Learning about early origins of culture in Istanbul

We've had a great opportunity to reunite our family over the last couple of weeks. Diane is visiting and will be in Qatar for another week. We've entertained staff colleagues, shopped, eaten great meals, and just enjoyed being with each other.

We took a four-day trip to Istanbul last weekend. I had earlier opportunities to visit Istanbul but never took the chance, mainly because I had no idea of the richness of its history and culture. Darbi, Diane, and I were there for only four days and packed every minute of it so that we could taste the contemporary culture as well as understand the history of this fascinating place. We did everything from visiting Topkapi to the Grand Bazaar to the Spice Bazaar to a boat outing up through the Bosphorous region (where the Sultans built their palaces after Topkapi no longer served its purpose) to the huge water storage Cistern under the ancient core of the city. We were welcomed by friendly and engaging people, tourists from all over the world, and absolutely beautiful weather!

The most fascinating thing about Istanbul is its history. It has been a crossroads for Europe and Asia for almost 5 millenia and the greatest jewel of all of Istanbul is the Istanbul Archeology Museum, a collection that covers the full 5,000 years. We were utterly amazed to see one of the most extensive collections of sculpture of anywhere in the world, including the Louvre in Paris. Most of this collection was drawn from the Ottoman Empire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Ottoman Empire overlapped, and was a threat to, the Habsburg Empire. In fact, the prominence of the Habsburg family was probably largely the result of its ability to defend against Ottoman invasions of eastern Europe.

Besides the archeological collection, Topkapi also has the religious "relics" rooms (picture to right is of the entrance because I couldn't take pictures inside). We were utterly stunned to stand before relics like Moses' staff, Joseph's turban, Saint John's arm, and a number of other things. We were left wondering, "how could this be?" The sense of awe upon seeing such artifacts, reported to being the originals of the worlds greatest prophets, was utterly amazing.

One of the most important architectural wonders is the Hagia Sophia, reportedly one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built in the 5th century to replace the original Christian church built on the same site by Constantine when he established Constantinople as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire (establishing Christianity as its religion). Constantine built the first church on this site which was destroyed in two subsequent uprisings. Artifacts of the earlier churches are strewn around the Hagia Sophia in gardens and ongoing archaeological digs. The Hagia Sophia pictured below is now in dire need of repair, although its former splendor is obvious beneath layers of stucco/decorated coverings. The golden mosaics emerge when the stucco is taken off, revealing the original Christian images that previously graced its walls and vaulted domes. When Islam took the church and converted it to a Mosque, all references to Christianity were removed or covered over. It now stands as a tribute to both religions, without being dedicated to the use of either.

We left Istanbul wanting to learn more and believing that we had a wonderful (and hopefully first) exploratory visit. Upon arrival back in Qatar and while unpacking from our journey, CNN broke the news of the terrorist blasts that killed 17 people and wounded many more a mere few miles from where we stayed in Istanbul. A very sad, sad sign of the strife that still exists among religious groups in Istanbul. Ultimately the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) was identified as responsible by the pro-secularist Republic People's Party, a claim rejected by the PKK. Knowledge of this violence causes hesitation to return to a place that seemed so welcoming and so enjoyable. Until global divisions and idealogical differences are accepted as normal and embraced as a necessary and useful part of the human condition, Istanbul and many of our other communities throughout the world will continue to be vulnerable to violence.

Einstein's Violin and social transformation

This weekend has been pretty quiet for me, other than a couple of ex-pat 4th of July celebrations on Friday. Darbi is in Ghana on a Habitat for Humanity trip which I have no doubt will bring some incredible revelations. Check her blog for details once she gets back the middle of next week. Saturday (July 5) was absolutely spectacular - bright blue sky and warm (hot?) temperatures. I got out to wash cars, worked in the yard a little, and did a lot of reading.

I finished a book that Jon gave me, Einstein's Violin, by Joseph Eger. I didn't know what to expect because the sub-title was A Conductor's Notes on Music, Physics, and Social Change. Eger has concertized as a French Horn player and was the music director of the Symphony for United Nations and principle guest conductor of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing when he wrote the book. What I found in his writing was a very interesting combination of ruminations about music as the universal cross-cultural language, quantum physics and string theory, and deep political commentary. What I enjoyed most about it was Eger's stories of people with whom he'd work or had met. They include the likes of Leonard Bernstein, David Bohm, Queen Noor al Hussein, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and more.

Eger's proposal is that forces beyond our understanding are acting in our lives to bring social transformation, even among those nations that appear to be locked in unresolvable conflict. One of the most startling assertions Eger made related to the book I noted a couple of posts ago, Gate of the Sun. Eger is Jewish and his beliefs about Israel and Palestine were radically changed when he visited Palestine, Jordan, and Israel. During these visits, he was greeted with respect and appreciation by people from various religious and political perspectives, causing him to think that perhaps there actually could be a solution to the conflict between Israeli and Palestinian factions. Ultimately, he published his beliefs in an article in the September 15, 1980, Newsweek entitled "Is it Good for the Jews?"in which he espoused the belief that the welfare of Jewish people and the future of the state of Israel were tied to fair and compassionate treatment of the many Arabs who have been driven from Palestine.

The connections made possible by music operate in the same way that string theory proposes infinite relationships among all things throughout our ever-expanding universe. It is these connections, and the actions and reactions that echo across light years of space and time, that are bringing us together to recognize that our destinies and very survival are mutually linked.

This kind of world view may be a bit much to absorb but Eger's analysis, and particularly his citations of Einstein's views on science and social change, were pretty compelling. At a time when so many things are unsettled around the globe, and when so many of us are doing things to rectify the imbalances, our decisions are becoming so much more important. We shape our destiny and impact the future of others at every turn and we need world leadership who recognize that we are all one together rather than warring nations attempting to destroy each other.