Turkey, with Black sea on its north, Aegean sea to west and Mediterranean sea to south, is a peninsula. The land where the Holy Ecumenical Councils of Christianity were held, the richness of ancient empires Byzantine, Ottoman…, the joyous treats of all four seasons… everything makes the country a preferred choice for tourists.
As for me the visits were a dive into my own beliefs, reiteration of my own existence, rather more a search into my ancestry. Far from being a mere touristic experience it gave me a spiritual rejuvenation of my inner self. Our visit was made into reality when by the Grace of Almighty, myself and our son and younger daughter joined my husband’s official trip to Turkey.
Istanbul the most populous region is where we embarked and the stunning aerial view was mesmerizing. Be it at anytime… day, dawn, dusk, night…. beauty of this city, set on water or more precisely on Bhosphorus … the waterway that marks the Asian and European sides of Turkey is literally picturesque.
One day of rather lazy roaming in shopping Malls and Sea life aquarium, the day came for the awaited visit to Hagia Sofia ( Divine Wisdom) once a Patriarchal Cathedral of imperial capital of Constantinople. With the help of a tour guide through viator , who broadly narrated to us, we could well get insight into this marvel and the underlying history. Though this is currently Hagia Sofia Grand Mosque, it remains open to every tourists. Walking through Hagia Irene ( Holy Peace) another Eastern Orthodox Church which remains without being converted to a Mosque made us more humble and graced to be in a place where our Holy Church Council of Constantinople was held.
It was more amazing to know that our congregation has Bishop House in Istanbul and with the help of our Bishop back home, we could easily find time for a visit there and get blessings as well. From the bottom of our hearts with full of thankfulness, we remember Mor Philexinos Yusuf was kind enough, even to arrange a translator for smooth communication.We are grateful to Mr Ilham for his valuable time as well as efforts to spare time with us, amidst his busy schedules.
A day trip to Bursa was a pleasant escape to a different topographical region and the ice laden mountain was worth seeing. Bursa has significant place in the history of Ottoman Empire. The scenic view from the top, on our journey down, was breathtaking. For shoppers, its a destination for authentic Turkish products like, silk cloth and also special preserves of variety of fruits and many natural products.
The weather was cool and some days it was drizzling too, which made it cold further more. Another couple of lazy days followed up enjoying Turkish food and idle shopping. The amazing tour of Ephesus was our next gear and our tour guide through Tripadvisor , to particularly mention Emre made it exceptional customizing to our needs and keeping on dot to time, as our return flight to Istanbul was on the same day. As for a traveller its better to go through tour organizers like Viator, Tripadvisor…. for any related tours.
Ephesus, another important place for Christians where history rests, is a place that should be included in your visit to Turkey. The ruins of this once majestic city is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site. The House of Virgin Mary, St John’s Basilica,the trails left by Holy Apostles everything makes you blessed and even more humbled in your life journey.
When that ended up our first phase of Turkey visit, we didn’t think that many more places that we had yearned to cover, but couldn’t make through, due to the restricted frame of time, was actually close at hand. Within a short span we were blessed to have another travel and myself and my husband was soon back to Istanbul again. After a long transit in Sabiha Gokcen we reached Kayseri airport at midnight and the chilling weather was enjoyable. Kayseri earlier Ceasarea, an inland trade centre, with Erciyes in the vicinity is now a industrialised city near to Cappadoccia ( an hour drive), the birth place of St Basil the Great, St Gregory and many Church fathers. The pleasant drive to Cappadoccia alongside of diverse topograghies, the ancient cave Churches, Goreme National Park, Kaymakli the underground city, the Fairy Chimneys, ancient potteries…. what not to mention, leaves you confusing.
In our itinerary, the next awaited destination was Mardin, Tur Abdin. The flight was early morning from Istanbul; Mardin was shone bright in morning sun with the vast stretch of fields, reminding us back home with nostalgia. The quiet and calm countryside was beautiful in itself, spreading some divinity to our inner as it was more spiritual to us to visit the Holy places and Dayoros, in particular of our own congregation which stand back to 3rd or 4th Century. Having had a very good driver who served our needs through whole of our travel in Mardin was strongly believed, was destiny. The randomly called taxi driver to Mor Bahanam and 40 Martyrs’ Church; turning to be our guide giving us access to our customized needs, something not just coincidental but miraculous. Hadn’t we got this person, we are sure we couldn’t get to complete our visit to all these holy places in a single day. The hospitality shown to us by the clergy and service persons at Mor Bahanam Church was never to be forgotten ,even the chit-chats during the tea time about our ancestry was overwhelming. Deyrulzafaran or Mor Hananyo Monastery (Dayaro Kurkmo), Mor Augin Monastery, Mor Gabriel Dayoro , are located some 80 km apart from each other in the Tur Abdin region. Again everything at these places were made through, by the valuable guidance from our Bishop Mor Osthatheos Isaac back from our homeland. We were warmly welcomed by the Bishops and clergy in these monasteries and we had blessings as well as humble tea servings with them. Deyrulzafaran is resting place to many Patriarchs, and we were well guided and narrated, by Rev Raban Gabriel, regarding us, as closely related family members. Since it was the time of Holy Lent we could even take part in one of the prayers lead by Bishop Mor Philaxinos Saliba Osman along with clergy in the Dayaro. Mor Augin Monastery is where the tomb of Mor Augin is situated and it was much more to be there in solace meditating. Finally, on our return back from Mor Gabriel Monastery ( the oldest functioning Syriac Orthodox Monastery ) along with blessings and prayers we were gifted by Bishop Mor Timotheos Samuel with some pistachios, walnuts & grapes, grown and prepared in Dayaro and many more value gifts. On our travel back from Mardin, it seemed like a farewell to something dear and hoped it not to be a lifetime journey, as deep in mind had longing to come back again…
Relaxing a day in Istanbul simply enjoying an evening cruise in Bosphorus marked the end of our second visit still holding the desire to see much more of Turkey…….
As always been our thanks note to Qatar airways and Booking.com for their flexible services and multiple options….Thanks again to Google Translate Team as the communication wouldn’t have been easier without your service…..
Pen N Picture 