A VILLAGE ON THE BOSPHORUS WAS ONCE HOME TO A JEWISH COMMUNITY

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LONDON HAS ITS Hampstead. Budapest has its Szentendre. Paris has its Montmartre, and Athens has its Plaka. Like these cities, Istanbul also has an area where the city’s citizens meet to relax – Kuzuncuk. This is a village-like settlement on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus in the northeast corner of Üskudar.

We visited Kuzguncuk on a sunny Sunday morning, having walked along the coastal road that leads away from the centre of Üsküdar. As we walked, we watched competitors in a running event, struggling up and down the undulating road from which traffic had been temporarily excluded.

Kuzguncuk

The streets of Kuzguncuk run up hill away from the shore. They are lined with small houses, many of which are picturesque with their timber cladding, small balconies, and other ornamentation. Tables and chairs of cafés, snack bars, and other eateries occupy the pavements. Many of them had customers, who were eating tasty looking breakfast platters, cakes, and other snacks.

As far as we could tell, most of the visitors to Kuzguncuk are Turks. This has not always been the case. Jewish people, who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal, began settling on the village in the 16th century. The earliest tombstone in Kuzuncuk’s Jewish cemetery is dated 1562. The Jewish inhabitants of Kuzguncuk have mostly left – many in 1948. There are two synagogues – one heavily guarded by the police, and the other one more lightly guarded – in the village. Both were locked up.

Armenians began settling in Kuzguncuk in the 18th century. We spotted one of their churches, but it was locked up the service having finished. Following disturbances in 1955, most of the Armenians and Greeks, who lived in Kuzuncuk, left. We passed a couple of Greek Orthodox churches, both locked up. One of them located next door to the heavily guarded synagogue is still in use on Sundays, but we were too late to enter it.

The centre of Kuzguncuk did not have a mosque until 1952. Then, one was built in the courtyard of the Armenian Church of Surp Krikor Lusavoriç. The Armenian community contributed funds towards the construction of this mosque.

When the Greeks, Jews, and Armenians left Kuzguncuk, many of their homes were acquired by migrants from Anatolia.

After spending an extremely pleasant couple of hours in Kuzguncuk, we climbed up the vertiginously steep lanes behind the village, and eventually reached a long main road that led gently downwards to the centre of Üsküdar. As we struggled up a lane, a lady in her garden said to us “Yavaş yavaş” (loosely translated as ‘take it slowly’).

If you wish to escape the crowds of tourists in Sultanahmet and other well-known historic parts of Fatih (the older part of Istanbul in Europe), then head for Kuzguncuk for something delightfully different.

TWO ARCHITECTS IN ISTANBUL SEPARATED BY A SHORT DISTANCE AND SEVERAL CENTURIES

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A MOSQUE DESIGNED by Mimar Sinan (c1489-1588), probably the best of Ottoman architects, stands a few yards away from Istanbul Modern (modern Art museum) designed by one of Europe’s best contemporary architects – Renzo Piano (born 1937).

The mosque is the Kiliç Ali Paşa, designed by Sinan and completed 1580. Like other mosques designed by this architect, the spaces contained within feel most satisfying. Sinan was masterful in his creation of contained spaces. The mosque with buttresses also has some attractive tiled panels both inside and outside.

One minute’s walk away from the 16th century mosque stand Piano’s Istanbul Modern, which was completed in 2004. Quite different from the mosque, it shares one thing in common – brilliant spatial design. Located next to the waterfront of the Bosphorus, brilliant views of Istanbul can be obtained from the waterfront, from the rooftop terrace, and through the gallery windows.

Piano’s building is so utterly engaging visually that it competes with the exhibits for one’s attention. Although many of the mostly Turkish artworks are both beautiful and engaging – we spent three hours looking at them, it is Piano’s building that steals the show.

I found it fascinating that two magnificent buildings, their constructions separated by 424 years, should be standing so close one another. Had I been in Renzo Piano’s shoes, I would have felt honoured to have one of my buildings so close to that of an architect who has easily passed the test of time.

A CAFE, A PUBLIC TOILET, A CHURCH, AND A MOSQUE IN ISTANBUL

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I NEEDED NEW shoes today (20th April 2024). After buying a pair in the superbly stocked Fast Step shoe shop, we felt the need for coffee. Near the shop, we found a café called Gutta. Having enjoyed good coffees – both Turkish style and Italian style, we needed to answer the call of nature.

