Which planet are we on?

If you're anything like me, there are certain Bible passages where your eyes glaze over a bit, such as interminable genealogies or records of ancient civilizations you never learned about in school. I also tend to ignore geographical names I don't recognize, so a lot of the New Testament reads something like, "And next Paul traveled to blah blah blah, passing by blah blah, blah blah, and the city of blah blah, where he met up with So-And-So, and then went to Blah Blah island."

Well, it turns out that "Blah Blah," in the New Testament, particularly in Acts and the epistles, is usually located in Turkey, which back in the day was the Roman province of Asia Minor and where a lot of early Christian missionary activity was located and some of the earliest Christian communities began to grow.

One of these exotic and meaningless names is Cappadocia, a region in south central Asia Minor mentioned twice in the Bible, first at Pentecost when Luke states that some residents of Cappadocia were treated to what must have looked like a flash mob when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples; and again by Peter, who addressed his first letter in part to the Christians in Cappadocia.

So when my students started insisting that I put Cappadocia on the top of my list of travel destinations, the name registered as one of the Biblical "blah blahs" that I'd never paid much attention to. What I didn't realize is that St. Peter wrote a letter to hobbits. Because, you see, the people of Cappadocia, both in antiquity and to a certain extent today, live in houses like this:

0r this
which make up neighborhoods like this

and then cities like this
set against a landscape which stretches out like this for 250 miles east-west and 120 miles north-south, much of it looking like this.


Cappadocia's landscape is characterized by the bizarre rock formations created by a series of volcanic eruptions and erosion which left the area punctuated with tall towers known as "fairy chimneys."

Local people figured out as early as the Bronze Age that the soft volcanic rock was perfect for carving out cave dwellings that provided shelter from not only harsh natural elements, but also marauding enemies who were put off by the mountains. The ubiquitous fairy chimneys are great for hiding behind when your nemesis is trying to spot you from a lookout in the mountains. But the locals also had the advantage of a natural castle at the highest point in Cappadocia, just waiting for someone to carve a palace out of it.

Perhaps it isn't the Shire, but it's hard to walk through Cappadocia without imagining some sort of fantasy creatures as its residents. And yet, somehow the only Hollywood film to make use of this place is the upcoming "Ghost Rider 2"with Nicolas Cage, which is certain to disappoint in every way except its filming location.

It's no surprise that Cappadocia is always on the "must-see" list for travelers coming to Turkey. It's got something for everyone, whether you're into geology, history, delicious food, or simply climbing around on rocks. Or, for people like me who love all of those things, you might call it paradise. At any rate, next time I encounter 1 Peter, I will certainly have a mental image of hobbit Christians huddled together in a cave reading the words of St. Peter.

Shopping in Istanbul

Istanbul in the 1600s was probably the closest a shopaholic could get to paradise on earth. It was the seat of a major empire that encompassed regions stretching from Morocco to Hungary and over to western Iran, and which laid claim to all the treasures of those regions, and also situated perfectly between Europe and Asia, right along the path of every major trade route in the world, where merchants from all areas of the known world could gather in a central location to trade. And the grand Mecca of world shopping centers was the Grand Bazaar, a labyrinthine covered bazaar built in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet "The Conqueror", which today still boasts 58 streets with over 4,000 shops selling anything you could ever want to buy and more. Gold, silver, meerschaum pipes, antique paintings, hookahs, Turkish carpets, hooded sweatshirts, colorful scarves, scented olive oil soaps, wind-up toys, marble chess sets--there is no end to the variety of merchandise in this market.

The ability to haggle over the price of your purchases isn't the only thing separating this building from the Mall of America. As with anything else in Turkey, shopping is an intensely social experience, for the vendors as well as groups of shoppers. There are plenty of merchants hawking tourist goods near the front entrance, who are clearly interested in selling as much overpriced junk to foreigners as they possibly can, and the incessant shouts of "Hello friend! Yes please! Here! Bonjour! Where are you come from?" drive me absolutely crazy.

