Michæl From Istanbul

Perihan Cer, a shopgirl at Malatya Pazari, finds a moment of stillness in the old Spice Bazaar. Photo by: Michael Schwartz

*As a premiere post, I am sharing an article that not only was I most proud of, but was being optioned for Man Of The World. The article got lost amidst the multitude of minds and for that matter, after months of miscommunication, I take ownership back and am proud to present it as my first post. 

Byzantine art and Ottoman architecture dominate the symbolic skyline of a city that has been conquered, built, and rebuilt from the Greeks, to the Persians, to the Romans, to the Venetians, and ultimately to the Ottomans. Separated by the Bosphorus, it’s a city strategically situated at the split between Europe and Asia; the final destination of what was once the Silk Road.

A place where Sufis still spin, Istanbul, “not Constantinople, is Turkish delight on a moonlit night,” according to The Four Lads song, and is as modern as any metropolis but still secretes (sweat from humidity comparable to cosmopolitans akin to the likes of the Big Apple) scents of Nargile (hookah), and spices that allude to an epilogue of the past.

Sultanahment, the old city, once home to the Hippodrome that held horse and chariot races, still stores its secrets between the Spice Bazaar, and Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar). While loading up on glasses of çay (tea), forced upon by the vendors, and sampling lots of lokum (Turkish delight), it is essential for any chef to stock up on Saffron (an expensive spice, much cheaper to buy in these markets – when you can find the real spice as opposed to the more common color-dyed fakes), Sumak (a dried sweet and sour beet colored ground berry used to mix with meats), Isot (a dried and fermented pepper adding a rich smoky note to anything), and Çörek Otu (Nigella Seeds, which can cure a headache when wrapped in cheesecloth and rubbed against your palm, or used more commonly as a pastry spice to bring a more savory flavor).

Meanwhile, the Grand Bazaar, made up of 61 streets and 3,000 plus shops present any discerning gent the opportunity to purchase more than just ornate oriental rugs, but rather kilim slippers, for example; the underpinning design behind a pair of Dries Van Noten espadrilles.

And though this is a city where you can marvel at Medusa’s head, aside from the multitude of mosques, or follow the Formula One races at Istanbul Park, a traditional 400 year old Turkish bath, off of the maps and on the Anatolian side of the city is vital for a real voyager. 

All photos by: Michael Schwartz; taken with a Canon EOS 20D 

One of the six minarets which make up the interior courtyard of Sultan Ahmet I's Blue Mosque.  Mecca is the only equivalent to boast as many minarets.

It's the blue Iznik tiles which adorn the interior that have dubbed the mosque its unofficial, but most commonly known name.

A forest of 336 columns built in 532 to deliver water to the Great Palace of Emperor Justinian, but closed when the Byzantine emperors relocated the Great Palace. 

The Bascilica Cistern is not only the largest surviving Byzantine cistern in Istanbul, but also plays home to Medusa's head.

A window inside the less crowded and quite quaint Süleymaniye Mosque.

Inside the fourth imperial mosque in Istanbul; designed by the most famous of all Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan.