J and I caught the early bus out of Delphi and made it to Athens just to discover that there was a metro strike - so no service to the airport. Luckily, J struck up a conversation with a couple heading our way and we were able to share a taxi with them. We hung around the airport, had lunch, discussed our future travel plans and then parted ways. He was headed back to the U.S. via London, and I was on a direct flight to Istanbul.
The flight was quick, the wait in the passport line not so much. Lots of tired, sweaty and sneezy people waiting to get into Turkey. Luckily, the Istanbul light rail and tram workers were not on strike and I make it to my hotel with little hassle. The trick is to buy more tram tokens than you think you'll need. Then you can just zip through the turnstiles (or at least awkwardly pull your luggage through while juggling a camera bag, little red tokens, a scarf and a jacket).
My hotel is wonderful. Small, but comfortable and ideally located in the Sultanahmet part of town. The old city where most of the "sites" are.
I think I miss having someone to travel with more than I thought I would. It is nice to travel with someone or do my own thing, but then meet up for lunch or dinner. Now I'm just at sixes and sevens. I wandered around today, not really feeling Istanbul. I wanted to, I tried to, but I couldn't get into the city.
I thought that if I made plans, that might help. So I went up to the tram station to get started on having some kind of a day. I ended up helping an older German couple figure out how to use the token machines at the station, and then gave directions to another man who didn't know which line to take. My first day here and I'm in full-on tour guide mode.
I took the tram and the tunnel tram (exactly what it sounds like) to the New District to get tickets to see the Whirling Dervishes. After picking up my ticket I wandered up Istikal Street. It is the shopping corridor. So there's a Starbucks and all that.
I tired to focus on enjoying Istanbul by getting specific with my site seeing. I took a heinously long tram ride to the Chora Church (or Kariye Muzesi). As I walked to the museum, a guy rode by on a bike and said, "Hello, you speak English?" For the first time ever, I figured that I could pretend that I didn't. That was a mistake. I shook my head no, and he said, "Then I want to kiss you!" and made kissing noises at me. So that little ploy didn't work so great.
Sadly, a lot of the place is being restored, so it was off limits. But the mosaics that I did see were fabulous. These are considered some of the best late-period Byzantine mosaics anywhere.
The church dates from around 1100. The interiors date from 1312. However, after centuries as a church, it was converted into a mosque in the early 16th century. One book said that the mosaics and frescos were whitewashed over and remained undiscovered until the the 1940's. The building became a museum in 1945.
On my way back out to see the dervishes, I walked up the Hippodrome and heard the call to prayer at the Blue Mosque. I actually enjoy the call to prayer. It is so foreign to my usual sounds during a day, and it makes me pause, even just for a second and give some thought to something spiritual.
Then it was back to the New District for the Whirling Dervishes. I was early, so I wandered and had a coffee.
Every dervish show is sold out and I literally had to scramble to get a front row seat. It was worth it.
The Mevlevi order of dervishes is a Sufi order. Sufism is a branch of Islam that is more concerned with inner or mystical aspects. Rumi is probably the most well-known Sufi and his followers began the Mevlevi order after he died. Rumi was born in 1207, wrote in Persian and died in Konya, Turkey in 1273. He is famous for his writings, religious philosophies and meditations.
The dervish religious ceremony is called Sema and symbolizes the seven steps of a mystical cycle to perfection. This means their union with Allah or God. As they begin to spin, their arms are wrapped high on their bodies, then their hands move towards their hearts, down to their hips and then out. The higher right arm with hand up receives blessings from Heaven, while their lower left arm with the hand held down communicates those blessings to earth. Another beautiful way of putting it is: "Revolving around the heart, he embraces all of humankind, all creation, with affection and love."
Love cannot be explained. It can only be experienced.
Love cannot be explained, yet it explains all.
-Rumi
"Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another person's heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you." - Shams of Tabriz
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