Preserving ALL of Istanbul for the world

For history fans, a trip to Istanbul takes some beating. Here visitors can discover two great cities for the price of one, with both Byzantine Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul waiting to be explored. To walk the streets of Turkey’s commercial capital today is to take a stroll through the ancient, medieval and modern history; over past two millennia it truly has been one of the most important places in the world.

And Istanbul is hardly short of tourists who want to visit the main, blockbuster historic sites like the Haggia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Big cruise ships dock along the Bosphorus daily and visitors are herded like cattle onto buses for whirlwind, exhausting day trips which include lunch in Turkish restaurants which are about as authentic as McDonalds and end in shady carpet shops where tour guides receive commission on sales. Tourists get to put big ticks on attractions in their guide books, while traders and the government gain important revenue. It’s a win, win scenario all round, surely?

Perhaps not. Tourists are only seeing minute fractions of the Byzantine and Ottoman cities – and while the key sites are being preserved, elsewhere historic building and monuments are facing a real risk. Corruption has become ingrained in modern Turkish society, meaning that if developers want to build new hotels in a way which seriously damages ancient and medieval sites they can through the payment of bribes to officials. And it’s not just a question of the odd pot or altar being destroyed; the recent discoveries are far more spectacular. For example, when they started constructing an extension to an underground line a Byzantine palace was found. Once these masterpieces are ruined in the name of so called progress, history is lost forever – it cannot be replaced.

Of course, the well-known historic buildings and monuments are important. Take the awe-inspiring Haggia Sophia. Commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537, it stands as one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements and was built by 100,000 men at a time when Europe was facing a truly dark age. It came at a time in history when the old Roman city of London had been abandoned and many inhabitants of what we now call Britain had returned to live on the land. The Haggia Sophia church was converted into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, but is now designated a museum and has many amazing mosaics and frescos on show alongside Islamic calligraphy and decorative artwork.

Buildings from the Ottoman era are, in their own way, equally spectacular. The Blue Mosque with its six minarets (the sultan Ahmet I had to pay for a seventh to be added to the mosque in Mecca because some said he was trying to out-do the place of worship at the birthplace of Islam) is named after the blue tiles from the Turkish town of Iznik that adorn this construction, which dates from 1609. The Topkapi Palace, with its complex of interconnected courtyards, pavilions and ornamental gardens dates from shortly after Mehmet II constructed the city and confidently sums up that the Ottomans were in Istanbul to stay. While the likes of England under the Tudors were at the edge of the world, here was a great power that was entering its heyday, with territory stretching as far a north Africa, Arabia and eastern Europe.

But in terms of Byzantine heritage, the Haggia Sophia is a mere morsel of what can be discovered in Istanbul. On my recent trip to the city I went on an excellent walking tour (run by Istanbul Walks) that took in no fewer than 10 Byzantine monasteries. Of course, they aren’t in perfect condition today as modifications were made when they were converted into mosques and some of the buildings are now in a bad state of repair, but there is more than enough remaining of the original artwork on show to give you an impression of what they must have looked like more than one thousand years ago. The highlight of the tour was undoubtedly the Church of St Saviour in Chora, with colourful glass mosaics depicting the genealogy of Jesus Christ, his birth and ministry, including some of miracles he performed.

It is ironic to say the least that today’s secular Turkey has less regard for Christian churches than the Ottomans, whose rulers were of course Muslim, had. Following the 1453 conquest sultans made considerable effort to persuade Christians (particularly Armenians) to live in Constantinople. It must have been a very exciting and multi-cultural place to be. As I’ve noted above, Christians mosaics were plastered over (Islamic forbids image of people in mosques), but at least they preserved the buildings and valued the heritage (plastering over the Byzantine artwork may have even conserved it so that much is still on show for today’s visitors).

When the Turkish Republic was declared in 1923 there was a high regard for preserving Byzantine and Ottoman history, and putting it on show for visitors. The first president of modern Turkey, Ataturk, opened both Haggia Sophia and Topkapi Palace as museums. He loved the arts and enjoyed the power that came with opening new attractions to the public.

Unfortunately there is not the same commitment to heritage with the government today. History is disappearing in the face of corruption. And, in a country which is celebrated by the US and others for its democracy and the positive example it sets as to how Middle Eastern countries can reform, there is no freedom of the press. The government began a few years ago a crackdown on journalists that are pro-opposition and 100 journalists are currently in jail on ridiculous, trumped up charges. I’ve even heard of the intelligentsia who are prominent is trying to preserve heritage being attacked by gangs working for developers.

