Galata Bridge: Merging the old and the new with an ambient entertainment complex

The Bridge and Restaurant Plaza (Wikimedia picture)

A bridge is not what you look to for fun, entertainment gourmet food and break taking view, but Galata Bridge is all that and more.

It is the famous bridge that spans the Golden horn, which is an inlet of the Bosphorus river that spans the older traditional portion of Istanbul south of the river at Eminonu to its more modern portion Karakoy, which Galata is a subsection of, north of the river.

Over the centuries there have been several bridges built and rebuilt across the Golden Horn but not until the current bridge, others have had interesting histories from their inception to their demise.

Fishing from the bridge

What was considered the first Galata Bridge was built in 1845 and lasted for 18 years. At the time it was considered a new bridge as an older bridge existed further up the river. The first recorded bridge was during the reign of Justiniian back in the 6^th century. A  second bridge was later built prior to Napoleon III’s visit to Istanbul in 1863 as an overall infrastructural overhaul but by 1875 yet another bridge, the first by a foreign firm was built.

It was not until 1912 that a German firm was hired to build yet another bridge that was expected to last for much longer term until it got damaged in a fire in 1992, which was eventually replaced by the current bascule type bridge that is both a utilitarian work of art and a functional passage way for vehicle, tram and ship traffic. It was completed in 1994 and the lower plaza portion was opened to the public in 2003.

Galata Bridge Fish Market

It is iconic that while crossing the bridge, a look to the west gives you vistas of Europe while looking east you behold Asia across from the Bosphorus straits. A swimmer with a good pair of lungs could swim across from Europe to Asia in about 30 minutes or less.

The top surface of the bridge apart from the busy vehicles and tram constantly passing by is a behive of activities both as a lookout spot and sunset watching but also a fly fishing post for so many of Istanbul residents. The lower deck of the entire length of the bridge is a plaza of sorts, lined with several restaurants, bars and shopping stalls. The only break in the length is the middle portion where ships and boat pass through to navigate out to the Bosphorous straits and head north to the Black Sea or south to the Sea of Marmara and unto the Mediterranean Sea.

My restaurant waiter on the bridge plaza

The restaurants all have outdoor patios where most guests are seated eating and watching the ebb and flow of the water that is barely inches below them. Gazing at the big round yellow orange tinged setting sun that looks so close while dining on fine Turkish cuisine and a beverage of assorted beer was always both romantic and eerie. Just think of the feeling of being sandwiched between a train above and a ship below and totally surrounded by water as you chow down on some kind of lamb stew.

Dusk by the bridge behind me

For some reason most of my interaction with local people was on that bridge. Folks invited me to practice reeling in fish from their fishing rod while others just wanted to take pictures with me. As a tourist magnet, the waiters in the gazillion restaurants aggressively yet politely lured customers to taste their special food and different international or local beers, while some later at night wanted to the best spinning Disc jockeys in Turkey who happen to be in their clubs. Street and food vendors constantly ply their wares on the bridge that you could have a full day shopping for a variety of stuff just handing around the bridge.

The atmosphere was so positive and the place being so pedestrian friendly, I must have crossed that bridge more than ten times. At the foot of the Galata end of the bridge was a sprawling fish market where fresh harvests come in virtually hourly. Aside from the fish mongers or merchants, many roadside fish restaurants and working class cafes dot the crowded area to enjoy fresh fish meals and beer, before you ascend towards the Galata Towers.

Galata Tower: A Panoramic Vista of the Bosphorus and the Ancient City of Istanbul

Towering in the skyline in this wikimedia picture

Strolling around the old part of Istanbul, a landmark that is hard to miss was an ancient tower that solidly carves out a space in the skyline among crowded buildings. The cylindrical towering structure is the famed Galata Tower.

Standing at the base

Prior to Istanbul being one definable monolithic city, it was composed of various districts including some that basically autonomous all occupying the same general space. A city wall surrounded the Genoese Colony of Galata with the tower erected at the highest strategic point overlooking the old city of Constantinople. The tower was also used for surveillance purposes over the harbor as the Genoese colony was engaged in commercial activities that span beyond their immediate vicinity. While the city walls are gone the tower, which was originally named Christea Turris in Latin (Tower of Christ) and Galata Kulesi (in Turkish), remains sturdy and in use today for panoramic view of the city as well as a venue for restaurant and night club in its upper floors.

