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.

Congratulations to Channel 4 for getting people talking about history

Congratulations to Channel 4 for four fantastic new programmes this week challenging key episodes in British history as part of its Bloody Foreigners season. This theme may sound xenophobic but the hour long docu-dramas in fact, in my opinion, showed the positive contributions that immigrants have made to Britain over the years.

On Wednesday night the ‘Untold Great Fire of London’ set out to explore whether the fire, which devastated large swathes of the capital some 350 years ago, really was started by accident in a bakery in Pudding Lane. Experts interviewed on the programme reeled off historical documents which suggested that it was started arson and that foreigners were to blame.

While the flames were still burning, Dutch immigrants living in London were attacked in their homes and beaten in the street; there was nowhere in the capital that was safe for them to be. As bloody re-enactments on the programme showed, it must have been terrible for all the families that were caught in the chaos. Soon the blame moved to another of the Britain’s foreign enemies, the French, and more innocent people became caught up in the terror.

But then those advocating the blood foreigners theory had cause to celebrate as a Frenchman himself confessed to the crime of starting the Great Fire of London. They wanted someone to blame and now they had their man. He was sentenced to death and killed.

Over time it became apparent that the man in question couldn’t have possibly started the fire – he wasn’t even in the country at the time according to witnesses. Still it wasn’t until the 1820s, long after his killing, that the ‘guilty’ man’s name was publicly cleared.

The hatred for foreigners at the time was tied up with the long-running Reformation – Protestants blamed the Catholics for starting the English Civil war but even after the fighting on the battlefield ended, the religious conflict and suspicion continued. Even so in wider history, Britain’s treatment for immigrants has never been that great. Look at how some refugees fleeing recent violence in places like Uganda and Somali have been beaten up in their own homes – just for being foreign. Somehow though the contributors on the ‘Untold Great Fire of London’ thought that times had changed and that London was today a cosmopolitan place where everyone is welcome. If only things were that simple.

During the Fire of London there are records of Dutch immigrants pulling down their homes to stop the fire spreading, something that many of the English refused do. In another programme in the Bloody Foreigners season which re-considered the battle of Trafalgar, the contribution of foreigner fighters in the Navy was recognised. This totally counters the view that it was purely an English victory – there were in fact over 20 different nationalities involved in the battles, including ex-slaves.

Foreigners have in the past made an enormous contribution, and continue to make an enormous contribution, to Britain. Immigrants have brought new foods, they’ve started successful companies like Tesco, we’ve danced to the rhythms of their music and shared their smiles. Often their contributions are invisible from public view, which is a real shame. But they have played an amazing role in shaping the Britain that we have today.

As for the Bloody Foreigners season, as I said at the outside, I think Channel 4 should be commended because anything that make people take a fresh look at history has got to be a good thing. History teaching in schools has a reputation for being stale, but it’s well-made television programmes like these that make people sit-up and say: ‘actually history doesn’t have to be boring, I can see that what happened then matters to me today.’

At a time when the take up of history GCSEs is at an all time low, we need the people popularising history like Dan Snow, Niall Ferguson and Simon Schama, to name just a few, to lead the way. There will always be some academics that would say that there are no real new revelations in the TV programmes that apparently challenge history. But judging by the high level of coverage on the listings pages in newspapers, at least they are generating plenty of debate. That has only got to be a good thing in engaging future generations in our rich history.

The inspiration for getting 'Inside Bristol'

I've just hit 'post' on my blog about the new book (which I'm calling Inside Bristol) I'm working on which sets out to chart Bristol's history, but I thought I should explain where my passion for Bristol comes from......

It all started as I was sitting on the top deck of an open top tour as the familiar landmarks of Bristol unravelled in front of me. We passed the regenerated docks, the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and St Mary Redcliffe church with it awe-inspiring spire (no pun intended!). There was the SS Great Britain, the world’s first great ocean liner – the start of what has become a multimillion cruise industry. We passed through Clifton, a suburb that easily rivals the nearby spa town of Bath, and then across the breezy and airy expanse of greenery that is Clifton and Durdham Downs.

The guide also reliably told us about all the museums, galleries, shopping areas, parks and theatres just a few minutes walk from the various stops.