For a modern nation that in recent years has expressed interest in joining the EU, this cannot be allowed to continue. Turkey’s important history needs to be preserved – it belongs not just to the Turkish people, but to the world as a whole.

Dubai: the city that has grown up

Five years ago I vividly recall sitting in my car in a supermarket car park on the outskirts of Hull and talking on the phone to a friend who was moving out to Dubai. It was pouring down with rain and I couldn’t face getting soaked from walking the short distance to the store entrance. Yet in spite of the turbulent weather that we often face in the UK I thought then I was in the better position – at least I wasn’t moving an outpost in the desert!

But two years later, in 2009, I thought I should go and visit the place that many were raving about, so I booked a flight out to visit my friend in Dubai. People back home warned me that I would find the place soulless, however if I wanted to visit some of the world’s biggest shopping malls, indoor ski slopes and extravagantly themed hotels then I would probably have a good time.

Worse still, in 2009 the British press was full of stories about the supposed financial collapse of Dubai. Thousands who had bought new properties off plan had lost their life-time saving as work stopped on construction sites. Most high profile of all was ‘the World’, a series of manmade islands representing scaled down versions of all countries in the globe, lay barren – it was all very embarrassing for Dubai. There were also reports of expats abandoning their cars at the airport and getting out while they could. Had for Dubai, the emirate bankrolled for so long by unsustainable debts, the bubble finally burst?

In the end Dubai was bailed out by its oil rich neighbour Abu Dhabi, which is run by the cousin of the leader of Dubai, to the tune of an estimated $15bn. And, as for my holiday, I had a great time. We chilled out in some of the best bars in the world – built on the beach, high up skyscrapers and at my friend’s golf club. There was also time for history too – the story of Dubai is well told at an excellent museum down by the Creek.

Since that visit, I’ve made several return trips – usually combined with visiting other places like India and Oman. It really is a great place to stop over and chill – and catch up with my good friend Ian from university days and his wife.
On my most recent visit, I was really struck by how much Dubai has matured and grown up. Talking to Ian, he says that the days of people jetting over to Dubai and getting a well-paid job straight away just because they have a British passport are long gone. The under qualified and those lacking a hard work ethic have found themselves packing their bags and heading back home. Building work has started again, but projects seem to be far more sensible and manageable. And those that are sensible won’t buy off plan or not even buy at all and just rent.

Of course, those that are prepared to work hard are rewarded with fantastic leisure activities. There are some great golf courses and beautiful, well looked after landscaped parks across the city. The bars and restaurants are of the highest quality and are booming. The highlight of the week for many being the Friday brunch where hotels lay on extravagant buffets and are charged one fixed price to eat and drink as much as they want. Dubai is also putting on some great festivals – on my recent visit we enjoyed a fantastic music event with Kaiser Chiefs headlining. The location, down on the sands on the Palm, a manmade island jutting out from Dubai, and the atmosphere would be hard to beat.

The city has never looked better, with extensive walk ways along by some of Dubai’s waterfront areas. The Metro is finished, connecting the airport with the main business and leisure districts. The shopping malls are booming with visitors from far and wide. Dubai still boasts the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa. To travel up to the viewing platform of this immense skyscraper gives you the chance to look down on a city that gets more exciting by the day. Work will apparently start soon on building a grand opera house.

Many that live out in Dubai don’t actually do any work in the emirate all – but just use it as a comfortable base for picking up lucrative contracts in emerging countries like Saudi Arabia. Air travel in the region is excellent, so it is very easy to live in Dubai with all its Western comforts and then commute to neighbouring areas. Expats also have plenty of options for having fun at the weekend – aside from the vibrant nightlife in Dubai itself, modern roads make it really easy to travel out to exciting places in neighbouring emirates. On my most recent visit we headed out to Liwa in the Arabian desert (about four to five hours drive from Dubai) for a couple of days. It was amazing seeing nothing but red sands, and the odd camel, for mile upon mile.

Dubai hasn’t completely turned the corner yet – it will for example have to settle its debts with Abu Dhabi over the next couple of years, but there is a great sense of optimism out there now. It’s an increasingly popular tourist destination for people of all ages and it is doing well trading on the notion of being a safe hub in an otherwise turbulent region. The message to weary war reporters and enterprising businessmen alike is the same: Dubai has grown up and means business.