Istanbul: Capital of Emperors and Sultans

0:01 Hey, I'm Rick Steves back with more of the best of Europe.

0:05 This time, we're relaxed,

0:07 getting all cleaned up to experience the wonders of the Sultan Istanbul.

0:12 Thanks for joining us.

0:39 [music] Istanbul is one of the great cities on earth.

0:49 Period.

0:49 For thousands of years,

0:51 this place where east meets west has been a crossroads of civilizations.

0:56 And for over 400 years, it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

1:00 And those sultans left quite a heritage.

1:04 We'll see the historic highlights of this city.

1:06 Explore an Ottoman palace.

1:08 Marvel at the Sultan's treasures.

1:10 Be dazzled by Byzantine domes.

1:13 Anticipate with the Ramadan faithful the call to prayer,

1:19 and descend into an ancient Roman sistern.

1:22 We'll go local in a sea of locals.

1:25 Sort through exotic spices, dine fine with the help of the local firewater,

1:30 survive a flaming face shave, and then luxuriate in an Ottoman bath.

1:37 Turkey bridges Europe and [music] Asia.

1:39 Istanbul, its largest city, straddles the Bosphorus Strait.

1:43 Part of the city is in Europe and part in Asia.

1:46 The Golden Horn inlet along a strategic harbor

1:49 is crossed by the Galatada Bridge which connects

1:52 the bustling New Town and the old town which

1:54 fills the peninsula conveniently protected by a mighty wall.

1:58 Here [music] we'll find the venerable sites of the sultanss,

2:00 the ancient Sophia, the blue mosque and the fabled [music] top copy palace.

2:07 While today the city is a vast megapolis of over

2:10 15 million people sprawling along both sides of the Bosphorus,

2:14 its oldest citizens actually remember when it had only a million people.

2:19 In other words, most of the city is new [music] and its

2:22 historic points of interest are mostly coralled into a compact old center.

2:32 Over the centuries, this city has been the capital of two grand empires.

2:36 During the Christian Byzantine Empire,

2:38 which started in the 4th century and lasted about a thousand years,

2:42 it was called Constantinople.

2:44 Then in the 15th century, the Muslim Ottomans took over and ruled what they

2:49 called Istanbul until the end of World War I.

2:52 Even though today's secular Turkish Republic is governed from Ankuran,

2:56 Istanbul remains the financial, cultural, and historic center of the country.

3:02 But the story goes back [music] even before the Byzantine Empire.

3:06 As the ancient Roman Empire was falling in the 4th [music] century,

3:10 Emperor Constantine moved his capital city from Rome

3:13 in the west [music] here to the less chaotic east.

3:17 That was around the year 324 and the new

3:20 capital was named after the emperor Constantinople.

3:25 Then in 476, Rome and its western empire finally fell.

3:30 That left Constantinople here in the east

3:32 the leading city of European civilization.

3:36 Traces of the Roman capital here can still be found.

3:40 This oblong square was a racetrack still shaped

3:44 like the circus Maximus [music] back in Rome.

3:46 Built in the 4th century to seat over 40,000 fans,

3:50 the Hippidrome was Constantinople's [music] primary venue for chariot races.

3:56 Its centerpiece, this 3,500-year-old [music] Egyptian obelisk,

4:00 was originally carved to honor a pharaoh.

4:02 It was shipped here to ornament the racetrack back in the 4th century.

4:06 What we see today is only the upper third of the original massive stone column.

4:12 It's easy to overlook that in the year 600, Istanbul,

4:16 with half a million people, was the largest city in all of Europe.

4:21 One good way to fathom that is to descend into one of its massive sistns,

4:26 as the ancient city [music] had an impressive water system.

4:29 This sistern was built 1500 years ago by Emperor Justinian,

4:34 who built many of the city's grandest [music] buildings.

4:37 Some of these columns were scavenged from ancient temples,

4:41 giving the sistern a few artistic surprises.

4:46 It was a huge underground reservoir,

4:48 one of many that brought water to the city's residents.

