Impressions after a long day of sightseeing

Surrounded by ancient walls, Topkapi palace was the first destination of what was supposed to be a pretty full and inspiring day of sightseeing. Seperated from the group Rajeev and I walked the grounds leisurely, taking pictures along the way and filling up on Topkapi’s cultural heritage. There was life there and I could imagine the sufi’s and priests of old walking the grounds and formulating their philosophies. I wasn’t bothered by the fact that the palace had become merely a tourist attraction, big business, more so I saw it as way to transpond it’s cultural heritage to the visiting audience. The tourism fell away between the backdrop of the accumulated centuries and I was able to see past the current façade.

Calligraphy was abundant and meaningful in the presented setting. But it seemed it wasn’t relevant anymore to the project we were doing since we were so far along. Remembering the first excursion to the museum, where examples of Ottoman calligraphy were shown to us, suddenly felt very hollow. That first museum had failed to impress me, except for seeing Ottoman Callighrapy, it was completely lacking in context, and as a kickoff to the project the Topkapi palace would have been a much better choice. A pity, but nonetheless I was very impressed by the palace and it’s grounds.

The Blue Mosque followed in our itinerary. Once again one of the most legendary places in Istanbul was visited by our group. Shying away from a group mentality and deciding to relate to anything that came my way on a more personal level I entered the Mosque with a clear mind. I was already prejudiced in a way by the stories of grandeur and deep meaning that the mosque should convey and was looking forward to be overwhelmed. But entering the mosque I didn’t feel anything particulary meaningful. Going on my first impressions I wasn’t phazed by the pomposity of the place and I realized after a while that I found the experience entirely bland. Relating to my own cultural background and the churches and cathedrals I’ve visited (about which I have mixed feelings) I expected to be humbled or awed in a way. But my impressions were purely that the mosque was a construction of grandeur and a display of wealth. The art looked to be almost mass produced and the multitude of cables and hanging candles obstructed the view of the many domed ceilings and artistical imagery. The strong symmetry and esthetic subtracted from any meaning it should convey instead of adding to it. This time I was affected somewhat by the heavy touristic presence but I didn’t want to leave the mosque with the impressions dealt to me at that time so I sat down to stare up at the ceiling and try to really see the architecture and let it work in on me for a while. Glimpses of meaning followed but nothing lasting.

The other mosques were smaller, compacter, somehow more intimate. After a wild goose chase through the city, crossing bazaars and scouting for the group we found the Bayazit mosque. I was a little hyped up, stressed out because of weird communication and winding a way through a city on a hunters instinct. Reaching the mosque I felt like going through the proper ceremony to undo myself of that bagage and centering myself in an ideal context. I washed my face, hands and feet ceremoniously before entering the Bayezit mosque and I felt clearer. Sitting in the mosque, watching some people pray and go about there way I realized that there was a loose and unforced flow to it al. The mosque was much a part of their lives without the oppression I formerly associated with organized religion. As a way to bring different social layers from a community together and act as a catalyst in daily life I could see it working.

The Süleymaniye Mosque had a beautiful graveyard. The beauty was awe inspiring. Having spent a good time at several different graveyards during a previous project I had a lot of reference but I wasn’t prepared for the simplicity and esthetic of that place. In the context of our project I couldn’t relate anything to what we were doing.. there was just a sense needing to have a certain serenity as an opposing force to the chaotic sensory bombardment we were going to unleash on our user, but that became more clear throughout the day and didn’t really come out of anything in particular.

We waited for the group at the graveyard for a long time before calling Corné and getting directions to the New Mosque. On a renewed instinct we winded through a small ghetto where shops were closed, trash was spread all over the place and children played on empty streets. There was a slightly eerie feeling in our accumulated group but the Istanbul city centre isn’t that big or confusing so I was able to guide them to the sea and the New Mosque with it’s hordes of birds. The clouds of birds gave a strong sense of life, the surrounding bazaar amplified that, but perhaps another would see that the other way around. The group had finished their quick sightseeing tour of the place and we met them in front. Hastily I went on inside. Joined by Lode we witnessed people rushing into the mosque as prayer started. People from all different social classed proceded to stand in line next to each other and began their proces of bodily prayer, guided by chanting that had sadness and promise of the beauty of life in it. This was a somewhat humbling experience. I realized the intimate and personal nature of their actions as opposed to my own cultural heritage and I had some insight in the behaviour of some of my muslim friends back home.

These were just my impressions and they most likely won't count for the entire group. In the end there’s a lot of things I can say and philosophize about, but I’ll leave that for the sufi’s and focus the current project.