the guide explaining everything in detail. Tours were in groups but people could fall behind and the guide would wait for you. Last time I was there the tour was more like a factory conveyor belt. The frequency of tours had increased dramatically and it took maybe 30 minutes to do the thing in a rush. If I remember correctly Atatürk's room wasn't even included. Guides would keep telling you to hurry up and not to fall back. Plus, photography was forbidden. I belive these changes to be designed for money making purposes. (I noticed similar things in Cappadocia. The natural open areas where you could visit a few years ago are now cordoned off. There are more venues in venues where you have to pay extra to visit etc.) I've been meaning to visit Göbekli Tepe but they alread got their hands on it. I don't know that it would be a worthwhile trip now. So. I don't know why you said Dolmabahçe and Topkapı are empty buildings. Maybe they are now but I really do find that hard to believe. Did you visit only the Harem in Dolmabahçe or something. The Harem is basically like a huge dormatory. There's nothing fancy there.

fatihpense 3y ago

A bit tangential, but while choosing a logo idea for Rust Istanbul community, I went with something that resembles blue tile tulip motif. As another commenter noted there are so many objects/animals/historical artifacts to choose from... https://rustistanbul.org/ https://rustistanbul.org/ If you are a Rust developer and planning to visit Istanbul let us know! (We know good kebap/baklava places ;) )

mighmi 3y ago
I wish I had known that! I just left after ~8 months in Istanbul.
RGBCube 3y ago
What if we live in Istanbul?
- fatihpense 3y ago
  You are welcome! Then, we will be on the side that shows hospitality to guests. You know we can eat stuff too :)

pirate787 3y ago

The Hagia Sophia "mosque" was a Christian orthodox church that dates from Roman times and was a secular museum from the 1930s until 2020. That decision to reclassify as a mosque is widely condemned by historians and others.

mda 3y ago
You forgot to mention that it was converted to a mosque in 1453 and stayed like that until 1930s. It was the symbol of the victory by Mehmet II.
resolutebat 3y ago
It was an actual scare quote free mosque from 1453 to 1934, so if anything the secular museum phase was out of character.
- OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  It's not a coincidence that the conversion to a museum coincided with Ataturk's sweeping reforms in making a secular state. The reversion is a mark of a return to fundamentalism and a decline into theocracy.
  - Scarblac 3y ago
    Hopefully there's something in between a pure secular state vs fundamentalism and theocracy that they'll settle on.
nashashmi 3y ago
A tidbit info: Today's Hagia Sophia is version three of the original church. The original was made of wood and burned down. The second version was of stone and collapsed in an earthquake. The third version took 20+ years to build. Another tidbit: Hagia Sophia can be translated to english as Saint Sofia. It is pronounced in Turkish as Aya Sofia. Aya is from an arabic word that means "sign" like sign of god (similar to "aya"-tullah in Iran). The similarity between "Hagia" and "Aya" is so strong as though it follows the concept of changing the "j" sound to "h" or "y" sound. When applying that same rule to "Ayatollah", you could basically translate the word to "Saint of God". Every time I think of this, it gives me the jitters.

arbuge 3y ago

Traditional handmade Maltese tiles, believed to be inspired by the Turkish ones, might also be of interest in this context. Wikipedia doesn't have an entry but Googling gets you some good pictures.

Qahlel 3y ago

I recently visited Istanbul as well. Too my surprise, I ate the best burger I had in my lifetime. It was a smash burger joint in Emirgan district. Forgot the name. but remember finding it on google maps. Give it a try if you are passing by.

