Hagia Sophia -- Aya Sofya

Hagia Sophia (also spelled Haghia Sophia) is absolutely incredible. You simply must visit it if you ever get to Istanbul. Although three churches occupied the site, starting with one built by Constantius II in 360 CE, the current building dates to the reign of Justinian I in 537 CE.

I found much to be fascinated by at Aya Sofya, even though I'd visited before, and could have spent a whole week simply studying every detail of this remarkable work of art and spirit, and absorbing all its long, immense history. As there are many better pictures on the web that show the basilica and the famous mosaics, I've mostly decided to post here pictures of small details that caught my interest.

This sheep and date palm is a detail from the earlier church, built during the reign of Theodosius II around 415 CE. Unfortunately, this basilica was destroyed during the Nika revolt of 532 CE.




This panel with its motif of hearts caught my eye.



The light flooding in from these many high windows was quite beautiful.



One of the most famous mosaics, at the apse of the basilica, is of the Virgin and Child.




There was a remarkable variety of marble in many colors used in the building and decorating of the building.



Here a tourist sticks her thumb in a hole in the pillar of St. Gregory, which is supposed to grant wishes or healing powers.



From what I have read, these green pillars were supposedly brought from the ancient temple of Artemis at Ephesus, after its destruction, and recycled here.




I found the dolphins scattered throughout this building particular interesting. Notice the trident in the second picture between the two dolphins.





This spider web was located high in a corner on the higher level. I would love to know more about the meaning behind it, but haven't so far been able to find out much behind the symbolism.

The House of the Virgin Mary -- Meryem Ana Evi

Most people are surprised when you tell them that according to one legend, the Virgin Mary, after the crucifixion, in the care of John, lived out the rest of her days in the hills above Ephesus, in what is now Turkey.

I mentioned the House of the Virgin Mary last December, when the Pope visited here. This summer I got to return for another visit. Below are some pictures of the restored first century home and the sign that gives a brief history of the site. Click on the picture of the sign for a larger view.





Visit this site at Sacred Destinations to learn more.

Ephesus -- Efes

Welcome to Ephesus! The jewel city of Greek/Roman Turkey, and an absolutely fabulous place to visit. I've been here several times, and I still look forward to visiting any time I'm in the area. There's always something new to see as the city is immense and excavations continue.

Unfortunately during our recent visit, the temperature was well over 100F, and thus we didn't take the time to explore like I usually do. However, I did get to shoot a few pictures, and thought you might enjoy these.

Above is the Odeum. The advisory council of the city of Ephesus met here. It is a smaller theater than the grand theater, pictured below, and was covered. The Odeum seated 1500. I love climbing around the Odeum. It has a more intimate feel than the great theater.

Above is the famed Library of Celsus. This is one of the most famous views from Ephesus. The library has been partially reconstructed.

I couldn't decide which view of the theater I liked best (above and below), so I decided to include both of them. This theater held 24,000 spectators, the largest of its sort in Turkey. It was in this theater that St. Paul came into conflict with the citizens of Ephesus regarding their worship of Artemis.

The Harbor Street, running from the theater to the harbor, which is now silted up.

Turkish Women Making Gozleme

Above is a great picture of some Turkish women in village dress rolling out lavas to make gozleme for the tourists near Ephesus. Gozleme is a type of traditional fast food that is popular for lunch.

Gozleme is almost like a quesadilla, except it's made from lavas (a wheat flour dough rolled out into paper-thin circles) The lavas is then filled with any combination of several savory topping -- white cheese, spinach, parsley, ground beef and onions -- and baked on a griddle.

I'm including this here as a cultural note rather than a recipe, because gozleme as I've seen it is almost always made with white flour, and I avoid that. However, a healthier version of gozleme would be to use sprouted wheat tortillas, which you can find at may health food stores, and then fill with your own healthy toppings.

Istanbul Underground Cistern

This place was absolutely fabulous! Yerebatan Cistern is right across the street from the fabulous Haghia Sophia. The cistern was built in the 4th century by Constantine the Great and features 336 columns.

We visited on a very hot day in July, and it was such a refreshing break to stroll in the underground, dark coolness with soft classical music playing in the background. My children loved to watch the fish swimming in the water. We also enjoyed the tear-drop column (see picture below).

Here's an ancient example of recycling. Builders of the cistern took these two Medusa heads from another site and recycled them here at the base of columns. No one is very sure why one is put on her side and the other upside down. It could be be that they chose the best side to support the column above, or perhaps they put the dark goddess upside down to limit her power to harm the workers.

Finally, this might be hard to read, but here's the posted information and history regarding Yerebatan Cistern. Click on the picture and you'll get a larger view that you can actually read.

Hunkar Begendi -- Sultan's Delight

My family and I just returned from Turkey where we spent a few weeks touring Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Ankara, visiting family, and eating our way through absolutely delicious Turkish food. I'll post soon some pictures from our trip, but I must post this recipe for Hunkar Begendi, compliments of my siser-in-law, Ummuhan. She made it for us during our visit, and when I tasted it, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It's the most divine recipe for eggplant I think I've ever tasted. Obviously, a long-dead sultan once thought so too as the English translation for this traditional recipe is usually Sultan's Delight.

I hope you enjoy!


Ingredients:

for the eggplant puree:

• 6 eggplants
  
• 1 tbsp whole grain spelt flour *my revision is for whole grain spelt in place of white flour
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 2 tbsp kasar cheese (or hard cheese of your choice)
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 bunch parsley
  
• sea salt, pepper to taste

for the meat kebab:

• 1 kg. cubed meat (lamb or cow)
  
• 2 onions
  
• 2-3 tomatoes
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• sea salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Saute the chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the cubed meat and fry.


2. Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes and continue cooking until soft.


3. Add 2-3 glasses of water to the meat/tomato mixture and cook until the meat is soft. Add salt and pepper. The amount of water in the level should be about 1-1.5 large tablespoons.


4. Grill the eggplants on the stove starting from the eggplants' tips. Then split the skins of the eggplants and chop the eggplant fine. (Or you can roast the eggplants in the oven or on a grill until soft and blackened).


5. Fry the eggplant in the flour with oil until they are pink. Add shredded cheese, milk and cook. Add salt to taste. (NOTE: This is the direction in the book, however, my sister-in-law says that it is better to make the besamel sauce first by browning the flour in the oil, then gradually adding the milk and finally the cheese and salt to taste. Once this sauce is fixed, then you mix it with the eggplant, and warm together. I've tried it both ways, and Ummuhan is, of course, right!)


6. Serve the mashed eggplants over the meat. Garnish with parsley.

This recipe is translated from Bereketli Olsun by Gonul Candas.