4:51 This one was the biggest, as it served the emperor's palace.

4:55 For nearly a thousand years, fresh water from 10 m away was

5:00 channeled here through pipes and [music] across aqueducts.

5:04 And part of the legacy of that original

5:06 water system [music] are the city's venerable public baths.

5:11 Hi, welcome sir.

5:14 In this city of experiences,

5:16 one of the most memorable is enjoying a Turkish bath.

5:20 [music] A ritual that goes back 2,000 years.

5:24 And today, these baths welcome tourists.

5:28 You leave absolutely everything in the changing room,

5:31 slip into your slippers, and shuffle into the steamy calderium.

5:37 It's all about relaxation.

5:40 Turks brought the steam bath with them from Central Asia,

5:43 blended it with the Roman bath [music] culture they found here,

5:47 and created this, the Turkish bath.

5:53 Moving on, you continue relaxing and softening up under cascades of hot water.

6:00 Savor the experience, achieving maximum sweating and pampering.

6:13 Then it's on to the big marble slab where your masseuse works you over

6:19 scrubbing vigorously with rough brillopad [music] type

6:22 mitts under ottoman skylights blanketed in bubbles.

6:31 Then more scrubbing as I imagine this ancient

6:34 luxury working its magic over so [music] many centuries.

6:40 More bubbles, more massaging, and finally rinsing.

6:49 Refreshed and cleaner than you [music] can remember ever being.

6:53 You venture back into the clamor of the city,

6:56 ready for more Turkish history, art, and life.

7:03 As a city which is over 90% Muslim,

7:06 Istanbul offers a good opportunity to better understand Islam.

7:10 Visitors are welcome to visit mosques and in doing so

7:13 better understand a religion that about 2 billion people practice.

7:19 The Blue Mosque was the 17th century triumph of Sultan Ahmed I.

7:24 Architecturally with its six minoretses,

7:26 [music] it rivaled the great mosque in Mecca, the holiest in all of Islam.

7:33 Its grand courtyard welcomes the crowd that gathers for worship.

7:43 As with all mosques,

7:44 you park your shoes at the door and women cover their heads.

7:48 If you don't have a scarf, you'll find loners at the door.

7:54 Countless beautiful tiles fill the interior

7:57 with exquisite floral and geometric motifs.

8:00 It's nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of its blue tiles.

8:04 Blue is a popular color in Turkey.

8:07 It impressed early French visitors enough for [music] them

8:10 to call it the color of the Turks or turquoise.

8:15 While churches portray people like this, Muslims

8:18 believe the portrayal of people in places

8:20 of worship draws attention away [music] from worshiping Allah as the one God.

8:26 In mosques rather than saints [music] and prophets,

8:29 you'll see geometrical designs and calligraphy.

8:33 This explains why historically the Muslim

8:36 world excelled at non-figurative art while

8:39 artists from Christian Europe focused on painting and sculpting the human form.

8:44 Artful Arabic calligraphy generally shows excerpts

8:48 from the Quran and quotes from Muhammad.

8:51 As a church would have Jesus and God front and center,

8:54 in a mosque, elaborate medallions high above

8:57 the prayer niche read Muhammad and Allah.

9:03 Large ceremonial candles flank the mira.

9:06 That's the niche that points from here to Mecca

9:09 in Saudi Arabia where Muslims face when they worship.

9:16 [singing] Like churches have bell towers.

9:24 Mosques have minoretses.

9:26 According to Muslim tradition, the imam or prayer leader would climb to the top

9:30 of the minouet to call the faithful to prayer.

9:36 These days, the prayer leader still performs the call to prayer live,

9:39 but rather than climbing the minouette, it's amplified by loudspeakers.

9:44 [screaming] [singing] Five times a day, the message is always the same.

10:02 Allah Akbar, God is great.

10:05 Witness, there's only one God.

10:07 Muhammad is his prophet.

10:09 Come join the prayer.

10:11 Come join the salvation.

10:14 When this happens, practicing Muslims drop into a mosque, face Mecca, and pray.

