The Capital of Three Empires

Istanbul. The centre of three empires; Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. It is the bridge between Europe and Asia, a city of lavish beauty that has for centuries radiated the mystery and romance of the Orient, a place of lush palaces, magnificent churches, gilded gates, harems, and mosques whose impressive minarets rise high above the Bosphorus, one of the most important straits in the world.

Photo by Nikola Stevanović
By Boško Jakšić

Istanbul, a boiling metropolis of modern high-rises and luxurious boutiques, unending bazaars pervaded with the aromas of spices and narghiles, the shouts of cigar-bourek vendors and the masters of forgotten crafts, where small restaurants serve the famed dishes of superb Turkish cuisine and women practice the ancient art of belly dancing. The city offers a traditional Turkish bath in the three-hundred-year-old Hamami Cagaloglu – one of the "thousands of places one should see before death" – located just a five-minute walk from the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmet Mosque.

"All other cities are mortal, only Istanbul will last as long as humankind", wrote the French diplomat Petrus Gyllius (Pierre Gilles d'Albi) in 1547.

It will last as long as the Leander's Tower in the middle of the Bosphorus, the source of many legends and the trademark of the city that the Athenian warrior built 25 centuries ago. It will last as long as the Belgrade Kapisi, one of 36 gates in the old city that was named after Belgrade.

Istanbul is the least reminiscent of the days when Emperor Constantius, in 330., turned the Greek town into a new centre of the Roman Empire. It is more reminiscent of Byzantine and Ottoman times, and of the fact that so few cities in the world have so devoted themselves to God.

Autumn, when the summer heat slowly lifts from the narrow alleys, is probably the most beautiful period to visit this crossroads of worlds, where treasures are kept under the vaults of Christian and Muslim places of worship, the monumental Topkapi as well as in the back alleys of the famed Grand Bazaar, Kapali Çarsi.

Topkapi was from the end of the 15th century the centre of the Ottoman Empire. This is where the sultans ruled over the empire and ran its administrative affairs until four centuries later, when the Dolmabahce Palace was built. Every sultan added something new to the building concentrated around four parks. When the harem was added – a closed world of concubines and eunuchs – Topkapi turned into a mini-state that was home to thousands of people.

Today, these palaces, as well as Kucuksu Palace, the summer residence of the last sultans, are museums that display the power, glory and wealth of the former Ottoman Empire. It includes lush rooms, thrones, emperors' kaftans, old weapons embellished with precious stones, libraries, arabesques, mosaics and murals, crystal chandeliers and candle holders, Japanese and Chinese porcelain, drinking fountains and minuscule gardens.

The Bosphorus fascinates. After dividing the Europe and Asia, it enters the Marble Sea. Istanbul is also divided by the Golden Horn, a bay crossed by two bridges, Galata's and Ataturk's. Foreigners rent expensive flats on the waterfront of the Bebek district for its view of the 32-kilometre waterway where water trams speed along, carrying passengers between Europe and Asia.

Recently, from the terminal at Eminonu, I crossed the bay three times, and finally ended with apple tea in Fenerbahce. The imposing silhouette of the Galata Tower is part of the perfect view of the Bejogly district, when looking from the Asian side. The Tower, which has been reconstructed numerous times since it was built in 1348, today stands with its restaurants and popular night clubs in the very core of this district, which is a site of deluxe hotels and a thriving nightlife.

South of the Golden Horn is the Hagia Sofia, the traditional site where East and the West meet. In its early days it was known as Megale Ecclesia - The Great Church - and after burning down and being demolished, it was subsequently renovated by the Emperor Justinian. It has been called the Hagia Sophia since the 5th century, though the Turks call it Aya Sofya. It is usually thought that the church was dedicated to Saint Sophia, but the basilica is actually dedicated to Theia Sophia - Holy Wisdom.

For five years and ten months, more than 7,000 workers were engaged in its construction and the decoration of its walls with mosaics. When opened in December 537, it was informally considered the eight wonder of the world. Although the interior decoration of this church is partly damaged, it is still fascinating with its ornate pillars that carry the impressive cupola, which remained the largest until the basilica of St. Peter was built in Rome some thousand years later.