But if you can survive the initial wave of harassment, it's more than possible to sneak into some of the back corners, where you can meet shop owners whose lifestyle flies in the face of my American Protestant work ethic in a way that makes me wonder if efficiency and productivity are really worth the hype. To these people, business is not simply about liras and moving inventory off the shelf, but about hospitality and the opportunity they have to meet people from all over the world who come to this place.

In the bazaar, a visitor's eyes might pass over tiny shops on the corner where men load up trays with small glasses of tea to deliver to every shop in the market. But these tea distribution teams represent the heart and soul of the bazaar, the hot beverage without which Turkey would probably implode. An offer of tea is a gesture of friendship that signifies your worth to a vendor is more than the dollars you might give them.

The first time I visited Istanbul in September, I visited the Grand Bazaar more as a way to kill time while waiting for a friend than to accomplish any shopping. This is a far better place to hang out than a mall, because I think at least half of the three hours I spent within the vaulted walls of the bazaar was spent sitting in shops drinking tea and chatting with merchants who were more than happy to help a solitary traveler pass the time.

This visit proved to be similar in that I think we spent more time sitting and chatting than browsing through merchandise. My friend and I initially wandered into a carpet shop because he was hoping to pick up a handwoven kilim, but I don't think he could ever have anticipated that we would spend close to an hour and a half in this little store. The owner, while appreciating Chris's interest in his carpets, acted as if closing a sale was the last thing on his mind. He immediately sat us down in his shop, brought us tea, and talked our ears off about a wide variety of topics. Occasionally other customers would wander into the shop and he'd excuse himself to take care of them, or more often to call his assistant to take care of them. But it was clear that he was enjoying our company, and that his daily work life was as much about these moments as it was about the profits.

The same held true later in the afternoon when serendipity led us into a small, dimly lit art studio where every square inch of wall was covered by paintings and Arabic calligraphy. The artist himself sat in the back, hunched over a piece he was working on, but he did not seem in the least put out by an interruption, even when it was clear that we weren't looking to buy anything. He invited us to sit and join him for a few cups of tea as well, and he and Chris chatted about art and business while I helped the artist's assistant with his English homework. Later another friend of theirs wandered into the shop for no particular reason other than to hang out a bit, which also bothered nobody. The whole atmosphere was so relaxed and pleasant, with these men knowing that they earn their livings and therefore feeling free to enjoy their day instead of killing themselves over a few extra dollars. Our new friend even pulled out some scrap paper and wrote our names in calligraphy as a gift.

This is certainly not a typical Turkish shopping experience, as most of my forays into retail resemble American shopping so much that it's not worth blogging about. But I can get the sense that back in the day when markets were dominated by these small, family-owned enterprises, time for gossip and tea with friends was half the point of entering a shop. And the Turkish sense of hospitality shines strong here in the bazaar when merchants are given the opportunity to run their businesses in a way that allows them the flexibility to turn prospective customers into prospective friends.

Treasures of Constantinople- The Hagia Sophia

When I tell people that I'm visiting Istanbul, nine out of ten Americans will respond with a brief pause and then some sort of reference to the city's former appellation bestowed upon it by the Emperor Constantine, and the fact that this name has since been changed. I will never cease to be amazed that at some point in the 20th century, a man named Jimmy Kennedy decided that given a catchy melody, the Ottomans' 1453 takeover and subsequent renaming of the Byzantine capital would make a great pop song, and that the song did indeed become popular enough that, fifty years after its composition, most Americans instinctively reference the song when they hear the name of the largest city in Turkey.

However, there is much, much more to this great city than They Might Be Giants could ever hope to capture in two minutes and thirty five seconds. Istanbul is truly an amazing city, occupying a unique place in both geography and history, sitting in a spot that, apologies to China, could be considered the center of the world. Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait, which separates Europe from Asia, and is the only city in the world to sit on two continents. It is also the only city to have been the capital of two major empires, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Between those two, it was a world seat of power for well over a millennium. Today it is one of the largest cities in Europe, a sprawling metropolis of over 18 million people that takes pride in its history and traditions, but still has an eye on the future and is definitely a hip place for artists and party animals.

