A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing something new in Istanbul. Through the indispensable Sublime Portal, I joined a walking group (see the island walk a few posts back). We decided to walk along the Theodosian city wall, which dates back to the early 400’s, starting at Ayvansaray and ending at Yedikule. Most of the walk took place inside the walls, but we had to occasionally go outside the walls. There is no clearly marked path to follow and so we just did our best.
I met a fellow TSPer and we took the ferry from Kadıköy to Eminönü. Then we walked a few kilometers to Ayvansaray along the Haliç. There we met up with the rest of the group. I had met only a few of the people before, so it was great to make new friends. We cut through a beautiful mosque and started out on the outside of the walls. Very soon we were able to go back to the inside where things got interesting. Parts of the wall were closed, but others were wide open for anyone to climb up and walk around. In true Turkish style, there were no safety precautions in place (ie. hand rails, guard rails). The view from the top of the wall was breathtaking, and the day was gorgeous.
As we continued on we came to an area called Sulukule. This area is unique due to the Romani community who have lived there since the 11th century. The area used to be know as an entertainment hub where one could go and enjoy the lively Romani music and dancing. In 1992 the city forcibly shut down the entertainment industry there, and now the municipality of Istanbul and the Fatih district decided to gentrify the area and bulldoze the houses. As “compensation” they built apartment towers 40 kilometers outside the city that the Romani can relocate to. They conveniently forgot to setup any kind of transportation to link that area to Istanbul, which basically cuts off the community from Istanbul. The relocation is not free and though the Romani will be given a monthly stipend, it will be less than adequate for even paying the rent let alone feeding their families. I have begun to research this in earnest, and am currently working on a project that will hopefully help them in the long run. Here are some links to useful blogs/sites if you want to learn more: Diaries from Sulukule, Rroma, Campaign to save Sulukule, and Sulukule Günlüğü (mostly in Turkish but some English). When you get to the picture of Sulukule (below), the first four are from the internet since I was obviously not here before 1992 to take pictures of what it was like.
After Sulukule we headed on towards the end of our tour. There were lots of interesting new places and things to see. Along the southern portion of the wall is a farming area. I would guess it is set up by the municipality, but I am curious as to who they sell the produce to. Weekly bazaars? Supermarkets? Thinking about this made me realize I was so hungry, and I guess it did the same for everyone else. We reached the end of the wall and continued along the Marmara Sea until we got to an area full of restaurants. We picked one called Sarıgül, or Yellow Rose, that served fresh fish. We ate meze and fish to our hearts content and enjoyed each others company. After the late lunch we all parted ways for our return trips to whatever areas of the city we came from. It was a wonderful day and I would love to do the walk again anytime.
[Note] I tried to post the pictures in three different groups, but was not allowed to, so I should explain. The first nine photos are from the first part of the walk. The second group of nine are from Sulukule (the first four being from the internet). The last group of nine are from the part of the walk after Sulukule which finishes with our lunch spot. Hope you enjoy them!
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- The Teodosian Wall is the border on the left
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- The cemetery at the beginning mosque
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- Just starting out…
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- Looking back at the wall
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- View of Pierre Lotti from the wall
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- Watching the water fight
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- Chosen for demolition
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- Entering Sulukule now
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- Beautiful children
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- Where they used to live…
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- …and where they live now.
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- Abandoned in a sea of green
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- Forgotten fountain
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- Lonely football on a pitch
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- Smurfs!
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- Two Darths and a Rasta ;)
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- Wall flowers
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- Farms and sea view
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- There was a crooked house…
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- The aptly named “Yellow Rose”
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