10:23 Then, after a short service praising God, work a day life resumes.

10:34 [singing] [screaming] To better understand this rich and complex culture,

10:40 I'm joined by my friend and the co-author

10:43 of my Estanbul guide book, Lai Sermon Aan.

10:47 So, what does the call to prayer mean to you?

10:50 It's a personal thing.

10:51 Most people are Muslims,

10:53 but it's a secular country and it's in our constitution.

10:57 What we say is that you never know who has got the money or the faith.

11:01 The real virtue is not to show it off.

11:03 I see.

11:05 But there's nothing modest about the religious architecture in this city.

11:08 [music] In fact, the best way to appreciate the magnificence

11:12 of ancient Constantinople [music] is to visit a church

11:15 turned mosque that's considered one of the greatest houses

11:18 of worship in [music] both the Christian and Muslim worlds.

11:22 Aa Sophia, the great church [music] of Constantinople.

11:26 Originally built as a church by the Byzantine emperor Justinian

11:30 in the early 6th [music] century on the grandest scale possible.

11:33 It was later converted into a mosque by the conquering Ottomans.

11:38 Aya Sophia which marks the high [music] point of Byzantine

11:41 architecture is the pinnacle of that society's glory days.

11:48 This magnificent church was completed in 537 just

11:51 about when Europe was falling into the Middle Ages.

11:54 And for four centuries after that, people in Europe

11:57 looked to Constantinople as the leading city in Christendom.

12:00 And this was the leading church.

12:04 This clever dome upon dome construction was the biggest dome anywhere until

12:09 the Cathedral of Florence was [music]

12:10 built during the Renaissance 900 years later.

12:14 The vast interior gives the impression of a golden weightless shell,

12:18 gracefully disguising the massive overhead

12:21 load supported by ingenious Byzantine engineering.

12:27 Arched windows shed a soft light on the interior,

12:31 showing off the church's original marble and glittering mosaic work.

12:38 But the Byzantine Empire collapsed in the 15th

12:41 century and Aya Sophia was turned into a mosque.

12:46 Christian mosaics were plastered over

12:48 and new religious symbols replaced the old.

12:52 So it's a church turned into a mosque.

12:55 Yes.

12:55 And churches are built to face Jerusalem.

12:58 Mosques Mecca.

12:59 Since they could not move the building,

13:01 they moved the focal point of prayer towards Mecca.

13:04 See the niche?

13:05 It's off the center towards right facing Mecca.

13:08 Facing Mecca.

13:10 Very economic.

13:15 Today, while Aya Sophia remains an important place of worship,

13:19 tourists are welcomed up to the mezzanine level to marvel at the art,

13:24 to ponder the tangled [music] history of this venerable spot,

13:28 and perhaps to give yourself the opportunity to be

13:32 inspired by one of the most esteemed places in Islam.

13:38 While considered a must-see by visitors, it's important for tourists to remember

13:43 that Aya Sophia [music] remains a functioning mosque.

13:50 My favorite souvenir in my travels is bringing home a broader perspective.

13:54 When it comes to faiths different than mine, I like to learn without judging.

13:58 We happen to be in Istanbul during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

14:06 Here, gathered in a park between two beloved mosques,

14:09 people reflect on the meaning of Ramadan as they wait to break their fast.

14:16 Fasting daily for a month each year during Ramadan is one of the five

14:19 pillars of Islam from sun up to sun down for 30 days.

14:24 No eating, drinking, or smoking.

14:26 It's all about self-control.

14:29 Muhammad taught that loosening ties to [music] the material world

14:33 makes it easier to enter into eternity as if unchained.

14:39 It's an opportunity to share a sacred moment with family and community.

14:43 They're primed, meals ready,

14:46 awaiting the call to prayer initiated by the setting of the sun.

14:50 A long h.

14:52 [singing] It's scenes like this, so similar to family holidays of my own,

15:02 that remind me why I travel.

15:05 To experience cultures different than my own,

15:08 only to find out how similar [music] we are.