The Bosphorus Strait- Asia on the left, Europe on the right, and the Sea of Marmara ahead

The old travel writer's cliche holds very true in Istanbul: you could spend a lifetime exploring this vibrant city and never be disappointed by the cultural wealth, both historical and modern, that you would upturn in the process. But in my recent journey to Istanbul, hosting a good friend from college who came to explore Turkey with me, we stuck to the major sights.

Probably any western tourist who ends up in Istanbul immediately heads to the same iconic location on the historic peninsula of Istanbul: the Hagia Sophia. And for good reason; it is not only one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen, but it's also one of the most historically significant.

The Hagia Sofia, or Ayasofya, was constructed by the Roman Emperor Justinian in 532 AD. The entire structure was built in five years, and was the largest church in the world for a thousand years until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453 and converted it into a mosque, at which point it became one of the largest mosques in the world. After World War I, when the Turkish Republic was established, there was some controversy over which faith held a better claim to the building, and in a move inspired by Solomon, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk determined that the Hagia Sophia would be better off as a museum for people of all religions to enjoy equally.

The jumbled history of the cathedral leads to such odd juxtapositions as this- the Arabic calligraphy on the bottom says "God" on the right, and "Muhammad" on the left, with Jesus and Mary hovering over them in the center

This dome was one of the largest in the world at the time, and utilized a lot of new architectural techniques that went on to influence later works. You can see the top is ringed with Arabic calligraphy done by the Ottomans, although the seraph paintings are clearly from the Byzantine era.

The Hagia Sophia is the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture, but because of its prominence, when the Ottoman Sultan decided to build his own mosque opposite the Hagia Sophia, his architect designed the new house of worship in a similar architectural style, which came to influence all mosque construction throughout Turkey.

Walking through the Hagia Sophia today, you encounter not only literal mosaics, some of the greatest in all of Byzantine history, but a figurative mosaic of history and culture. The Hagia Sophia was never a static work, but one controlled by megalomaniac emperors who wanted to leave their mark on both history and the walls of the Hagia Sophia and therefore commissioned new artwork, sculpture, or, in the case of the Ottomans, new additions to the building such as minarets, a library, and beautifully calligraphed Arabic murals. Some parts of the building are originals from the 6th century; many mosaics and paintings were added on in the 9th or 11th centuries; and the "new" parts were tacked on in the 16th century.

The Sultan had this constructed so that he could pray in a more elevated location than the common man

The Hagia Sophia is also unique in Turkey because the Christian art was preserved. The Ottomans had a tradition of converting all churches in conquered lands into mosques, which means that the Byzantine churches in many cities were preserved. However, Islam harbors a fear that we sinful humans will start to worship the images of God or saints rather than God himself, and prohibits all images and icons in spaces of worship. Because of this, there isn't a lot of great Byzantine church art still remaining; the paintings which remain often have the faces scratched out. However, for some reason the Ottomans decided to simply cover up the magnificent mosaics in the Hagia Sophia rather than dismantle them, which means that in the 20th century, when a team of Harvard archaeologists came to Turkey, they were able to uncover and restore some incredibly beautiful 9th-11th century mosaics depicting Jesus, Mary, and the Byzantine emperors.

The Hagia Sophia is significant in church history for hosting the 2nd ecumenical council in 387 AD, where the early church fathers met to clarify the Nicene Creed (which had been assembled at the council of Nicea, another city in Turkey) and determine the nature of the Holy Spirit's relationship to the other two persons of the Trinity.

It’s a bit mind-boggling to enter a cathedral like this and let the history drench you with its tales of emperors, conquest, ecumenical councils, and the 1,500 years of royalty and peasantry alike who have prayed within its walls. If you ever get a chance, this is a destination well worth the visit, because pictures cannot do it justice.