Art Around Alsancak

Thursday, 7 November
Alsancak, İzmİr — Turkey

Most of my last week with the family is over.  Come Monday, I’ll be winging my way to İstanbul to join Mui.  But no sense in rushing these last few days in İzmir.

Before I get to the topic of this post … a few quick words about the past three days … because I know I am going to look back someday and wonder what I did to occupy myself on those days!

Monday … Aylin’s mother- and sister-in-law — Melek Hanım and Özen — took us three ladies out to lunch.  Their restaurant of choice was Café La Cigale, a lovely little place on the grounds of the French Cultural Center.  I believe everyone was pleased with what they ordered; I know that my Perch Schnitzel was really good.  And we all enjoyed splitting the Chocolate Volcano we ordered — and then ordered again, because it was just that good ;-)

Tuesday and Wednesday … nothing earth shattering; spent the day doing chores at home.

A shy Syrian Woodpecker at KültürPark.

On to today … Aylin and I left early to go to the exhibit hall in Kültürpark [kültür = culture] to check out the traveling version of the Human Body Exhibit.  We arrived just as the doors were opening — and so did two busloads of school kids, with another one pulling into the parking lot.  No can do.

Rethinking our plans, we decided to go to three smaller exhibits — two in the park; and one on Kordon, the waterfront promenade.  I’ll just let the images do the talking …

Marble Sculptures — from the International Marble Fair …
The works of Turkish and international artists line both sides of the reflecting pool leading to the Museum of Art and History, near Kültürpark’s Lozan Gate.  No admission charged.

Resim ve Heykel Müzesi [Art and Sculpture Museum] …
Has been exhibiting paintings, pottery, and sculptures — primarily the works of Turkish artists — since 1950.  Near Kültürpark’s Lozan Gate; no admission charged.  The name of the artist is listed in the caption of each of the images.

Fİlİz Pelİt
[collage of the painting and detail shots]

Yıldanur Ketencİ — İskelede (At the Pier)

Oktay Değİrmencİ	Nuray Tümer

Peruze Yİğİt

Gülümser Aydemİr	Mehmet BoztaŞ

Enİs AktaŞ

Ferİha Dağli

Arkas Sanat Merkezi [Arkas Art Center] …
Is in the building that’s been serving as the French Honorary Consulate since 1875.  Located on Kordon, the waterfront promenade.  The building was assigned to Arkas Holding by the French Government for a period of 20 years to be used for cultural and artistic purposes. No admission charged; but you must ring the doorbell for access, and must present a photo ID to the security guard.

In service as the French Honorary Consulate since 1875,
the building currently houses the Arkas Art Center.
[Courtesy of the center’s website]

The particular exhibit we went to see was a collection of photographs, gravures, maps, and documents about 18th and 19th century İzmir through the eyes of the west.  The center’s website describes the exhibit …

With the help of the narratives of Western travelers who visited İzmir in the 18th and 19th centuries, this exhibition presents an opportunity to see the city—which used to be one of the most important centers of trade, diplomacy and culture of the Ottoman Empire—from another perspective.

With its deeply rooted history, the vividness and the richness created by the coming together of different cultures, İzmir has attracted the attention of many travelers on their journeys to the east and has thus become the subject of many works.  The exhibition presents the viewers with a journey of İzmir from the perspectives of travelers, who, in 18th and 19th centuries set off from Marseille—the most important port of the Western Mediterranean—and reached İzmir via the sea.  It provides a reflection of İzmir of the past, in the light of travel books, photographs, etchings, paintings in addition to documents about trade, population and social life from the era.

The bad news is that photography wasn’t allowed, so you’ll just have to take my word that it was very interesting.  Of course, I’ll admit to some bias since I grew up in the city ;-)  If you’re interested, you can take a 3-D tour of the exhibit by clicking here.

[collage from brochure photos]

We wrapped up our outing with lunch at Ayşa — but this time Aylin took me to the eatery in Alsancak.  Designed as a quick in-and-out place where people working in the neighborhood can grab a tasty and filling meal, the place was hopping when we arrived.

Sharing a table with a couple sitting at a four-top, we ordered kurufasülye, a traditional Turkish dish made with dry white beans — sort of a stew that can be made with or without chunks of beef, and served sometimes over rice.  Personally, I like mom’s recipe best — she adds a few rings of sweet green peppers to enhance the taste — but there are many others available on the net.  Click the photo for one such recipe — I picked this one because the name of the blog — A hungry Bear Won’t Dance — is a direct translation of a Turkish saying … aç ayı oynamaz … meaning you’ve got to feed the beast if you want it to perform.  Applies to humans as well :-))

A variety of desserts were available at Ayşa, but we opted to skip a sweet treat.  Instead, from the bakery down the street, we picked up some goodies and returned home to have afternoon tea with mom on her terrace.

Exploring Manisa

Sunday, 3 November
Alsancak, İzmİr — Turkey

First, a few words about the two days since our outing to the Doğal Yaşam Parkı [Wildlife Park; post here] … just in case I need to refer back to the blog to refresh my memory!

Friday … long-time family friends — Gülen and Günel — hosted us three ladies for afternoon tea at Sevinç Pastanesi, a pastry shop that’s been in business since I’ve been around.       

Saturday … Mom and I went to the Forum Shopping Center.  First we saw the Tom Hanks movie, Captain Phillips — based on the real-life story of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship by Somali Pirates … two thumbs up from us.  Then we wandered around the boutiques, shopping for a few more pieces for my cruise wardrobe.  Concluded our day at Léone, where Aylin joined us for afternoon tea.

OK, now for today’s outing to Manisa …

(You’ll find lots of links to people, places, and things I mention in this post … click any of them if you’re interested in the additional information.)

Located 22 miles (36 km) from İzmir, Manisa is within the boundaries of the Aegean Region.  According to the writings of Homer, the area was first settled during the 14th century BC when an ancient Greek tribe known as the Magnetes established communities here following the Trojan War.  In later years, the area was occupied by different civilizations … from the Hittites, to the Greeks and the Byzantines, and finally to the Seljuks and the Ottomans.

Manİsa (red marker) is 22 miles (36 km) from İzmİr

During the Ottoman Period, princes were sent to administrative districts known as sancaks to learn how to govern.  Manisa was one such sancak; and a popular one at that.  Though it wasn’t always the case, many of the princes who came to this district were favored to be next in the line of succession — which gave rise to the city’s nickname of Şehzadeler Şehri [City of Princes].  These would-be-heirs of the sultanate brought many improvements to the city, building mosques, drinking fountains, soup kitchens for the needy, bridges, hospices, medreses (Moslem seminaries), and much more.  In some instances such buildings formed a mosque complex known as a külliye.

A decorative mural makes this transformer housing,
located on the grounds of Sultan Camİİ, less of an eyesore.

Our plan was to visit some of the Ottoman-era structures … starting with Sultan Camii, a mosque built to honor Hafsa Sultan, wife of Yavuz Sultan Selim and mother of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman (aka, Suleiman the Magnificent).  She was essentially the first “Queen Mother” of the Ottoman Empire.  Built on the orders of her son Süleyman, the construction of the mosque complex was completed in 1522.

Left: Ayşe Hafsa Sultan (1479-1534) is considered the first Queen Mother of the Ottoman Empire.

Right: providing drinking water is considered a charitable act in İslam.  Many of the Sultans, members of their families, and other prominent people often endowed such fountains.

Unfortunately our visit to the mosque coincided with one of the five daily prayer times, so we did not go inside.  Nor could I find a decent perspective to photograph the mosque itself.  Instead, we wandered around the grounds and I focused my attention on the decorative details on the exterior of the building.

Next we went over to the café, which is housed in the Taş Mektep [Stone School] that was constructed in 1522 as part of the mosque complex.  We were greeted warmly and encouraged to go inside the former school building while the proprietor prepared our beverages.

An oil painting of Hafsa Sultan and the mosque built in her honor is flanked by two jigsaw
puzzles — one of Fatİh Sultan Mehmet (Mehmed the Conqueror); and another of a harem scene.

Our cold beverages were served in regular glasses, but Murat’s coffee came in a decorative Turkish coffee cup with a hammered copper casing and lid … designed in true Ottoman style.

Drinking coffee in style.

One of my childhood memories has to do with Mesir Macunu, a traditional paste that was distributed annually around the time of the Spring equinox.  I didn’t know much about this chewy — and I mean pull your teeth out chewy — spicy-sweet treat other than that someone was bound to bring a supply of it from Manisa and hand it out to us kids.  So imagine my surprise when I read in the brochure the proprietor of the café handed me that the history of the paste goes back to Hafsa Sultan.

The story goes that when she fell ill after the death of her husband, the doctors were unable to find a cure.  This led Sultan Süleyman to consult Merkez Efendi, a learned man who was known to make medicines using herbs and spices.  Consuming the paste he made using 41 ingredients, Hafsa Sultan found herself recovered.  She ordered the paste to be shared with everyone annually, and it became customary for handfuls of it to be thrown from the minaret of the Sultan Camii to the assembled crowd in the courtyard — resulting in the annual spring festivities known as the Mesir Festival.

The paste is still made, but it also comes in the form of lokum [Turkish Delight], which is easier to eat.  Of course I wanted to pick some up from one of the stores near the mosque — especially after tasting the lokum the proprietor served us while we were enjoying our beverages.  I’m going to hang on to this special treat and share it with Mui when I see him in another week or so.

