IN FRONT OF THE SARCOPHAGUS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN ISTANBUL (7)
PART OF THE BOOK “SELECTED PAPERS FOR MACEDONIA”
BY SLAVÉ KATIN
For many people in the world it is a great challenge to visit the fatherland of Kemal Ataturk, the land of the great contrasts recently taking place, the Republic that is different from Turkey of the past; the region that was conquered by Alexander of Macedon, and later the empire of which Macedonia was a part for entire five centuries.
Kemal Ataturk, the great reformer and greatest son of the Turkish state, was born in Macedonia, in Salonika, and he developed, was educated and became a strong soldier in Bitola. However, he originates from a Macedonian family from the village of Kodgadgik, near Debar. According to Turkish sources his father was from Macedonia, a Macedonian Muslim, while his mother war Turkish coming from Anadolia. He is the person who devoted his life to Turkey and its better future, the man who, amongst other things, unveiled the Turkish woman, separated religion from the state, and introduced the Latin alphabet into Turkish language.
He is the man who is widely accepted by both the high classes and the masses. For this reason the journey to Istanbul, which was sponsored by the guest from Canada and lover of the Macedonian roots, Steve Pliakes was a challenge, and was accepted with great pleasure.
Usually trips take place on land or water, our trip was on air, by pain. Thus, when we started from Macedonia early in the morning during the summer when we reached the airport "Alexander the Great". There were a great number of passengers who rushed to the counters to hand luggage and heading towards the entrance to all destinations. And we made the necessary controls and headed towards the exit of the plane that was to fly the route Skopje-Istanbul. There are cozy feel to travel and the international space at the airport person feels as if a major world airport. This indicates that the Turkish company "TAF" make airport, and therefore Skopje and Macedonia to be known and recognized worldwide.
Takeoff from Skopje was comfortable and for about an hour we arrived in Istanmul. There, in the airport building, which resembles a closed city, stayed briefly, then went by taxi to the hotel where we were welcomed and accommodated. There, in Istanbul began our Tour with guest Steve Pliakes plan a longer period.
Istanbul is one of the oldest cities in the world. Divine glory has been with it from the moment when the Roman emperor Constantine decided to move the capital from Rome to Byzantium, as Istanbul was then called. Today it is a city with numerous heritage of the eternal cultural and historical past, with monuments from the Byzantine and Ottoman period. At the same time it is the biggest economic and cultural centre of the culture of present-day Republic of Turkey.
In fact, Istanbul is a crossroads of Asian and European culture, civilization and religion, and it represents a corridor from the north to the south and from the east to the west. Turkish researchers claim that even its constant residents are not fully familiar with all of its beauties. Not even the exact number of its population is known. According to official documents, approximately 10 million people live in Istanbul. Experts on the Turkish situation, on the other hand, claim that this number is more than 12 million or more. In addition to this, the city is visited by thousands of travelers and tourists every day.
Another point of interest is the fact that this city collects 40 % of the funds collected as taxes throughout the whole country. This speaks enough of the power of Istanbul, the city on Bosporous in present-day Turkey.
We came to the city of Istanbul which stretches along three coasts and over seven hills. It is the ancient Byzantinion, Roman Constantinopolis, and Turkish Istanbul. The Macedonians always called it Tsarigrad, or Stanbol. The change in names is a consequence of previous dramatic events related to this city, which many nations tried to grab. Thus, the Emperor Constantine declared it the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 330 AD and hence it got the name Constantinopolis, after the ruler. Nowever on May 29, 1453 it was conquered by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II Faith (Conqueror) after which the city was named Istanbul.
The city spreads along the coasts of the Bosporous, golden Horn, Sea of Marmara; Beyogly, between the Golden Horn and the western coast of the Bosporous; Iskadar or Skutari on the eastern coast of the Bosporous, where we were staying and from where the European part of Istanbul could be seen.
Stanbul is not only the oldest part of the city, but it is also the richest with cultural and historical monuments. Hence, it is the most important tourist quarter of Istanbul, and a great challenge for the numerous visitors to this metropolis. Some of its historical artistic monuments have been damaged or destroyed by time; some suffered natural catastrophes, mostly earthquakes, or we were informed that they disappeared in the frequent fires.
In Istanbul there are more than 50 king’s palaces, more than 1,500 mosques, approximately 100 churches, numerous cultural and historical monuments, 10 universities, nu8mberless shops… The most famous among the cultural and historical monuments is, by all means, the Topkapi Palace with its magnificent king’s chambers and harems. At the museum of “Topkapi” we also saw the special plates which change their color at the contact with poison. They were intended for kings only. We were also astounded by the diamond known as “Kashichki elmaz” and by the dagger decorated with diamonds and other objects of priceless value.
Steve and myself it seems that one of the greatest challenges was the visit to the sarcophagus of Alexander of Macedon. This huge, and in many ways characteristic historical exhibit, has been the biggest attraction for visitors who come to the Archeological Museum of Istanbul ever since it was first discovered in 1887. Even though the sarcophagus is named after Alexander of Macedon, it does not belong to him, but most probably to King Abdolonumis, who was the last King of Sidon (Saida) in present-day Lebanon, a city which at that time was a part of the Ottoman Empire.
The sarcophagus is named after Alexander as a result of the hundreds of engraved figures which symbolize the conquests of Alexander. At the same time, because of the large decoration on the relief devoted to the great warrior, the sarcophagus was named not after the ruler, but after Alexander of Macedon.
