Istanbul Archeological Museum

"The Istanbul Museum of Archeology is among the richest museums in the world today with its collection of over a million pieces that carry traces of various periods and cultures in world history."
This is stated upfront in the pamphlet available at the front desk of the museum and without any prior knowledge of the exhibits, I wasn't quite sure of what to expect.

Over the past few days in Turkey, I have been taking in a lot of history and antiquity. Much more than what a normal Singaporean can absorb since Raffles came to our shores in 1819. My travelling buddies and I have also developed a lingo that cuts straight to the point. We are either "overwhelmed" or "underwhelmed" ! Nothing in between. As for this museum, I can safely say that we were quite overwhelmed.

I was surprised at the pristine condition of some of the statues. At least the heads were intact. And most of all, I learned a new word - Sarcophagus. The Sarcophagi of Alexander the Great, King Tabnit and that of the mourning women are just among the famous antiquity unearthed in the Royal Negropolis of Sidon by archaeologist, painter and curator Osman Hamdy Bey. With western powers carting off lock, stock and barrel of antiquity from the ancient worlds to enrich their museums, Osman oversaw in 1884 a regulation prohibiting historical artifacts within the Ottoman Empire from being smuggled abroad. The Turks must be really proud of him. 

As I was wondering whether bodies were still within the sarcophagus, I was standing just above one which was placed under the glass floor . Imagine if the guards didn't notice me and locked up the museum for the day. Yikes !

A bust of Alexander the Great 

Statue of Hermaphroditus, a mythological being in which characteristics of male and female are combined

Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love

Apollo playing the Cithara

Statue of Oceanius (God of Rivers)

Statue of Poseidon, God of the Sea

Statue of Artemis, Goddess of the moon, forests and hunting

Bust of Emperor Augusta

The Alexander sarcophagus 

The sarcophagus of mourning women

Pottery Kebab - Cappadocia cruisine

Pottery kebab is specialty of Cappadocia. The meat is cooked in a terracotta claypot for a few hours and served straight up at the table. Then comes the moment .....off with its head ! With one deft move of the knife, the waiter decapitates the top of the claypot to reveal a steaming rich meat stew, usually lamb or beef . This stew is then poured into a bowl while the terracotta pot is discarded. 

In Cappadocia, we actually had the dish twice over 2 dinners. The first was at Cappadocian Cuisine while the second was a special home cooked version at our cosy Safran Cave Hotel. Though it was the same dish, both tasted quite different. The first had a rich tomato base while the home cooked version had a rich meaty taste and fragrance. I personally preferred the latter as the taste of the stew was not overpowered by the tomato. 

With one deft move comes the decapitation of the pot ! 

Pottery kebab at Cappadocian Cuisine 

Whirling Dervish in an underground cave in Goreme, Cappadocia

Turkey is the land of the Whirling Dervishes, a ceremonial dance that is the inspiration of the Sufi master, Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi (1207-1273).  Sufis seek a close relationship with God, and for Mevlana, it was through chants, prayers, music and a whirling dance.

The ceremony (sema) has seven parts and each part symbolizes a stage of the mystic journey to perfection called ascension. My friends and I caught the whirling dervishes at an underground cave in Goreme and we were quite taken by surprise at the beautiful acoustic sounds of the musical instruments as well as the serene, quiet dignity of the dance.

The dervishes, with their head-dresses, representing the ego's tombstone and their white skirts representing the ego's shroud go through a journey, advancing to spiritual maturity through the different stages. Although it may look like a performance, it is still a religious ceremony that has to be witnessed with respect, with no picture taking allowed. A big group of Germans whom we sat across did not twitch at all throughout.  A friend of mine though had his eyes closed through parts of the whirling. He was either mesmerized or napping. It was only at the end that some dervishes did some symbolic whirling just for the cameras.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a region of exceptional natural wonders. Ancient volcanoes that have erupted years ago led to the formation and erosion of spectacular structures such as pillars, caves and fairy chimneys . Over the years, people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from these soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Fell sick for a day in Goreme and missed out on visiting the Goreme Open air museum where beautiful frescos can be seen. But at least I had the chance to trek up the Ihlara valley and visited the cave chapels of Selime. 

Houses carved into the caves at Cappadocia 

Ancient frescos drawn by monks from Jerusalem in a cave at  Ihlara Valley

An overview of the starting point of our trek at Ihlara Valley

Impressions of Izmir,Turkey

The clock tower of Izmir, a gift from Germany to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Abdul Hamid II 's Ottoman rule in 1876

A quaint little surau in the Konak district of Izmir 

Clogs at the entrance of the surau

Turkish hand painted bowls at Kizlaragasi Han Bazaar 

 Turkish evil eyes are incorporated into the design of this bowl

Ephesus - City of the Gods

The greatest Roman ruins are not found in Italy but in Ephesus which lies within the borders of Selcuk County in the Province of Izmir. It is one of the most famous cities of antiquity and among the best preserved ancient sites in the world. Once the most important Greco-Roman city of the Eastern Mediterranean, it now has a spectacular landscape of ruined temples, a lofty library, theatres and the most beautiful marbled pavements.  

A civilisation of cats among the ruins 

The public latrine which served citizens as well as visitors

The houses of the wealthy were established on terraces on the slopes of  Mount Bulbul

The marble porticos of the Arcadian Way, the ancient world's Rodeo Drive with shops laden with goods from the Mediterranean world.

The Fountain of Domitianus (left) and the building of Polio (right)

 

The library of Celsus once had a reading room stocked with more than 12,000 scrolls