The marker on the base wall

It is believed that the tower was first built by a Byzantine emperor in 507 AD and then rebuilt in its present stone form in 1348 by the Genoese colony for strategic defensive reasons as homage to the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, who granted the Genoese permission to settle there. Over centuries and over the years the tower had been scarred by fires but always eventually repaired. The last repair/restoration work was in 1967 after which it was opened to the public.

Blends into the modern street

The tower stands 9 stories high at 219 feet with 12 feet thick walls. The tower had served over the years as surveillance fort, dormitory, dungeon, jail, and jump off platform for amateur aviators and then a fire monitoring post for the city of Istanbul. Now it is more a tourist fixture with restaurant and nightclub and the obligatory gift shop.  The base is transformed into a plaza that attracts the artsy folks, along with tourists enjoying nice café atmosphere in the surrounding shops and restaurants while magicians, musicians and other entertainment types work their art.

Up close

Standing at the base and leaning or hugging portions of the tower gives an awesome sense of connection to folks that lived around the area in the 13^th and 14^th century yet reminding yourself of how transient we all are knowing that soon after the current generation all pass away, a new generation will be standing at the same base and wondering about those who lived before and spent time there before their time.

Hippodrome: Racetracks and Entertainment Square of the Greco-Roman Istanbul

Hippodrome Serpent Column

No, I am not referencing the NASCAR, which is part of the fast car racing culture that is popular all around the present day US and other international venues. But horse and horse-drawn chariot racing, princes circumcision ceremonies and all kinds of entertainment including circus acts were a regular feature of Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine Empire before the ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire, which Sultans never paid as much attention to the activities compared to their predecessors.

The city ‘stadium’ where all these activities were held was the Hippodrome, which outlines and some of the tracts and other buildings and monuments of that era still survive till date and another exciting place to visit within the vicinity of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

The Hippodrome which was initially a small town square for entertainment and horse racing got subsequently expanded as the city of Byzantium (ancient Istanbul) was expanded by various Emperors starting from Emperor Septimus Severus in AD 203. At its largest size, the spectator stands was said to hold up to 100,000 people.

The Emperor and his court

It is evident that at its glory the Hippodrome was filled with various statues of both animals and famous horse riders and prominent rulers. One end of it has a special pathway that leads up to the palace where the Emperor and his family and close officials make their way into the arena leading up to his ‘box’ area from where they watched the entertainment. There is a depiction of the Emperor and his court watching the activities carved at the base of the Obelisk in the picture on this page. And at the far end, to the corner where row houses that are exactly they way they existed, which by today’s standard would appear to be teeny tiny row of apartments.

The Serpent and the Obelisk

Still visible today are some chariot tracks along the sides of the oblong flank of the arena and gigantic obelisk and other monuments that were brought over from other civilizations in the ancient world, including a Serpent Column, which has lost the heads of the three intertwined Serpents.

The obelisk known as the Obelisk of Tuthmosis III was said to have been installed in AD 390 when Emperor Theodosius the Great brought it from the Temple of Karnak in Luxur Egypt during the reign of Tuthmosis III around 1490 BC and installed it within the hippodrome.

Hippodrome Row Apartments

It was awesome to stand in the shadow of an Obelisk that has survived for almost 3, 500 years and looking very well preserved in the open elements. The remarkable paradox was that in its glory and for the purpose the Hippodrome was established was a place of gathering of multitudes of people and entertainment, and several centuries later, even in its faded glory and ruination, it is still a place that draws perhaps even more crowd now and still full of entertainment.

It is often common to be approached on a free guided tour of the hippodrome by natives who speak your language, but the catch is that they often want you to lure you to the nearby Turkish rug stores nearby for tea and hopeful purchase from the stores, which pays them commission.

Istanbul City Orientation by Foot

Byzantine marker near Basilica Cistern

Emerging from the Basilica Cistern several blocks away from the entrance, I thought it would make sense to tour around the city on foot as far as I could before making specific plans for longer visits to some of the more interesting historical places. By design and by age, old Istanbul, the Sultanahmet, is so pedestrian friendly and chockfull of prominent sites to see that you would miss a lot of historic sites and the vibe of the city if you just hopped around on buses and taxis. It was also comforting that there is an efficient Tram system that traverses the city and at 2 TL (Turkish Lira) token, you can hop on a Tram back to your hotel or anywhere else if you  get tired of walking.