We asked if the café had a toilet. It did not, but, as has happened frequently in Istanbul, we were directed to the nearest mosque. This mosque, like others in Istanbul, has public toilets, for which in this case a modest charge was levied. As with most WCs in Istanbul, this one was well-maintained.

Kalenderhane Mosque

The mosque in this case is called the Kalenderhane Mosque. Its name derives from the Kalender dervishes, who once used it as a ‘tekke’. From the outside it looks remarkably like a very old Greek Orthodox church. It was converted for the use of the dervishes by Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror) in 1453. In the 18th century, it was converted into a mosque.

Built in about the 9th to 10th century next to the Aqueduct of Valens , it is now thought to have been dedicated to Theotikos Kyriotissa. Sadly, as it was locked up, we were unable to enter the edifice.

Had it not been for nature’s call, we might not have come across this interesting mosque. As is the case for many old mosques in Istanbul, it is a fine example of Ottoman repurposing existing Christian buildings in the 15th century.

A MOSQUE IN ISTANBUL REMEMBERED, BUT ITS NAME FORGOTTEN

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ON OUR LAST visit to Istanbul at least 15 years ago, we visited a small but attractive mosque in Üsküdar (the Asian part of Istanbul). During our present holiday in the city (in April 2024), we hoped to see this mosque again, but we had forgotten its name.

After having waited for the midday Friday prayers to be over at the Atik Valide Mosque, we looked around this edifice that was designed by the famous architect Mimar Sinan in 1583-1584. Incidentally, to reach this building, we climbed a steep staircase with 114 steps – a so-called short cut. Apart from its fine architectural form, the mosque is adorned with several lovely tiled plaques covered with Arabic calligraphy intertwined with the occasional flower.

As we were leaving the mosque’s enclosed compound, a man stopped us, and told us in broken English that we should visit another mosque in the neighbourhood. He said it had beautiful tiling, and it’s name is Çinili. When we heard the name, we remembered that was the mosque, whose name we had forgotten.

Çinili mosque

After climbing another hill, we reached the Çinili mosque. Completed in 1640, it is not as fine architecturally as buildings by Sinan. However, it’s interior is lined with intricately decorated tiling. Unfortunately, the mosque was locked up, but by peering through the windows we got a good impression of the magnificent tiling. The wall of the covered porch in which the main entrance can be found is also covered with beautiful tiling. What we saw was what we remembered from our first visit there at least 15 years ago. We were very grateful that a complete stranger reminded us of the name of the place that we remembered, but whose name we could not recall.

PS both mosques mentioned above were connected with a Valide Sultan – that is with the mother of a reigning Sultan.

MORE ABOUT CATS IN ISTANBUL AND SOMETHING ABOUT CATS IN MY LIFE

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I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED cats. Once, when I was about 7 years old, I was in bed suffering from one of my then frequent attacks of tonsillitis. I was recovering in bed when a small black cat wandered into my bedroom.

Knowing my love of cats, my mother had bought one to cheer me up. I christened it “Crumpet”.

There was a big problem. My mother was not keen on cats. As she thought I was too young to be trusted with a tin opener and she was worried that I might cut myself on the opened tins of cat food, she became Crumpet’s feeder.

Because Crumpet knew that Mom was the source of her food, she took a liking to her, often rubbing herself against my mother’s legs. This did not please my mother, and I believe that Crumpet sensed this. After a few months, Crumpet abandoned our house, and moved into another house along our road, where she found a more appreciative host.

Cat shelters in Üsküdar

We are now visiting Istanbul, which is swarming with cats. As I have already written previously, street cats seem to be well treated in this city. People put out food for them, and various organisations, including local municipalities, provide them with cosy shelters.

Today, whilst sitting in a garden outside a mosque in Üsküdar in the Asian part of Istanbul, we saw many cats – as usual. It was a cold, rainy day, and one cat, lacking in shyness, spent time keeping warm by sitting on my wife’s lap, and then mine.

What we have seen of the cats of Istanbul reinforces my affection for these furry creatures.

They came from Spain and worshipped here in Istanbul

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IN 1492 THE ANDALUSIAN Arabs were thrown out of Spain. Just like some of the Jewish people who were expelled at the same time, some of the Arabs came to Istanbul, which had been under the rule of the Islamic Ottomans since 1453, when they captured the city from the Byzantine rulers.

In 1475, Fatih Sultan Ahmed converted a church in Beyoglu to a mosque, known as the Galata Mosque. Today, this mosque, whose interior feels (but does not resemble) more like that of church, is now known as the ‘Arap Camii’ (Arab Mosque). This is because the Arabs forced to leave Andalusia settled in the area around the mosque, and used it for worship.