15:17 [music] For me, another dimension of teameming and vibrant

15:22 Distanbul is to simply enjoy its busy streets.

15:26 Mix it up.

15:27 There are quiet back streets and market streets teeming with shoppers.

15:32 Sometimes I just let myself flow with the crowds

15:35 as [music] if in an endless river of humanity.

15:39 You may find yourself in [music] the dowry

15:41 market like a department store without a roof.

15:44 It's the place where brides and their loved ones

15:47 shop before a wedding and the characters you'll meet.

15:52 Seeing our camera, this fun-loving gentleman wanted all of America

15:57 to know that if all the snowflakes in the skies were women,

16:02 his wife is the one he'd choose.

16:08 And you can pop into a barber shop for a shave [music] you'll never forget.

16:13 Lather up for a good old-fashioned razor shave.

16:18 [music] And it's finished with a flaming torch

16:23 to be sure all those extra little hairs are gone.

16:29 A bit painful,

16:32 but it's part of an experience that leaves you with the closest

16:36 shave of your life and an impossible to forget memory.

16:44 The venerable and [music] thriving spice market

16:47 sells an exotic range of tasty treats.

16:49 You'll find everything [music] a sultan could want.

16:52 Saffron and cinnamon, dried vegetables and fruits,

16:57 pistachios and hazelnuts, and a fragrant cornucopia of sweets.

17:07 This thriving [music] market recalls the long silk road

17:10 and spice road tradition of Turkey being an important crossroads.

17:16 This was where exotic and treasured goods from the Far East

17:19 landed to then be traded with merchants from all over Europe.

17:24 I can imagine under each of its uniform arches,

17:27 an importer busy wholesaling his goods [music]

17:30 to merchants at this gateway to Europe.

17:33 But of course, today's trade is [music] more touristy.

17:37 This great Turkish delight.

17:39 Oh, try a Turkish delight.

17:40 Ancestor of the gummy bear.

17:42 Which flavor do you like?

17:44 The pistachio one right at the center.

17:47 Pistachio.

17:50 Thank you.

17:51 Good.

17:51 Thank you.

17:56 But it's dinner time and I'm in the mood

17:58 to splurge for some modern Turkish cuisine.

18:04 Chef Omar Bozop's all about giving traditional ingredients a contemporary twist.

18:11 And we'll be washing it down with the national drink, Rocky.

18:15 In Turkey, this local fire water like brandy infused with licorice flavored ana

18:20 seed is mixed with water and ice and is enjoyed throughout the meal before,

18:26 during, [music] and after.

18:30 Our first course, the cold plates or mezz.

18:35 A fancy green bean salad.

18:38 Rolled grape leaves with rice, onion, and pine [music] nuts with local cheese.

18:43 And lamb's tongue paired nicely with rocky.

18:48 Next, the hot mezz.

18:50 Zucchini with tomato sauce on a bed of yogurt with oyster mushrooms.

18:56 Pastrarami with thin sliced tomato and peppers.

18:59 It soaks up the butter and makes a fine little sandwich.

19:06 Lamb testicles with bular and lamb brain with hummus.

19:10 Here in Turkey, you could say snout to tail

19:14 is [music] brain to testicle with of course more Rocky.

19:19 That's why we have Rocky from the beginning

19:21 just [laughter] yet to swallow the brains.

19:24 How does it taste then?

19:25 Well, it tastes um I prefer pantac.

19:35 [music] Our main course is layers of felo with minced meat,

19:40 garlic, yogurt, and chili peppers.

19:44 Everything's laced together with Rocky.

19:49 And now that he's done cooking,

19:51 Chef Omar joins us, adding [music] to the conviviiality.

19:55 And of course, more Rocky.

20:06 Istanbul's been a busy trading center from the start,

20:09 so it needed to be well protected.

20:12 This imposing wall helped fortify the ancient Byzantine capital.

20:16 The wall sealed off the city,

20:18 protecting it on the one side where the [music] water didn't.