Breakfast before the stroll

In the immediate vicinity of my hotel and the Basilica Cistern was the Ayo (Hagia) Sophia, which is now a museum and across from it was the Sultanahmet mosque, famously known as the Blue mosque. Then up behind Ayo Sophia was the Topkapi Palace, the home of the Sultans that ruled the famed Ottoman Empire, and nearby were magnificently and intricately colored marbled burial crypts of various deceased Sultans and their families under ornate and tastefully furnished domed edifices.

On the other side of the Blue mosque was the Hippodrome depicting the ancient Greek sports arena decorated with various monuments from the ancient Romans and ancient Egyptians.

On my stroll route

As I gazed around in wonderment, I came by the massive and extensive Topkapi Palace walls, which stretched along the shores of the southern end of the Bosphorous and the Sea of Marmara, so I crossed the street and followed the seashore for a leisurely walk, as ships sailed past me and buildings on the continental Asian side of the city of Istanbul gleamed in the morning sun. By the time I rounded the circumference of the Topkapi palace wall, I had passed the Istanbul Gar at the Sirkeci Railway Station (a once famous stop for the Orient Express) I had reached Eminonu, the miniport at the base of the exciting Galata Bridge, from where charter and passenger boats and vessels cruise the Bosphorous towards the Black sea 19 miles north or a few miles south through the sea of Marmara into the Mediterranean sea.

At that point I crossed a pedestrian bridge to head back to the hotel through a slightly different route but was surprised to come upon Kennedy Cadessi (Kennedy Street) at the bottom of the foot bridge. Obviously the street was named for the former US President John Kennedy. Weaving my way back in the general direction of my hotel, I came upon the Grand Bazaar, and the Egyptian spice market. Virtually every block has a story to tell going by prominent and  unique features of various architectural marvels, mosques, minarets, ancient churches (like Church of St. Irene), Turkish baths mixed with recognizable western institutions, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and a friendly crowd of people going about their business, beaming with smiles and beseeching you to step into their stores for some tea and bargains or into their restaurants for some delicious Turkish cuisine.

By the time I got back to the hotel, I had a longer list of more places to visit for extended tour.

Playing Sultan in the Basilica Cistern

View of the Cistern as I descended the stairs into the chamber

As the Basilica Cistern or Yerebatan Sarnici (Sunken Cistern) is just two houses away from my hotel, it was the first place to see the next morning after breakfast. The entrance to the Cistern or Sarnici as the locals call it is a non-descript building no more than a large store front with a small wall plaque showing the name and the period the cistern was established. As I had no prior knowledge of this wonder, I could not believe my eyes as I descended a flight of steps to the cavernous bowels of the cistern. It was completely a different subterranean world.

It is reputed to be the largest of many ancient cisterns that lie underneath the city of Istanbul. In fact it measures 453 feet by 212 feet with an area of 105,000 square miles and has the capacity for holding 2,800,000 cubic feet of water. Indeed it was the source of water for the palace of then Constantinople and the surrounding area within the historical old city, as it was just a few feet away from Hagia Sophia and other historical centers of power.

One of the upside down Medusa heads

This cavernous chamber is held in place by lots of sturdy marble and granite columns, 336 all together that are strategically arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns that stand 30 feet high. The top end of each column has almost a different stylistic design and engraved decoration in the Corinthian or Ionic styles with some depicting other expressions. Two unique columns at the far end of the cistern unlike the rest of the columns had the heads of Medusa engraved at the base, basically at a human knee level. I had to squat down by Medusa to have my picture taken at the same level as she was with both our heads in opposite directions.

The engraved images were mesmerizing especially given the context of the eerie chamber that was somewhat dark well of pillars jutting from a vast pool of water and towering 30 feet high with occasional water droplets baptizing you as you wander around on raised platform above the water so you don’t have to swim through the huge space. 

Cave-like chamber

It was noted that the Cistern has had several restorations to maintain its stability, repair cracked columns and evacuate mud build-up especially as houses are now built on top of it with intense daily human activity putting its pressure on the edifice. In fact, if not observant, you would not realize there is such a gigantic space below your feet as you walk the pavement or dine in restaurants or sleep in hotels that are all at normal street level on Yerebatan and other adjourning streets including the tram rail line. By the time you end the tour and emerge at the exit, you suddenly realize you had traveled almost ten blocks away from where you went in.