From the outside, the mosque could easily be mistaken for a church. This is because of its shape and what had once been a tall square bell tower. The tower is now topped with a conical feature, such as is found on the tops of most minarets. However at the Arap Camii, the conical object could be mistaken for a church steeple.

We visited this large mosque. The interior is rich in timber features, and looks as if it has been recently restored or renovated. An informative sign outside the mosque stated that when the building was repaired in 1913, Christian gravestones commemorating the deaths of people from Genoa (Italy) were discovered, and placed in a museum of archaeology.

We would have been unlikely to have visited this interesting mosque had we not taken a wrong turning. As the saying goes ‘every cloud has a silver lining ‘.

Istanbul is a city for cats

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WE HAVE ALREADY seen many fantastic historical places in Istanbul, and I plan to tell you about some of these. But before proceeding with descriptions of landmarks in the history of Istanbul/Constantinople, let me relate something current.

Istanbul is full of cats. Wherever you look you are bound to see a cat – often looking extremely healthy. They feed both by scavenging and they are also fed by local people. They seem unafraid of humans.

During our first three days in Istanbul, we have noticed something we had not seen before. In several places, we have seen small kennel shaped ‘sheds’ which are large enough to house one big cat or a couple of smaller ones. The floors of some of these shelters are lined with soft material including bits of old bedsheets. Most of the sheds have round holes through which the cats can enter and leave the shelters.

Another feature that makes life more pleasant for felines is that compared with many other cities I have visited, there are few dogs around in the streets.

The cats of Istanbul have much to purr about!

ONCE HE WAS THE GOVERNOR OF BOSNIA

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IN THE 1980s, I used to make regular visits to see my friends who lived in the part of Yugoslavia, which is now the independent Republic of Bosnia. The influence of the Turkish occupation of the region for many years was very evident – from Turkish coffee to fine mosques.

Many years before I began travelling to Bosnia, Üsküplu Gazi Yahya Paşa (died 1506) was appointed Ottoman governor of Bosnia in 1480. He also held other important positions in the empire. He married a daughter of Sultan Beyazit II. He was philanthropic. One of the many things he did for Istanbul was to build a school which stands in Kadirga, a part of Fatih district of the city. This building with two domes still stands and was recently restored by the local municipality.

The former school now houses a shop that sells traditionally designed objects – everything from earrings to large woven carpets. The walls and domes of the interior of the building have been painted so as to recreate the place’s original decor.

This building is one of a huge number wonderful relics of the Ottoman Empire, which can be found whilst strolling around Istanbul. Fortunately, many of these old buildings have informative labels attached, with information both in English and Turkish.

At rest by the waters of the Bosphorus in a beautiful mosque

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BY THE LATE SIXTEENTH century, Istanbul had become an extremely important crossroads between Asia and Europe. It was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which by then extended over large parts of Europe, the Middle East, Egypt, and the north coast of Africa.

Part of the military force that the Sultan of the Ottomans used to maintain the empire was a group of soldiers called janissaries. These were (usually) Christian men who had been captured by the Turks, converted to Islam, and trained in military skills. They were often most effective soldiers.

Today (16th of April 2024), we visited an elegant complex of Islamic buildings close to the waterfront at Üsküdar on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus Straits. Designed by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan (c1489-1588) in 1580, it houses a former madrasa (now used to house a library), cloisters, a mosque to which is attached the turbe (edifice housing a grave, like a dargah, as can be found in India), and a small mosque.

This complex was commissioned by Ṣemṣi Ahmed Paṣa (1516 – 1580). Amongst his numerous achievements he was, for a time, head of the janissaries. He also served as the beglerbeg (governor) of several provinces including Rumelia (which included much of the Balkans and Romania) and Anatolia.

This lovely architectural ensemble is visited by some of the many tourists who stream past it, and by many pious locals.

A toilet in the airport of Istanbul

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I FIRST VISITED Turkey in the early 1960s. It was then that our family first came across squatting toilets. For want of a better name, we called these hole in the floor lavatories ‘Turkish loos’.

Today, in April 2024, we landed at Istanbul’s vast new airport. As nature was calling, I visited one of the many toilets in the airport building. You can imagine my surprise and satisfaction when I saw on the door to a cubicle containing a squatting toilet a sign that read in Turkish “Alaturka tuvalet”, and beneath it, the English words “Squat toilet”. So, it seems that we were right to christen these types of toilets ‘Turkish loos’.