It was Jessi's first time at visiting Ayasofya, so I was more than happy to wander around the museum while she took it all in. It is quite an amazing place, especially considering when it was built. Such an amazing piece of history! And it's really wonderful that it is still standing and functional. Just amazing. I've been several times, but I'm still blown away every time.
The trip to the mosque was a little rushed. It was nearing prayer time, so there quite a lot of people around. I opted to stay to the side and let Jessi do some exploring. I'm not really a big fan of ornate mosques like that. Sure, they're beautiful to look at! But I feel like that detracts from the purpose. I feel the same way about churches. I'm always more interested in looking around at the building than paying attention to whatever is being said in a service. Maybe it works for some people, but I'd rather have something simple than overly ornate.
After visiting the mosque, I decided I was going to search out the Grand Vezir tea house. Maybe two years ago, the Sheikha Habiba in Boulder mentioned that there was a Jerrahi tekke in Istanbul. She sent me very vague directions: go to the Grand Vezir and ask for Edip Amca. He'll show you or tell you where the tekke is. So for a long time I was curious about the location of this particular tea house. I'd never been able to find it, although I didn't spend an extraordinary amount of time looking. I mentioned to Kaan that I was looking for it and the tekke, but we never ended up going. So when Jessi and I were looking at the Egyptian Obelisk and I noticed the Grand Vezir tea house nearby, I was very excited. I told Jessi I needed to ask them something and ran across the road.
Excited and nervous, I asked about this gentleman. They told me to wait at the next door carpet place, that Edip Amca had just left. So Jessi and I waited. He had apparently gone to pray, and we were expected to wait for him. He didn't ever show up, which was slightly frustrating. However, we were introduced to another older gentleman, who entertained us for half an hour or so. His name was Erdogan Amca (if I remember correctly). He also goes to the tekke and will take me if I show up. He explained to us some symbolism in the Ottoman seal, the tugra. He told us of his love of carpets and of cars. Being some sort of mechanic or engineer, he had renovated a 1930 Mercedes and was still driving it! He took us out to show us the car; it was really remarkable. He said it was something like 6 meters long and had been running for 37 years. It was the sort of car I imagine Atatürk riding in.
(it's Jessi's photo!)Anyhow, we mentioned to him that we were going to head back to Taksim to get some food and drink. Just as we're about to leave, he tells us to wait just one moment. After a couple of minutes, he comes back out and opens the doors for us. We eagerly climb into this beautiful car and off we go, three new friends in an amazing old car!
I was so incredibly thankful that Jessi was so patient. It was a long, tiring day. We were both grouchy and hungry. Waiting for a mystery gentleman in a strange carpet store for almost an hour did nothing to help our mood. But I'm really glad we stayed and chatted with Erdogan Amca, because it ended up being a really awesome thing, riding in this amazing car with a sweet old man. Even better, he told me that I'd just need to show up on Monday, and he would take me to the tekke. I'm not sure if I'll go today or not, but I'm really glad to finally have an opportunity to continue my study of Sufism.
sultanahmet is my dream place.
ReplyDeleteI loved sultanahmet.
We will back to Istanbul again.