Istanbul Again

Above: The Basilica Cistern near Hagia Sophia. Underground water supply for Byzantine emperors.

Picked up Mary yesterday after two days of touring mosques (especially Sinan's masterwork there, the Selimiye Mosque - built for Ottoman Sultan Selim II) in Edirne, and we've already been drinking beers and having a swell time. It's been really pleasant weather the last couple of days in Istanbul and Edirne. Autumn is certainly approaching, which is great. Today, we visited Hagia Sophia - they were closed until 1 pm due to the holiday - and also the Hippodrome and the Basilica Cistern. Most of the shops (we tried but failed to visit the Spice Bazaar) and the banks were closed all day but not the major touristic sites of course. The world never stops or rests for the tourists. But augh, they have scaffolding all over the main dome in HS which was sad.

Last night, the first night of the new moon which ends Ramadan, was very celebratory out on the streets except for when the driving rain made everyone run for cover. People were out picknicking in the parks between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, and they had all manner of sweets and lamb and sparklers and noisemakers, etc., for sale from street-vendors.

The call to prayer before dawn this morning was especially long and intense and loud. We are staying right near the Blue Mosque too, which aided this broadcast. We can see the speakers on the minarets from our hotel windows. Mary woke up and thought it was some guy driving by her house in Arkansas in the middle of the night and wondered why the dogs weren't barking.

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Wikipedia says about today:

Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr‎), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.


In the Republic of Turkey, where Ramadan celebrations are infused with more national traditions, and where country-wide celebrations, religious and secular alike, are altogether referred to as Bayram, it is customary for people to greet one another with "Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun" ("May Your Bayram Be Celebrated"), "Mutlu Bayramlar" ("Happy Bayram"), or the more religious "Bayramınız Mübarek Olsun" (May Your Bayram Be Holy", i.e. "Holy Bayram Upon You"), while enjoying a number of local customs.


Referred to as both Şeker Bayramı ("Bayram of Sweets") or Ramazan Bayramı ("Ramadan Bayram"), Eid in Turkey is a beloved public holiday, where schools and government offices are generally closed for the entire period of the celebrations.

It is a time for people to attend prayer services, put on their best clothes (referred to as "Bayramlık", often purchased just for the occasion) and to visit all their loved ones (such as friends, relatives and neighbors) and pay their respects to the deceased with organized visits to cemeteries, where large, temporary bazaars of flowers, water (for watering the plants adorning a grave), and prayer books are set up for the three-day occasion. The first day of the Bayram is generally regarded as the most important, with all members of the family waking up early, and the men going to their neighborhood mosque for the special Bayram prayer.

It is regarded as especially important to honor elderly citizens by kissing their right hand and placing it on one's forehead while wishing them Bayram greetings. It is also customary for young children to go around their neighborhood, door to door, and wish everyone a happy Bayram, for which they are awarded candy, chocolates, traditional sweets such as Baklava and Turkish Delight, or a small amount of money at every door, in an almost Halloween-like fashion.

Municipalities all around the country organize fundraising events for the poor, in addition to public shows such as concerts or more traditional forms of entertainment such as the Karagöz and Hacivat shadow-theatre and even performances by the Mehter - the Janissary Band that was founded during the days of the Ottoman Empire.

Helping the less fortunate, ending past animosities and making up, organizing breakfasts and dinners for loved ones and putting together neighborhood celebrations are all part of the joyous occasion, where homes and streets are decorated and lit up for the celebrations, and television and radio channels continuously broadcast a variety of special Bayram programs, which include movie specials, musical programming and celebratory addresses from celebrities and politicians alike.

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Below: scaffolding up to the central dome in Hagia Sophia. Note the number of levels on the temporary staircase.