Our shopping completed, we wandered over to the Muradiye Camii ve Külliyesi, another mosque complex — this one constructed in 1585 on the orders of Sultan Murat III, Suleiman the Magnificent’s grandson, who ascended the throne in 1574 following the death of his father, Sultan Sarı Selim.

First we visited the mosque … but again, I focused on details as I couldn’t find a good angle from which to photograph the mosque itself.

This şadirvan [fountain], which stands in the courtyard of the mosque, provides drinking water.
it’s also where believers perform ritual ablutions before going inside for prayers.

Left: Mİmber [Mimbar] is the pulpit in the mosque from which the imam delivers his sermons.
Right:  beautiful mosaic tiles provide a decorative border for the stained glass window.

Painted details decorate the arches around the mosque.

The almshouse and madrasah [theological school] that were built as part of the mosque complex now house archaeological and ethnographical artifacts, respectively.  Combined, the exhibits make up the Manisa Museum, which is where we went next.  Showing our Müzekart, we gained free admission, which is otherwise 3TL (~1.50) per person.  (This card is for Turkish nationals only, but there is a version for non-nationals too.)

Inside, the first two things I photographed were posters of the two mosques we had just finished visiting — a decent enough alternative since I’d been unable to take pictures of them myself.

Left: Sultan Camİİ
Right: Manİsa Museum buildings with Muradİye Camİİ in the background.

The one downside to our museum visit was the lack of information on most of the items on display — oh, and the building housing archaeological artifacts from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period was closed.  We settled for what we could see, which was plenty.  (There’s a 360-tour here; the narration is in Turkish.)

Archaeological artifacts …

Bas relief sarcophagus detail (Greek or Roman).

grave steles from either the Greek or Roman period.

Marble headstones from the Ottoman Period.

Fossilized footprint of Homo-Neanderthal (ca 25,000 BC); from the Çakalar Hill in Salİhlİ.

Ethnographical artifacts on display in the Ottoman Room …

Hamam [Turkish Bath] Accessories …
embroidered peŞtemal [towel]; kurna taŞı [bathing bowl]; ivory inlaid nalın [bath clogs].

Traditional women’s clothing and jewelry — 19th-20th Century.

Left: decorative chest.
Right: ivory inlaid lid of a gift box.

Embroidered Throw pillow case featuring the image of a sultan.

Representative room from a traditional 18th century Kula Evİ [ev = house].

On our way back to the car, we stopped at the Saruhan Bey Türbesi [türbe = shrine] just down the street from the Muradiye Mosque.  “Bey” generally means gentleman or mister.  But it’s also the Turkish translation for a variety of words ranging from lord, to governor, to seignior.  It’s this latter translation that applies to the man who seized from the Byzantines the lands that we now know as Manisa.  Named Saruhan after his seigniory — Saruhanoğulları — the lands were later absorbed by the Ottoman Empire.

Construction tape barred me from getting a photo of the statue of Saruhan Bey with
his shrine in the background; luckily I took a photo of the poster at the museum.

Legend has it that Saruhan Bey had candles tied to the horns of herds of goats and, together with his torch-carrying men, they climbed the hill under the cover of night.  Fearing what they thought was a sizable army, the Byzantines panicked, thus leading to the capture of the area by the Saruhanoğulları on 26 October 1313.

The grave of Saruhan Bey (1270-1345) is inside the shrine
that was built in 1348 by his grandson, İshak Çelebİ.

We wrapped up our day by strolling thru Yeni Han, a restored 19th century inn complex that houses shops and restaurants.  Sure, I picked up a few blouses while we were there, but the primary reason for wandering around the stores was to burn off some of the calories from the lunch we enjoyed at the nearby Manisaspor Kebapçısı, a kabob house named for the local soccer team.  (For my Turkish readers … this blog post has a great description of the experience.)

Our timing was perfect as no sooner were we seated that the small eatery filled up to the rafters.  Everyone in our party ordered the specialty — Manisa Kebabı.  It consists of köfte, Turkish beef patties served on a bed of pide, a pita-like bread … in this case, dripping with hot melted butter.  It can be ordered plain or with a topping of your choice: yogurt and/or tomato sauce.  I’m not much of a red meat eater, but I have to say that this dish was exceptionally good; as was the accompanying ayran, a drink made by watering down plain yogurt.  That everything is served on copper crockery made the experience feel a little old-timey.

Ayran and Manİsa Kebabi

Today’s trip to Manisa was my first ever that I can recall.  The city — and the province by the same name — has a lot to offer visitors … all the more for me to explore on future trips to Turkey.