fsniper 3y ago
In Istanbul you can possibly find best examples of many if not all of international cousines. It is a city for the all types of foodies.
- objektif 3y ago
  I would definitely disagree with this. Apart from Turkish food you will probably only find good American, French and Italian ( may be few more) food in Turkiye. But the good news is you really do not need anything other that Turkish food because it is just amazing.
  - treesciencebot 3y ago
    Especially true for south / far-east Asian cuisines. Unlike many other major western metropolises, Istanbul simply lacks any authentic chinese, indian, vietnamese or japanese places. I wish (as a resident) we had more exposure to those cultures through better / relaxed immigration policies in the past.
    - nicolas_t 3y ago
      I'd argue after having lived in China and Hong Kong for numerous years that very few major western metropolises have proper authentic Chinese (and Chinese food is vast there's a huge amount of differences between regions). For example, try getting proper cantonese dim sum in Paris or Barcelona. I only know 2 places in Paris that are halfway decent after having searched quite a bit. Or try searching for good Zhejiang food (the Hangzhou or ningbo style) in Europe. And Chinese food in most of the US is bastardized to make it much sweeter and oily to conform to the taste there making it absolutely terrible and far from authentic.

mrtksn 3y ago

Istanbul is in the same league with London, Paris, Rome and probably nothing else. Not only the endless layers of multi-millennial history, even the current state of the inhabitants is extremely diverse. It's also surprisingly safe. IMHO the city got ruined in so many ways during the Turkish economic boom the last 5 decades and yet you can tell that the city "still got it". In your runtime analogy, the current state of the modern istanbul is like everything new being like bloated Electron app. The current mayor is from the secular Turks with western values and he is doing some great things to reduce the bloatware and re-surface the hidden gems through full rewrites. But sometimes he encounters unexpected behaviour. Just recently, he converted Feshane(old factory where they used to produce Fez style hats during the Ottoman times) into an art gallery but due to some undocumented API the islamist started protesting him for not respecting their values. Here is the Feshane after the conversion: https://twitter.com/ekrem_imamoglu/status/1671578928148881430 https://twitter.com/ekrem_imamoglu/status/167157892814888143... Here is the protest: https://twitter.com/tcbuyuksehir/status/1678147852453683206 https://twitter.com/tcbuyuksehir/status/1678147852453683206 Note: Before the conversion, Feshane was used for food markets and such.

objektif 3y ago
You are doing Istanbul and Rome a disservice by putting them in the same league with London and Paris.
- ChainOfFools 3y ago
  Seconding this, these cities have a rich history but it's hardly a footnote compared to the chronology baked in to the stratigraphy of Rome and even more so, Istanbul. The latter city bridges two continents, and it shows it and feels it in every respect. plus, cats. In what city can you double your entertainment just by carrying a small laser pointer with you everywhere.
  - objektif 3y ago
    Istanbul is an incredibly complex city with endless things to do. However, it is just that I have never had this feeling of being in an ancient metropolis in any other city other than Istanbul. It may be the huge mosques on the hills combined with the natural beauty of the Bosphorus strait.

DrJokepu 3y ago

Interesting thing about these tiles: the earliest ones were trying to imitate tiles from China, but Ottoman artisans didn't have access to the same dyes, which is why they have this distinctive blue color.

luuurker 3y ago

You'll find similar tiles in Portugal, usually inside old churches. Probably not exactly the same, but similar style at least.

m00dy 3y ago

Just got back from Istanbul and let me tell you, the city's attractions blew me away! I stayed in Kadıköy and Sultanahmet, and it was mind-blowing to walk around a place that has seen so many changes throughout history. I mean, we're talking Roman temples turned into churches, then mosques, and now some cool museums. They just keep adding new stuff like tiles and carpets, giving the city a whole new vibe each time. And the best part? The Great Palace Mosaics Museum! Seriously, those mosaics were next level—so detailed and vibrant. I'm already planning my next trip back. Istanbul, you've got me hooked!

egello 3y ago
Is this a paraphrased copy of the top comment on the page or am I tripping?
- GaggiX 3y ago
  It's definitely a paraphrased copy of the top comment.
  - dizhn 3y ago
    Maybe these are the ones they wanted us to find.