Many on the tour that sunny summer day back in summer 2008 had travelled half way around the world to visit Bristol, the dialects and languages they spoke confirmed that. I hadn’t travelled so far – only about three miles from the centre of Bristol in fact. I was born in Bristol and lived in the city 18 years of my life, but didn’t feel I knew it intimately. Of course, I knew of John Cabot, the shameful slave trade and Brunel, but I couldn’t see how they all connected together to create the Bristol story. Getting on the open top bus and sitting amongst lots of ‘tourists’ provided the impetus to start a journey of discovery.

Arriving back in Bristol, after getting on for six years away, allowed me to see the place with fresh eyes. And from what I saw on those first days of re-discovering Bristol fascinated me. I wanted to know more so I read a succession of books about the city’s history. From exploring the streets again, I became completely fascinated by how Bristol was changing. Here was a city with new blocks of apartments and offices springing up all over the place while at the same time thriving culturally.

The book I am writing started off as a number of short diary entries chronicling what I had seen, what I had heard and what I had experienced. I have consulted a number of history books, but my biggest inspiration has been to put on good pair of sturdy shoes and head off exploring. I want to write the story of a city that can be recognised today. And, as you will have seen from my previous post, I want to tell that fascinating history through the people that have a special attachment to each of the different period's of Bristol.

I am certainly not intending to write a tourist guide written as a selective history with all the not so happy episodes carefully removed. Just as we should be proud of how Bristol has shaped the way we are in the world, there is much to be shameful, not least the city’s involvement in the slave trade. It’s important that we acknowledge that this has happened and make sure we act differently in the future.

While my intention is to look at Bristol from a 21st century perspective, this is a story that begun more than 1000 years ago when a settlement grew up near the current Bristol Bridge. It was known as Brigstow – the Saxon meaning ‘place by the bridge’. Settlers lived in simple structures made out of wood, thatch and clay. They traded by river with groups in South Wales, North Somerset and Ireland long before the 11th century, and quickly the population grew. In the Middle Ages Bristol was in fact the second city in England after London.

Bristol started as trading post, a place travellers passing between the capitals of Gloucestershire and Somerset could enjoy refreshments before continuing their journey. Over time Bristol’s merchants built up a good reputation exporting and importing goods. First they travelled to France to import wine, but then they became more adventurous and sailed further a field. It was John Cabot that left Bristol to be the first European to re-discover North America since the Vikings.

Success came at a price though. It was the shameful slave trade that made countless merchants rich. The financial district of Bristol was founded on the profits of human cargo and many Bristol houses were financed by the trade.

Then over the years, through industrialisation, the city became dirty and smelly. Bristol went through periods of economic decline and was ruled by merchants who, partly through their selfishness, lost trade to places like Liverpool. But the city was always, and still is, an important business centre.

Unfortunately for many books that’s where the story of Bristol ends leaving people today trying to make sense of the place confused. In cutting it short, the experiences of slums in the city being demolished from after World War One and after World War Two in favour of building new housing estates on the edge of the city are nothing more than passing sentences. To me, it’s a bizarre omission.

Authors should write about how things are, but they also need to discuss what things have become. It’s a way of connecting people with history. For example, in the 1970s the central docks were lying derelict after the waters were closed to commercial trade, but now we should be celebrating the regeneration with new restaurants, bars, cafes, offices and appartments. Today, there is mile upon mile of dockside where pedestrians can walk.

This will be a book about looking at where Bristol has come from, where it is today, and, dare I say it, where the city is going in the future. For so long I walked along the same roads and went in the same buildings. In this book I want to make amends and go beyond the familiar toutists attractions in the glossy brochures. I want to truly get ‘Inside Bristol’. I look forward to taking you on that adventure.

What's this rumour about a book on Bristol?

As many people know I am currently working on a new book about Bristol. My aim is tell the story of Bristol from Anglo Saxon times up to the present through a series of interviews with people who have a special attachment to different historical periods in the city’s history.

For more recent episodes, such as the World War Two air raids on Bristol and the St Paul’s race riots, I want to speak to people who were there as witnesses as history was being made. To chart earlier history, for example life in the Medieval town and Bristol’s role in the English Civil War, I want to interview experts in their relevant fields.

The overall aim of the book is to tell the story of Bristol’s past but then also link its unique and rich history to the present. For example in reporting on Bristol’s role in the slave trade, I would want to examine contemporary thinking on the subject. Or for those that were there on the opening days of any of the new housing estates on the outskirts of Bristol, how do the launch celebrations after World War compare with the reality of estate life today.

I've done a the majority of the background research and consequently written a lot of the copy. I am now in the process of emailing people I want to interview - but obviously those who lived through the Blitz are a little hard to contact through this means of communication, so I may resort to traditional snail mail. I am asking my interviewees to meet me for a coffee in a Bristol cafe of their choice, nothing too formal.

