The Lord's Day

Due to the running of the Istanbul Marathon, attendance at Holy Communion at Christ Church Anglican Church was not possible as the roads on our side of the Bosphorus were all closed. We went with a DIY Service in the hotel…. And as the wine cost over £4 a glass, it was one of the most ‘expensive’ services I have ever celebrated!

After we had celebrated Holy Communion, a relaxed morning ensued. For some, drifting down beside the tramline to explore the Railway Station that used to greet the Orient Express train as it arrived at ‘the end of the line’. (The Station is suitably grandiose – even though it now greets electronic powered trains rather than the triumphant stamp trains of old. There are beautiful stained glass windows and fine architectural features that reminded us of editions of Poirot!) Others headed towards the Archaeological Museum which holds a whole host of treasures, so well worth the visit.

For the first group, a brief drift past the Spice Market brought us to the Mosque that I had tried to visit the day before. The welcome was warm and the space much freer as this was not a time for prayer. The group spent a long time here, enjoying the time and space to explore this house of prayer. Outside there were booklets and pamphlets available to be picked up and taken away – to inform the visitor about both the Prophet Mohammed and Islam. You could even pick up a copy of the Qur'an to take away and read in your own time. This made a number of us ponder and comment upon just what we make available in our churches to help people discover more about who Jesus is, as well as about the Christianity as a whole.

Coffee in a local café and then on to Istanbul Airport for the flight to Izmir (Biblical Smyrna). More anon…

Breezy on the Bosphorous

Another day to explore the city of Istanbul, beginning with time exploring the thousands of shops in the Grand Bazaar – believed to be the oldest covered market in the world. As we were there extremely early – there were only about two thousand of the shops open. It kept us busy for a good while!

All sorts of goods are for sale in the market – with a fine array of jewellery shops amidst the touristy carpet, shawl and Turkish sweetie shops. There was an amazing range of Turkish tea glasses, some of which are so amazingly bejewelled you would really only want to have them as display pieces!

It is easy to get lots in the Grand Bazaar, but this can happily lead to interesting blinds alleys – such as the little square of bookshops in which I purchased a book that explains the different symbols on Turkish carpets. They are often so beautiful, it is interesting to know that the symbols have meanings too. Last time I was I pilgrimage here we visited a carpet shop where they showed us how the carpets were made, from the beginning of catching and unravelling the silk cocoons right through the weaving on the looms (hand operated in this particular place). (Rather embarrassingly, I was given a carpet by the shop as a gift - possibly as an encouragement to bring a group there if I returned to Turkey again. I’ll let you know if we go there!)

We also visited the famous Spice Market which is a real tourist trap, selling far more than spices – dried fruits, sweets,  Istanbul bookmarks, umbrellas and bags. Need I say more?!

Following our visit to the markets, we headed to the outskirts of the city to St Saviour in Chora. The church is visited by many hundreds of people each day who come to admire the beautiful mosaics and frescoes. The story of the childhood and marriage of Mary are shown, up to the point of the birth of Jesus, at which point his story takes over on the ceiling of the ‘room’ next door.  The story of the life of Mary is based on the Gospel of James. This gospel is not to be found in the Bible – nor even in the Apocrypha. The church is small but packs a powerful punch through its beauty. Those people who worshipped here took seriously the call to give glory to God, and did this through creating a house of prayer that was (and is) filled with beauty

Lunch was taken in a seafood restaurant, following which we sailed along the Bosphorus, allowing us to admire the fine mansions that line the shoreline. Some are crumbling nicely with an air of faded grandeur, whilst others are obviously newly built showing off the money that is within the means of some (very few) members of the Turkish population.

 

Arriving back into Istanbul near the Spice Market allowed for time to explore this area a little more. Nearby are two very fine (and quieter) mosques (and therefore giving more space for reflection). The larger one is called the New Mosque. It is a place that is quite busy during prayer times as we found as  it was near the time for the call for prayer and people were gathering.

 

On the other side of a small market square, hidden up some stairs is my favourite mosque - the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. It has the most exquisite decorative tile work in vivid blues, green and reds – and no two walls are the same. Very few tourists visit this mosque, but it is very busy during times of prayer. I decided, however, that it might be okay to join the people in prayer. Alas, I entered the entrance door only men are meant to use, and so has to be rescued by the guard as I searched for the entrance to the ladies' section!

 

Via a Turkish Coffee House, and a fascinating  Mercers’ Quarter, we ambled our way back the hotel, only to journey out later in the evening to gaze on Haggai Sophia and Sultan Ahmet Mosque by night (thankfully not by rain as well!)

It's been a busy few days!

Poor internet connection has made updates impossible, but here we go with a low-down on the past few days...

Friday saw us take a walking tour through the main sites/sights of Istanbul... the places tourists will flock to. We went as pilgrims, very much walking in the footsteps of our forebears in faith who had brought Christianity to the city, building churches and sharing the faith with those who lived here.

One of the group had a pedometer keeping track of the amount of ground covered today and the result was 7.45 miles... not bad as the area in which we were walking probably covered less than one square mile!