pazimzadeh 3y ago

> What makes the mosque truly special, however, isn’t simply that it’s hidden. It is the balance between its understated view from the street and an extravagant, richly adorned interior This is the exact same feeling you get when visiting Iran. Except for Isfahan, which is also beautiful on the outside

toyg 3y ago

As an Italian, I felt very at home in Istanbul when I visited in 2016; it felt very much like "Rome but with mosques". The locals adore children so much, it felt like my kids were VIPs and us parents just their staff. It's unfortunate that the political situation continues to be bad.

dizhn 3y ago
My brother and his family lived in Germany for a few years and they had the same comments about Italy regarding children when they visited Italy. They loved going to Italy for this reason.

weinzierl 3y ago

Blue tiles are pretty common in Arabic culture and were brought that way to the southern parts of Spain and Portugal, where they are called Azulejos from the Arabic الزليج. Unfortunately some of them are a radiation hazard, because the blue color is made out of radiocactive cobalt. A blue tile also plays an important role in the short film Zima Blue, which I cannot recommend highly enough - because of the story and its aesthetics.

t43562 3y ago

I'm probably going to annoy someone but Turkish Camiler usually seem to be built to a particular pattern of a dome with two pointed thin towers. For some odd reason whenever I pass one I imagine an alien invasion in which it will turn out that the domes are a radar and the very pointy towers will be the space missile defence.

dizhn 3y ago
Domes are inherited from Roman architecture. They don't have the missiles though.

t43562 3y ago

I spent quite a lot of time in Istanbul - mostly in suburbs far from the tourist bits. I have certainly not seen it all - probably a more tourist with more dedication has seen more in less time. I do like living there. It is always nice to have a strong currency in a place with a more variable one so it's not really fair but it has a kind of living which is a balance to my own. As someone said already, kids are treated excellently and so you can go to many more places with them without annoying anyone. It isn't that green and its very dense but there are great little parks all over the place with very good things for kids to play on. Anyone will say hi and start talking to you even though it is much huger city than London where everyone seems to resent having to share the space. Every week or two there will be a market in your area with huge canvas sheets stretched across from one block of apartments/buildings to the other and the quantity of wonderful vegetables and fruit is just incredible. You have to bargain. My town in the UK has a market but God preserve anyone who attempts to haggle - it's small and expensive and yet it's the best one for miles around and I'm glad to have it at all. There are a million reastaurants in every suburb in Istanbul - I think it's more common than most areas to have commercial properties in the ground floor of blocks of flats so that you don't absolutely have to travel just to have some tea and a simit or a few slices of borek. I like it when you put money in a bucket and lower it from your balcony to the simit seller in the street - who puts your simit and change in for you to pull them up. Sokak Simit is the "bees knees". You must buy it off a street (sokak) vendor as the one from the pastane (bakery shop) tends to be soft and pointless. It's a kind of woven ring of bread covered thickly with sesame seeds and it should be dark coloured and very chewy. Some people use the word "bagel" to describe it in English but it's isn't really anything like them and you don't eat it with stuff inside. A simit with a tomato and some olives and possibly a boiled egg is just fabulous - nutty and chewy and satisfying. You have to wash it down with a glass of golden acik cay (a-chuk ch-eye) (light tea) in my personal opinion.

dizhn 3y ago
A traditional simit would not be eaten with something inside either. That was like the breakfast of commuters for many many years. Only in the 90s the vendors starting offering triangle shaped melted cheese products. The Simit Sarayı like places are a very recent invention. By the way, I think the reason pastane simit's aren't as good is that, simit really needs to be made in a traditional stone oven and I belive the temperatures are different to what the pastry shop would have. By the way what gives it the distinct flavor (in addition to sesame seeds) is grape molasses.

threesmegiste 3y ago

A less known masterpiece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertevniyal_Valide_Sultan_Mosque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertevniyal_Valide_Sultan_Mosq...