My Istanbul Window

I came to love this window in Istanbul …claimed it, in my casual colonial way, as my Istanbul window. I have photographed it often over the years, measuring my progress as a photographer, seeing the instinctive capture become a knowledge-based action. Still instinct-driven but enhanced by a growing ease with the technical realities of each new camera .

The window is not at eye-level and that is the first difficulty but then there’s the wire or string that cuts across it.  It has always been there but then again, the building is one of those buildings that leave me relieved when I find it still standing each time I return.

I believe it might be located on Galip Dede Caddesi, the same street as the exquisitely peaceful Mevlevi Monastery. The street where the whirling dervish perform, spell-binding me always.

Galata Tower is another favourite landmark of mine. Further down the hill, on your way to the Golden Horn. And here it is, this ‘window’, between 2 of my favourite Istanbul landmarks, in a narrow street, with shops full of musical instruments and all kinds of other local delights.

I am hungry to travel as I write this. My first impulse is to run back to Genova, Italy, but there in my mind I find exquisite Istanbul.

The truly interesting thing about Istanbul is the way it has allowed everyone to arrive and set up home there, however temporarily. Eyewitness Travel summarises a small moment:  In 1216, Constantinople was recaptured for Byzantium by Michael VIII Palaeologus (1258-82) who met almost no resistance in the process.  He did this with the aid of the Italian city of Genova, which was naturally disposed to fight against her rival Venice.  Yet she still exacted a crippling price for her assistance.  The Genoese established the colony of Pera across the Golden Horn from Constantinople, and effectively took control of the city’s trade.

And I love the way my beloved Genovese turn up here in Istanbul too but that is another story entirely.

Globalisation has been around forever. The Silk Road was surely another great story of the world arriving in one place.  Constantinople … Istanbul is one of many crossroads that appear throughout history.  Globalisation is not some new phenomena, as claimed by those who have discovered it.

Heart and soul back in Istanbul, and I recall how it felt to slip quietly through the gates of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, at Galata Kulesi Sok 44, not so far from this window, and being stunned by the small slice of Italian peace and tranquility in amongst the beautiful chaos of Istanbul.  In the early 16th century, the Dominican brothers of Galata moved in just below Galata Tower and the Fossati brothers went to work back in 1841. They were architects of Italian-Swiss origin who also worked on restoring Haghia Sophia.  It really is a beautiful place. Mass in Italian is said there every day.

And so it is, that Galata was always going to be one of my favourite Istanbul areas.

But the best news? My window was still there last time I was in Istanbul.

Di Mackey believes that “People Become Stories and Stories Become Understanding.”

3 thoughts on “My Istanbul Window”

  1. It took me a little bit to learn that the gypsies go through the rubbish in Istanbul and work better than any recyclers I’ve ever seen.

    I almost died when I moved to Belgium and saw how everything was organised and packaged for the rubbish collectors – huge rules. I do believe the gypsies would have … I don’t know, laughed maybe. They could wander by and pick up, rather than tearing apart and sorting in this new country.

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  2. I have only visited Istanbul on a too-short weekend, but while there I fell in love. I had started my travels in Italy, making my way to Greece and then Turkey. While browsing one of the bookshops, I discovered this book, “The three-way Mirror: Istanbul, Athens, Rome.” It was the perfect book to explain and describe how the culture of these countries have interacted and continue to influence each other!

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