According to the written documents the twenty two sarcophagi discovered in 1887 at Sidon represent the biggest discovery in classical archaeology. Among them, by all means, the sarcophagus of Alexander of Macedon deserves special attention, found by a villager from Sidon who was working on the field and discovered this important monument.
During our visit, the sarcophagus of the greatest general in the history of mankind – Alexander of Macedon – we found in one of the biggest museums in the world, the Archeological Museum of Istanbul. This significant, and in many ways characteristic work, was discovered by a peasant from Sidon, who discovered this important work while working in his field.
The realization of the sarcophagus of Alexander of Macedon was conducted by the Bey Osman Hambdi, who was director of the Osmanli Museum at that time. We remained in front of the sarcophagus f Alexander of Macedon for quite a long time. We watched, analyzed, wondered, admired and remembered the great accomplishments of Alexander of Macedon, who together with this army from Macedonia and from other places reached as far as the Indus River.
Filled with admiration and strong feelings towards the past of the Macedonian people, we left the museum with the sarcophagus of Alexander of Macedon and set out towards “St. Sophia” (Hagia Sophia).
This monument dominates over Istanbul as if built to be seen and felt from all parts of the city. It is difficult for the visitor, on the basis of its present appearance, to discover the varying fate of this building. Thus, written documents claim that for 150 years St. Sophia was appreciated as a wonder of the world impressing everyone because it is a monument of the tremendous culture of mankind, as has never again been built.
The changing fate of St. Sophia, from the Christian church of all churches, to the Islamic mosque, and finally to today’ museum, has left traces everywhere: in this form, the numerous additions, renovations, and changes. Only the magnificent cupola, whose dome stretches 56 meters above the nave of the church, has not lost any of its priceless value and beauty. It served as model to many eastern mosques. King Constantine the Great first built a church in the place of today’s St. Sophia, when he proclaimed Byzantium, under the name of Constantinopolis, as capital of the eastern Roman Empire, and called this church “Great Church”.
Two hundred years later this church, and a large part of Constantinopolis, was burnt in a fire during the rebellion against King Justinian. However, Justinian built another church, even bigger and more beautiful than the first. Antemie of Tral and Isidor of Milet, the most famous constructors of the Eastern Roman Empire made sketches for St. Sophia. But, the King constantly monitored the development of this project. It was whispered among the people that an angel had shown him the building plans in his dream. Construction work cost 360 centenarius (18 tons) of gold.
For six years tens of thousands of craftsmen collected all the valuables of the Eastern Empire, the shiniest marble, the most beautiful columns, and golden mosaics were made to decorate the walls. When it was completed St. Sophia became the major temple of Christianity. It remained so until the Turks conquered Constantinopolis in 1453, bearing the name of Istanbul since then. The church was turned into a mosque, and Kemal Ataturk declared St. Sophia a museum.
Otherwise Justinian I was born in the village of Taor, near Skopje, in Macedonia and was a Byzantine emperor, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Christian and Orthodox theologian. Endeavored to restore the power and size of the Roman Empire was weakened by incursions of barbarian tribes. Famous for the expansion of the empire, primarily with military campaigns and after his marriage to the controversial Empress Theodora. History remembers him as the most coders of classical Roman law. Justinian was one of the most important figures in late antiquity, and it ends the period of prosperity in the Byzantine Empire until the IX century.
In addition to the legendary St. Sophia we also visited the Horse Square which is part of the Byzantine hippodrome with three magnificent monuments: the Theodoesius obelisk, the Snake column, and Constantine’s column. We visited these monuments in the afternoon hours, when the number of visitors is small, unlike the morning hours. Therefore, we had sufficient time to admire their size, construction and transportation, especially the Theodesius obelisk which arouses great interest in every visitor.
“Sultan Ahmet”, or Blue Mosque, is situated not far from these monuments. We visited it in the afternoon hours, when the number of believers was insignificant. Here we found out that this mosque was built in the period 1609-1616 and represents a masterpiece of Turkish construction. Its interior is of blue and green marble; it has 260 windows, mostly of crystal glass; inside it has a king’s box to which he sultan could come riding a horse. It is one of the most beautiful mosques in the world, which for a long time had the aim of symbolizing the power and strength of the Turkish sultans.
We visited the St. Stefan church, known as “”Iron Church”. We were informed that according to the ancestor’s words about this church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian patriarch, but built mainly with the money and donations of the Macedonians in Istanbul. Its construction began in 1849, when a migrant named Stefan bought a piece of land for the construction of a church where magnificent architectural edifice stands proudly today.
This church was first constructed of wood, but was set on fire several times. For this reason, the believers who were mainly Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia, ordered an iron church from Vienna in 1891. This was later transported by hip and constructed in the same place of the previous church. The church was consecrated in 1898 by an exarchate bishop and even today priests from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church exclusively come to satisfy the religious needs of the Macedonians.
We visited the “Iron Church” of St. Stefan in the afternoon, and later bowed at the St. George church, situated within the complex of the Universal (Vselenska) Patriarch. Here we were also informed that approximately 1,500 Orthodox Christians, amongst whom mostly Macedonians and Greeks, visit this picturesque church with numerous significant icons and ornaments.
That is the Istanbul Bosphorus which I visited with Steve Pliakes where we spent memorable moments and currently holds our memories remained in everything that we saw for us Macedonians, especially ancient Macedonia, which, for the Turks have a special respect. All these historical facts and the existence of Macedonia and the Macedonian people have support and a special place in the history of modern Turkey.
To be continued
By Slave Nikolovski-Katin
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