The Sultan issuing Edicts

But before I made that exit, I stopped over by the north east end of it where some creative Turkish business savvy young folk offer costumed photo shoots for a fee. They have an assemblage of different Sultanate court attires, from the robes of the Sultan to those of the Queens and other palace officials. They come in several colors with palatial grandeur, and head wears, prayer beads and other accoutrement to match. I made a selection of some gold robes with black trims and golden head gear with burgundy band with all the other paraphernalia of the office of the Sultan and sat on a saffron throne to take some commanding pictures decreeing edicts to my subjects. I may not have lived in that era but at that moment, I was catapulted back several centuries in every way possible. Some British ladies watching me pose openly expressed their admiration.

For the movie buff, the Cistern was the location for the 1963 James Bond movie, ‘From Russia with Love’.

Arriving the heart of Old Town Istanbul: Sultanahmet

My Colorful Han Hotel Room

With the visa stamp firmly pressed on my passport, I meandered through the airport straight to the Tram platform that runs all the way to the center of the old city of Istanbul, where I dropped off to walk the one block jaunt to Han Hotel on 33 Yerebatan Cadesi (street), which will be my home in Istanbul for a week and some change.

Ham Hotel is a cross between a quaint and a boutique hotel that clearly caters to tourists in the busy heart of old Istanbul. It has a total of 10 rooms. Accentuating its quaintness is the bold bright hues that the interior of the hotel is painted in. The jarring but pleasant colors extend to the drapery, the beddings and even the designed wallpaper covering some areas of the rooms.

The hotel is  a 2 to 3 minute walk to Basilica Cistern, which the locals referred to as Yerebatan Sarayi (Sunken palace) or Yerebatan Sarnici (Underground water storage facility built by the Romans in 6^th century, during the reign of Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor; the Suleiman mosque popularly known as the Blue Most and a former church now a museum called Hagia Sophia, pronounced Aya Sophia by locals (St. Sophia) built in a relatively short time in the 5^th century. Stepping outside the balcony to the room, the minarets of domes of these historical buildings are all visible and form part of the immediate neighborhood.

The hotel next door to Han Hotel

Still within easy walking distance under 10 minutes were such premium historic attractions like the Topkapi palace, home of the Sultans, which was also where the Greek Byzantine first built their city on settling in the area, the Hippodrome, The Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Bazaar and numerous Turkish baths that dot all over the city. I will talk about some of these individual places and my pleasant experiences there later.

It was very advantageous to stay in Hotel Han though the immediate challenge was the smallness of the room and the narrowness of the bed. Perhaps the age and structure of the building make it impossible to install an elevator so there is no choice to climbing back and forth a narrow spiral stairs to my third floor room.

The staff were however extremely helpful, friendly and great cooks. Every meal was made fresh just for you. It never seemed like mass cooking to serve anyone that walks in. The care in preparing each meal made it seemed like you are a cherished guest in a private home.

Turkey 2012: Chicago to Istanbul

Kennedy Street, Istanbul

My avid interest in geography, history, anthropology and cultures all melded in Istanbul this year. This spring, I made my first foray to what I learned in the history books as Asia Minor when I was growing up. It was so exciting to begin that exploration from the center of the confluence of so many of my interests in the famed and old, yet modern city of Istanbul.

The direct flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport directly to Istanbul Ataturk International Airport aboard Turkish Airlines was smooth. I would say however that I did a double-take when I first walked into the plane to see how small the seats were comparative to America based airlines that I usually fly. The narrowness of the seats and confining space and shorter legroom for an 11-hour flight took a while to absorb.

Bold Green Door, Istanbul

As I arrived the Chicago airport about three hours ahead of time, I took time to saunter around the international departure lounge. When I finally headed for the Turkish Airlines counter, I first met a young smiling lady close to the counter whom I thought was among the check-in crew, but she was disappointed I was not heading her way to board her United Arab Emirate airline that had a counter next to the Turkish Airlines. She was so pleasant I promised I will fly her airline when I schedule a vacation trip to that region of the world.

The counter help at the Turkish airline were very polite and welcoming and it took me less than 5 minutes to check all in.