20:23 Dating from the fifth century,

20:25 these ramparts stood strong against both Catholic Europe from the west

20:29 and the Muslim forces [music] from the east until 1453.

20:37 That's when the Ottoman Turks, that aggressive tribe from the east,

20:41 finally broke through the walls and established

20:43 this city as the capital of their growing empire.

20:47 Again, that's when they transformed Christian

20:50 Constantinople into a Muslim city, Istanbul.

20:54 The top [music] copy palace is where

20:56 we find the storybook image of the Ottomans.

20:59 You know, sultanss, unics, and herums.

21:03 The palace [music] built in the late 1400s was

21:06 the power center of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years.

21:11 Its buildings form [music] a series of courtyards,

21:14 the outer being used for public functions,

21:17 and the farther in you go, the more private the rooms.

21:22 Among the most private rooms [music] was the herum.

21:25 The word herum means forbidden [music] in Arabic.

21:29 It's the sprawling suite where the sultan lived with his wives,

21:34 female slaves, and children.

21:39 What a room, huh?

21:40 This was the imperial hall of the Haren.

21:44 This was the divine that the sultan used, his throne.

21:47 The divons by the window were used

21:49 by the queen mother and the wives of the sultan.

21:52 And the musicians used the balcony up above.

21:55 So this was like the living room for the king.

21:59 Exactly.

22:00 And of course, the Sultan enjoyed a state-of-the-art bathroom

22:03 which came complete with hot and cold running water.

22:08 Bathed in light from these exquisite stained glass windows,

22:12 this is where the Sultan relaxed,

22:14 entertained, and savored the sumptuous luxury that came with his power.

22:21 Now, when we say herm,

22:23 we usually think like a playboy mansion with a lot of girls.

22:26 No, no, no, no.

22:27 It wasn't like that.

22:28 Haram was an institution.

22:30 The idea was to provide the continuation of the dynasty

22:34 to provide a future heir to the throne.

22:37 It was the queen mother who was the boss in the haram.

22:41 It had rules very strict rules.

22:43 The sultan was never above these roles.

22:46 It's impressive.

22:47 Ottoman Empire lasted for 600 years.

22:50 Only one family, [music] one dynasty never changed hands.

22:56 Some of the sultan's opulence is still on display in the palace museum.

23:01 The exquisite top copy dagger wows tourists

23:04 with its dazzling diamonds and golf ball-sized emeralds.

23:09 Clearly, the Ottomans in their heyday were a wealthy power.

23:14 The palace is also a holy spot for Muslims

23:17 containing relics of Muhammad and [music] other prophets,

23:20 some of whom are revered in both the Quran and the Bible.

23:24 This contains what's believed to be the arm of St.

23:27 John the Baptist.

23:28 And here's John's skull inside a jeweled case.

23:32 For Muslims, the most precious relics are those of Muhammad, his bow and sword.

23:39 Exquisite cases containing his tooth, some hair, and his holy seal.

23:45 And in the adjacent room, an Af.

23:48 That's someone who's memorized all 6,000 verses of the Quran,

23:53 is part of a team that sings verses from the Muslim

23:56 Holy Book 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

24:12 It's just [music] one more thread in the fascinating tapestry of a great city.

24:17 A city enriched by its culture, history,

24:20 and [music] the diversity of the people you'll meet in the streets.

24:25 Istanbul remains a crossroads of humanity.

24:29 And according to the Turkish proverb, every guest is a gift from God.

24:39 Istanbul bridges east and west with a complex weave of traditional Muslim faith,

24:45 western secularism, and modern affluence.

24:48 It's a dynamic city, a city the sultanss would hardly recognize.

24:53 Thanks for joining us.

24:54 I'm Rick Steves.

24:56 Until next time, keep on traveling.

25:01 as a city which is overnight.

25:09 I'm rolling.

25:13 My favorite.

25:16 Yes.

25:17 Wow.

25:17 Yeah.

25:18 Okay.

25:18 A little bit more again.

25:27 Whoa.