Istanbul: Seeing My Homework In Person

Living in Ankara, Turkey was a wonderful experience and being there long enough to regularly go to work, make friends at the local market, have quiet family movie-nights and home-cooked meals was the goal of this grand adventure. However, being on a brief “vacation” to Istanbul has been a dream I’ve had since studying Art History back at Castleton State. One of the buildings from early in my studies was Hagia Sophia (primarily for the art and architecture during its original function of a Christian Church from 360 to 1453). Functionally it was built as a Christian church when it was Constantinople, was then modified to become a mosque after the city fell, and then in 1935 it became a museum that recognized the long history of both Christian and Muslim services. In 2020 the building was returned to an active mosque- a move that created quite a stir across the world.

Although the status of the building as an active mosque has made access to some of the Christian art a challenge, it was still very meaningful to be able to see the objects that I previously only knew as images in a textbook, slides in a lecture, or dreaded exam questions. It was also a joy to see Thomas so engaged in studying them as well.

In addition to Hagia Sophia we also spent time in the famous Blue Mosque (officially Sultan Ahmed Mosque). Although a baby compared to Hagia Sophia (1609 compared to 360), it was impressive to see in person. I was also pleased that Tommy could physically experience the traditions of another faith such as doors that force you to bow, shoes being removed, rows of stalls with faucets for ritual cleaning. It was a learning experience that would not be the same if he just read about them.

Perhaps one of the more unexpected things we learned while on our tour of historic sites was that the oldest site in Istanbul is considerably older than its native culture. In the center of town where once stood the Hippodrome of Constantinople, is an Egyptian Obelisk with a history that includes a period in Alexandria as well as Istanbul. Renamed the Obelisk of Theodosius after its final move, the monument came to Istanbul in 390. However, 390 is new when you realize it was made by the Egyptians somewhere between 1479–1425 BC! And while we are making a couple quick stops in Africa on this trip, we are not going to Egypt, but now I really want to!

Due to our flight being cancelled, Tommy and I also had the luxury of another day to walk around while Sarah made sure we had places to live and transportation to those new homes! During our wandering we found ourselves at the Imperial Gates where we entered into the park outside of the Topkapi Palace. We had a great time as a father and son adventure on our last day in Istanbul.

Finally, a word about the food we ate while checking out these sites. Fire-Roasted Corn on the Cob! Yes, Tom Fontaine should be with us because the street food of choice seems to be grilled corn! Tommy and I could not get enough of it. Yes, it is not as exotic as Kabob or food cooked in a sealed ceramic jar, but we loved it!