Dusk by Galata Bridge, Istanbul

Aboard the full flight, I was lucky to have a loquacious young Turkish man sitting next to me. He was from Istanbul but had been in the United States for some kind of company training for a few months in the East Coast. When that ended he went to California to see the other side of the US and was then heading home back to Istanbul via Chicago. He spoke good English, which made him a good traveling companion. He gave me crash orientation about Istanbul and the chick places to visit while I was in his city. These were mostly tourist attractions, great restaurants, bars, museums and other places he figured would best convey the Turkish pride to a foreign visitor. I urged him to pencil in the Midwest region of the US when next he returns to America so he could experience how non-coastal regions, especially the Midwestern portions of America live and play.

We enjoyed our conversation while awake amid sips of wine, tasty Turkish dinners and deserts that the flight attendants served and the various online movies and music that one cares to select.

We eventually touched down in Istanbul about 5.00pm Turkish time amidst just ended evening rain showers that made for a wet welcome. After claiming my baggage, I joined the line for a visa to enter the country. As an American, the visa fee was just 20 dollars, which you paid to the official on the other side of the counter who pasted the visa stamp on a page of your passport and briskly welcomed you to Turkey.

Watch the hour-long Video of Magical Istanbul made an narrated by Martigen Entertainment. I am not the narrator and was not involved in making the video but I visited most of the places featured in the video and will be writing about them in my future reports on my trip to this magical and enchanting city that spans different eras.

Rock and Roll Forever: A Musical at St. Andrew the Apostle School, Gladstone Missouri

I had the pleasure over the 2012 Mothers’ Day weekend of watching budding talents that may grow up to be musical icons that will rock our world in the up future.

Completing a conference I was in Kansas city for a few days for mother’s day and to socialize with my young nephews and nieces. While I treated them with my avuncular goodies and company, they invited me to their soccer games and their school Rock and Roll Musical performance they were performing in and had been rehearsing for months.

The venue of the performance, St. Andrew the Apostle School’s gym was packed to the brim with enthusiastic and proud parents and relatives of the kids, and the passionate teachers and administrators of the school who each felt especially proud of their students and their school programs. The parish priest as well as the school principal in his casual blue jeans pants and red t-shirt were among the cheerful hosts, milling around, exchanging pleasantries and warmly greeting visitors to the school.

Pre-performance, the pupils could not contain their excitement as they playfully stomped about on the stage and interacted with each other as would siblings of the same household, which indeed they were by dint of the seemingly cordial family atmosphere of the school. As the musical director hinted that the program was about to commence, they wasted no time in assuming their positions on the elevated three angled-platforms flanking the elevated stage. Their discipline in assembling without effort and staying poised for the first chord of the musical surprised and impressed the adults in the audience.

Heralding the melodious rendition, some of the featured artiste’s impressionists strutted through the stage as they were introduced to welcome applauses…Little Richard, James Brown, Elvis Presley and the Beatles!

At the conductor’s instance, these young talented kids beautiful belted out the lyrics to the songs effortlessly without missing a beat.  This was accompanied by beautifully choreographed hand waves, dips and flow that gave sass and verve to the performance.

The joy the kids radiated belting out their numbers was so infectious that the adult audience and other kids caught the melodic fever, clapping along and bobbing their heads in full enjoyment of the performances.

The appropriately designed props accompanying the performances of the Beatle songs, the Beach boys and the great costumes for those that played Elvis James and Ed Sullivan brought smiles to the faces of the audience that I was sure reminisced on those days of great music that every baby boomer enjoyed. I was immensely enjoying the musical and artistic parts of my nephews Nnamdi and Ekene, that I don’t see often leaving so far away. They were dressed in jeans, white shirts and street-cool leather jackets as they rocked and rolled like the original artistes intended it to be. My niece, Chi-Chi, a natural performer and dance enthusiast was clearly in her element wearing a period puddle skirt and red ruffle scarf over her neck and a white dainty blouse. She looked every inch the part and sonorously belted the tunes as she swayed, jigged and stretched to the beat in unison with the wonderful choreography.

After an hour, the program was done with but the memory will linger on for a very long, long time. Watching my young family members perform in public with great confidence and self-assuredness while having the fun of their lives tells me that they are fully ready to claim their future and would make the best out of it. Thank you St Andrew the Apostle School and the entire student body as well as the patient and tireless staff for making my Wednesday May 9, 2012, evening a fun time in Kansas City area and for starting mothers’ day weekend on a very positive and cheerfully musical note.