If you know anyone who you may want to be part of this project in bringing to life the history of this remarkable city please let me know. I'd be especially keen to hear from anyone who has an email address for Banksy!

Don't even think about writing off the British seaside tourism industry

FOR years people have been saying that the British seaside holiday is dead and buried. Those advocating this view have pointed to the growth of cheap flights abroad through the Nineties and Naughties. Why would you want to holiday in a British resort where you would be served dreadful food, it would rain for seven days and then be charged a small fortune for the privilege? Brittany Ferries is even currently using the slogan 'Why have a British summer when you can afford a French one?' on its adverts.

In truth, things have moved on a long way since Fawlty Towers, and the bad service offered by proprietor Basil Fawlty, hit our TV screens in the 1970s – British seaside resorts have grown up and are ready to welcome guests with open arms. I’ve just had a great weekend camping with friends on the south coast. We experienced the stunning coastal scenery near Lyme Regis in Dorset and then moved on to the charming seaside resort of Sidmouth in Devon. The food was great, the weather scorching and the staff in pubs and restaurants were friendly. And I didn't even have to endure a rough overnight crossing on a ghastly car ferry.

A new report from academics at Sheffield Hallam University suggests that that Britain's seaside tourism industry has not only survived, but is in fact growing. It directly supports 210,000 jobs plus large numbers indirectly through the supply chain, contributing £3.6bn to the British economy. The industry in England and Wales employs as many people as the whole of the telecommunications sector.

You don’t need to look very far in any of our seaside resorts to see that the industry has adapted to survive – B&Bs are clean and serve great breakfasts using the finest locally sourced ingredients, many cafes have ditched the instant coffee and serve the finest blends from around the world, and restaurants have much more on the menu than just fish & chips.

At a time when private, rather than public, sector growth is needed more than ever before, the strength of the seaside industry will be welcome news for the new Government. We are at a point where we can truly say that our resorts are ‘open for business’ – we need to do all we can to market the individual towns to foreign visitors. If they become as bustling as Lyme Regis and Sidmouth were at the weekend, then we are on to a winner. And we will also start to reap the benefits.

Brittany Ferries claims that 'France is not only a truly magical holiday destination' and with their great it is easy on the pocket as well'. But I for one will be enjoying Britain this summer.

You don't need to be in Britain to discover our nation's riches

REGULAR readers of this blog have been asking me in recent weeks why I only seem to be writing about my travels in far flung countries like India, Dubai and Oman. If this is my chosen blogging subject matter then shouldn’t it be called ‘beingabroad’ or something similar? The simple answer is: no – ‘beinginbritain’ is a title that’s here to stay Allow me to explain….

Since setting up this blog, my emphasis has always been on discovering more about British heritage. I’ve toured our beautiful island and written about places in London, Manchester, Shropshire and the like. But Britain is about so much more than the cities, towns and villages stretching from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Over the last 500 years we have, as a nation, had a major influence in numerous countries on all four corners of the globe. Take India, for example, where I visited just a few months ago. It was the British that brought the railways, the bureaucracy and the current schooling system. Walking around somewhere like Mumbai (formerly Bombay) today, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are actually in Manchester: the Victorian Gothic buildings with towering spires, have a remarkable resemblance.

There will be other opportunities to debate what sort of impact our colonial travels had on foreign populations. Anyone with even a limited grasp of history will know that the British didn’t always behave themselves when they took possession of foreign lands; there are probably literally thousands of books on the bloodshed that the British unleashed on local populations in most of the world’s continents at some point or another.

Here though my argument is that to discover all of this colonial history you need to travel to the places where the British had influence. You get a far greater impression and understanding of what it was like to like under the British Raj than you do by simply walking around the India galleries of the British Museum in London.

And a trip to the Indian subcontinent also continues the narrative of what happened after the British left by telling the story of the hardships for many today. Many live in slums, with no access to clean water and proper sanitation. Children grow up without a proper education and instead toil away in countless cottage-scale factories recycling goods for foreign international companies.

In summary, I’ve not deviated from my favourite subject of ‘Britain’ and ‘Britishness’ in recent months. I’ve just taken the opportunity to go abroad and delve further into the backstory of what makes our island such a special place. I’m now back in Bristol and can’t wait to bring you my thoughts from where British history began. It’s going to be a great summer.