During the fourth Crusade, the crusaders suddenly changed their course to Jerusalem and conquered Byzantium. The Hagia Sophia was looted along with the rest of the city. Holy relics were stolen and the church was reconstructed in harmony with Latin culture. When the crusaders were expelled in 1261, the basilica returned to its Orthodox tradition.

Earthquakes damaged it, and when the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror occupied Constantinople, Aya Sofyia was turned into a mosque with four minarets. "First Constantinople won my heart, and then I won Constantinople" the Sultan used to say. Prior to his campaign against the city, the Sultan's seat had been in Topkapi. After the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the Christians demanded it back and in 1934, a compromise was achieved: the Church was opened as a museum.

A short walk leads from here to the Sultan Ahmet Square, where the minarets compete with Egyptian obelisks from Pharaoh Tuthmosis the Third. A stroll through the marvelous gardens to the magnificent Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or the Blue Mosque, built in neo-classic style, is a must. This is the only mosque, aside from the one in Mecca, with six minarets; cigar minarets as the Turks call them due to their simple elegance.

Mosques built by the sultans enjoy a special place in Turkish society. They actually call them "Selatin", which is the plural of the word sultan. When Mehmed the Conqueror took over Constantinople, Mehmed along with his viziers and pashas launched a major construction campaign. The city began to change in appearance, and today, Istanbul has 989 historical mosques built in the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

The Suleymaniye Mosque, built to challenge the Temple of Justinian, is impossible to overlook in spite of the greenery surrounding it. The Ortakoy Mosque, on the Bosphorus waterfront near the magnificent bridge that connects Europe and Asia, is best seen from the sea. A visit inside the Sokollu Mosque, built by the famed 16th-century architect Mimar Sinan for Mehmed Pasha Sokollu, is an absolute must.

Near the Suleymaniye is the large bazaar Kapali Carsi. There, under its ornamented vaults and surrounded by the aroma of saffron, one wanders through a labyrinth of narrow passages in search for kilims and carpets, materials from Anatolia, spices, tea sets, camel-bone boxes, counterfeit brands of bags and T-shirts.

On the other side of the Bosphorus is the Istlikal Djadesi, the commercial artery leading to Taksim Square. The Pera Palace is a story unto itself. Agatha Christie and Greta Garbo resided in this hotel, which today displays peeling walls rather than luxury, so that having a drink in its Orient Express bar can be more depressing than exciting.

Istanbul continually offers the chance of seeing human dynamics. In the evening, businessmen and yuppies crowd the bistros, cafés and the restaurants in the Machak district, as well as the night clubs from whose terraces one looks over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Young and jobless Turks kill time drinking beer and playing the game of triktrak - backgammon. In the Nisantasi district women dress in the latest fashion, while in the Faith district girls modestly lower their eyes underneath the kerchiefs around their faces, in accord with Islamic tradition.

Old men with wrinkled faces omit nothing while calmly smoking nargilehs. Tourists absorb the colours and flavours of the city so rich in history. And sounds, because the sounds of cities always differ. In Istanbul, these are ships' horns from the Bosphorus, the call of muezzins, the noise of chaotic traffic, the shouts of street vendors selling sandwiches with fresh fish.

In this mixture of East and West, an urban reminder of the bygone power of the Ottoman Empire and the modern European cosmopolitism, huzun has arisen. This year's Nobel laureate for Literature, Orhan Pamuk, many of whose works have been translated into Serbian, writes in his memoirs about his native Istanbul that this word in Turkish means a sort of melancholy, a certain concept of living. It is less a personal state of spirit but more a feeling shared by the whole of society - nostalgia for a glorious past and a black-white world of the narrow alleys and dilapidated buildings.

"Behind huzun is a notion: people in Europe are happy and we are condemned", says Pamuk, alluding to the repulsion that a part of Europe feels against Turkey's wish to join the European Union. It also implies a mistrust of the Turks that their candidature will be approved in the foreseeable future.

This strange mixture of skepticism of elders, the energy of youth and a unique combination of various worlds and civilisations, render Istanbul one of the most attractive destinations in recent years. Indeed, this city has been attracting people since the Greeks first opened shops here in the 7th century B.C., then as the capital of Byzantium from 330, then as the centre of the Ottoman Empire when Muslims occupied it in 1453, but also as the largest city of the Turkish Republic when it was declared in 1923.