June+30+-+Day+2

ISTANBUL Day 2, Tue June 30  07:15 AM Departure for Bosphorus cruise after breakfast. We will sail past opulent palaces, fine mosques, imposing fortresses and traditional, wooden Ottoman mansions. Then, you will have a chance to see, and try your hands at a demonstration of the ancient Turkish art of “Ebru” (paper marbling) by one of the leading ebru artists of Turkey, Mr. Hikmet Barutcugil in Uskudar (Asian side).

PM Lunch with a guest speaker on domestic/foreign policy issues at Istanbul Chamber of Commerce – ITO’s Kandilli Social Facilities (Asian side). After lunch, we will drive to Darussafaka Schools, a school for orphaned children.

Dinner at Develi Restaurant. Overnight at the Hotel.  Commentary We start the day with breakfast on the roof and are off for our tour of the city by water. We have a private boat for the 24 of us and Orhan gives us the history of the city as we sail by Greek, Byzantine, Persian, Ottoman, and Turkish Republic monuments. We cruise north to the second Bosporus bridge along the European side. Highlights are definitely Dolmabahce Palace and Mehmet II’s fortresses on either side of the Bosporous.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ I had envisioned Mehmet’s fortresses, used to choke off the lifeline of the old city in 1453, as much smaller than they actually are. They are tremendous feats of engineering built in just two years. Mehmet was definitely serious about taking Constantinople quickly. I was also surprised to learn that Ataturk used the palace as his residence when he was in Istanbul. Although he was a visionary reformer, he had no problems assuming the trappings of power (the huge yacht he used was further evidence).

We turn around at the second bridge and head south along the Asian side as Orhan points out items of architectural and natural history – he is a fountain of knowledge and we are quickly realizing that he is better than any book we could possibly buy. We land on the Asian side (I am quite excited about this and get made fun of by several Asia travel veterans; it doesn’t bother me – this is the first time I set foot in Asia!)

We traverse to the house and studio of Hikmet Barutcugil, a Turkish master of Ebru (paper marbling). The house is off a small street surrounded by large apartment buildings and all the clamor of modern city life. As we walk through his gate the transformation is amazing – a serene setting among mature plantings and a delightful vine-covered veranda. Hikmet had purchased the house many years earlier and not only saved it from destruction but restored it to living history status since most of the homes like it had vanished in favor of newer more modern buildings in which owners made a great deal of money collecting rents. As soon as we enter the studio I notice the picture of Hikmet teaching Laura Bush Ebru; pretty cool! He does several demonstrations of ancient and modern techniques and we are amazed by his skill. Fernando says it best: It’s like magic. Basically the paint floats on water and the colors remain separate by using ox cawl in the paint mixtures. The color floats and then using an awl, you can drag and pull the color into any shape you can imagine. Hikmet makes tulips and carnations with ease. Then we get our chance to create. We create pinwheels, flowers, sunbursts, butterflies and birds. Hikmet then gives us our creations to take with us.

Next up is lunch at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce’s Kandilli Social Facilities – WOW! The setting is stunning. We sit under a large pavilion and look down the steep hills to the Bosporus below as young people frolic in the pool and practice looking beautiful. The food is wonderful – everyone raves at the quality and quantity of food we are being served.

Next up is our first school visit: Darussafaka in Eastern Istanbul.

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