We started the day with a brisk walk up the hill towards Aya Sofia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. On the way, we paused to look at the balcony from with the Sultan would watch passing parades, as well as the gateway that stands opposite and was the entrance to the Divine Court

A visit to the Hippodrome brought us in touch with the Roman history of the city, with references to various Roman rulers and their legacies. Following this we made our way to St Sofia (also called Hagia Sophia and Aya Sofia. The meaning of the name is 'Divine Wisdom' - and the building is a fine offering to the Wisdom of God.

Ravages of both time and the changing of the Basilica to a mosque have taken their toll, but it still an awe-inspiring building - from both the outside and when inside. A vast space, one enters through the outer narthex. This space was where those who were not baptised stood - only being allowed to enter into the church proper following their baptism. In fact, the doors of the church would be closed during the creed, presumably because the non-baptised were not allowed to join in with the Creed for fear they would somehow taint its meaning. What a topsy turvy world we live is as there are those now who will not say certain parts of the creed even though they are baptised, because they 'don't believe those bits'.

The most beautiful mosaics are to be seen here. When the mosque 'came into being', the stunning mosaics were covered over with plaster but time has seen the plaster both fall and be uncovered. The walk up the twisting, turning slope (with no handrails!) is so worthwhile as one is rewarded with views of mosaics of such detail and beauty, they are so lovely to behold. The skill of those who worked on them must have been so advanced.

Following the visit to Aya Sofia, we headed to the splendid Topkapi Palace. Home to various Sultans, the whole complex is extensive - taking in Gardens, a Harem, Jewel Rooms and various exhibition rooms - one of which is in what was the school for young boys who were taken from their homes in order to be trained for service in the Turkish Army/Services. (Effectively they were slaves but the Qu'ran prohibits Muslim enslaving Muslim and so the children trained in this school were taken from  the homes of non-Muslim families.)

There is also an extensive display of Holy Relics, amongst which are the Staff of Moses (3,500BC) and reliquaries - amongst which one contains the forearm of John the Baptist and another his skull bone.) There are many reliquaries containing 'parts' of the Prophet Mohammed, as well as some of his clothing. As one walks through this section the Qur'an is piped through speakers - from another room where there is a man who sits reading/reciting. In a country that is a secular state, this is an interesting experience upon which to reflect.

From the Palace it was then a very short walk across to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque where we had an extremely long wait to enter. (Thankfully it was warm and sunny!) Our Guided became frustrated when young men at the entrance to the mosque offered to take us in without a wait for which, of course, we would have had to pay. Official Guides are not allowed to do this and these chaps are not actually offering a tour - they are simply offering an easy in and charging silly money to unsuspecting visitors who a) do not know it is free to visit or b) can't be doing with waiting. Whilst the waiting was frustrating, it gave us an opportunity to enjoy the impressive architecture and listen to our guide explaining the meaning of the various symbols and architectural features.

Inside the mosque was crowded and smelly (too many socked feet let out of their shoes!), as well as noisy with no sense of either space or the sacred... alas.

After all that it was back to the hotel for a rest before supper... Phew!

More about Saturday to follow...

We are here!

Here we are in Istanbul... with wonderful views from the Hotel Restaurant over the city skyline. As we enjoyed supper overlooking the bridges over the Bosphorous (one of which has lights that change colour) we were treated ti the Call to Prayer from one of the many Mosques that are dotted across the city.

Our journey into Istanbul took us through the Square that sits between Aya Sofia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (commonly known as the Blue Mosque) so we were treated to wonderful views of both as we journeyed towards our hotel.

It's been a long day after an early start (some of the group left home at 3.30am!) and then an hour's delay flying out of Heathrow. Tomorrow is going to be a full day... so very exciting!

Getting ready

Just writing the article for the Church Magazine that gives a flavour of where are going and what we shall be doing. We set off on Thursday 24th April, and I shall be doing my best to update the blog with pictures and reflections each day. Soooo looking forward to visiting Turkey again!

Here is the article... 

Pilgrimage to Istanbul and the Seven Churches of the Revelation

My, but this Pilgrimage has been in the diary for a long time… since the Summer of 2012, at least!

I led my first Pilgrimage in 2007, following the Bishop of St. Alban’s encouragement. That pilgrimage was to the Holy Land and it was a unique and deeply spiritual experience both for the people I led, as well as for me personally. Upon our return, the people who travelled as part of the group asked where we might go to next and so off we went to Turkey and the Seven Churches of the Revelation in October 2008 – with a good handful of the lovely people from Rickmansworth. Pilgrimages are a wonderful opportunity for people to get to know one another better (alas, people get to know me – especially how I am in the mornings!)

The forthcoming eleven day Pilgrimage to Turkey will take in sites of many of the early Christian communities. We begin with three days in Istanbul, one of the great cities of the world, with a culture and geography that looks both east and west. We then visit the ruins of the seven churches mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Revelation and explore the early Christian communities through visiting places such as Ephesus, Miletus and Laodicea. If you’d like to follow our progress, I shall try to keep up a blog as we go: http://istanbulandthechurchesoftherevelation.blogspot.co.uk/