Istanbul and Iznik July 16-19

At noon on Tuesday July 16 I flew from Prague to Istanbul, arriving in the mid-afternoon. I went into the city and checked into my hotel near the Yenikapi ferry terminal. I walked around and was surprised by some rainfall.

The next morning, Wednesday July 17 I took the 70-minute ferry ride to Yalova and from there took an hour mini-bus trip to Iznik, arriving at 2:30.

 

The Istanbul sky-line from the ferry

I had left open my plans for the next days, but as soon as I settled into my nice hotel along the lake front, I decided to stay there for three nights, not just my original one night.

 

The view from my hotel room

I spent the rest of Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday walking around to see the numerous sights and monuments from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, when Iznik, Byzantine Nicaea, was much more prominent than it is today.

 

Nicaea was the location of the first and seventh ecumenical church councils. The Church of Hagia Sophia, where the seventh ecumenical church council took place in 787 AD, was recently renovated and opened as a functioning mosque.

 

The exterior of the Church of Hagia Sophia

 

The interior of the Church of Hagia Sophia

 

The city wall and gates from the Byzantine period are still largely intact.

 

 

The east Lefke city gate

 

 

The south Yeniseher city gate

The one major industry in the town is the manufacture of replicas of the exquisite glazed tiles and pottery for which the city was famous in the Ottoman period. There are many workshops and stores selling Iznik tiles and pottery, including the Suleyman Pasha Medrese, the first Ottoman madrasah from the 14^th century, which is now used as a pottery market. I bought three plates there.

 

 

An Iznik plate (photo from Wikipedia)

 

Remains of the Ottoman period pottery kilns

 

The Suleyman Pasha Medrese

The most prominent monument is the Nilüfer Hatun Imaret, where the archaeological museum is housed. It is currently closed for a major renovation. I was surprised to see a full crew at work there as I walked by at noon on a Ramadan Friday.

 

Renovations underway at the Nilüfer Hatun Imaret at noon on a Ramadan Friday

 

Nearby is the Blue Mosque from the 14th century.

The Blue Mosque

On the south outskirts of the town is the 14^th century Kirgizlar mausoleum for soldier mystics at the time of the Ottoman conquest.

 

The Kirgizlar mausoleum

Around the town are numerous other monuments and graves, often identified with signs. The English sign for the grave of Alaadin Ali Esved, however, left something to be desired.

The grave of Alaadin Ali Esved

The sign

At least it was not as bad as an English guide book to Ephesus I remember from 1971 that was filled with howlers like a statement that the Virgin Mary was without sin until she came to love with St John in Ephesus – my all-time favorite typo.

I saw very few other Westerners during my stay in Iznik and I was surprised by how much I blended in. On four occasions people started talking to me in Turkish, assuming I was a local.