9 October, Istanbul
Haci Mimi Apartment 53TL
Beside the Çemberlitaş tram station in Sultanahmet
stands what remains of a column erected on 11 May 330 by Constantine the Great
to “celebrate the designation of Constantinople as the new capital of the [Eastern]
Roman Empire”*. East of the column is the impressive Tomb of Mahmud II,
constructed in 1840 following the death of the 30th sultan of the Ottoman
Empire. One or two later sultans and several dynasty members are also entombed
here. In the cemetery alongside the tomb lie statesmen, authors and poets. We
were particularly enamoured during our visit, not by the floral reliefs on the domed
ceiling or the (dusty) chandelier gifted by Queen Victoria or the (un-ticking) clocks
sent by Napoleon, but by the cemetery cats. Haughty, playful, sleepy, charming,
they add their own aesthetic note to beautifully carved stone and gently
drooping moon flowers. Today was special, however, for a completely different
reason. Today I reconnected with Umut whom I met 30 years ago during my first trip
to Turkey. What a wonderful treat to meet the woman evolving in the 12 year old
girl she was then ...
*Turkey Travel Planner: The column was the
centerpiece in the Forum of Constantine, a grand colonnaded plaza which may
have resembled the one designed by Bernini and built in front of St Peter's
basilica in Rome. Statues of pagan gods and Christian saints decorated the
forum. Atop the column was a gigantic statue of the Emperor Constantine dressed
and adorned as Apollo. The statue toppled in a hurricane in 1106 and was later
replaced by a huge cross. After the Ottoman conquest the cross was removed. In
1779 a conflagration destroyed this whole neighborhood and left the column with
black scorch marks, earning it the nickname 'Burnt Column'. Sultan Abdülhamit I
had the column restored after the fire, and added the present masonry base. Its
iron hoops were replaced in the 1970s, and extensive stabilization was carried
out from 2004 through 2009 to keep it upright for a few more centuries (19 and
counting).
Istanbul - Taksim Square
Istanbul - Taksim Square
Istanbul - Constantine's "burnt column"
Mahmud II tomb - cemetery cats
Mahmud II tomb - cemetery cats
Mahmud II tomb - cemetery cats
Mahmud II tomb - cemetery cats
Mahmud II tomb - Istanbul