OCTOBER 2011: ISTANBUL BASILICA CISTERNS

This was one place we hadn't planned in advance to visit as it wasn't in the guide book, but coincidentally we read an article about it in the 'Sunday Times' just before we arrived.
It turned out to be the high-spot of our trip!

http://www.ibb.gov.tr/sites/ks/en-us/1-places-to-go/museum/pages/basilica-cistern.aspx

There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul’s most unusual tourist attraction.
Contrary to James Bond, who had to row his way through Istanbul underground cistern in From Russia with Love, you can take a stroll in the forest of hundreds of marble columns and enjoy the subterranean cool on a hot summer day.

Underground Cathedral

The entrance to the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul is across the street from theHaghia Sophia, opposite the yellow building of the Tourist Police inSultanahmet. This immense underground water container was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in 532 to meet the water needs of the Great Palace. This marvelous piece of engineering only confirms yet again that those were the heydays of the Byzantine Empire.

The Basilica Cistern, which borrowed its name from the Ilius Basilica, is 143 meters long and 65 meters wide. The roof is supported by 336 marble columns, mostly in Ionic or Corinthian styles, each measuring 9 meters in length. Spaced at four-meter intervals, they are arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each.

The cistern could hold 80.000 cubic meters of water, coming from theEğrikapı Water Distribution Centre in the Belgrade Forest, 19 kilometers from the city. The water was transported to the city center via the 971-meter-long Valens Aqueduct (Bozdoğan Sukemeri) and the 11.545-meter-long Mağlova Aqueduct (Mağlova Sukemeri), which was built by Emperor Justinian I.

The cistern was forgotten for centuries and only accidently rediscovered by the Frenchman Peter Gyllius in 1545. While researching Byzantine antiquities in theAfter cleaning and restoring the Basilica Cistern, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality opened it to the public in 1987. After descending into the underground water facility via a flight of stairs, visitors can take a stroll on the concrete walkways, enjoying the subdued lighting and the cool temperatures.

Make sure you walk all the way to the far left-hand corner of the cistern, to see the two Medusa heads ..Both heads are casually used as column bases; one positioned upside down, the other tilted to the side. Both their positioning as their origin remain a mystery up till now, although rumor has it that they were recycled form an antique building of the late Roman period.

Medusa, a sea nymph, was the most beautiful of the three gorgon sisters. She was courted by Poseidon, and made love to him in a temple of Athena. city, he noticed that people in the neighborhood not only got a hold of water by simply lowering buckets through holes in their basements, they miraculously sometimes even caught fish this way.

24 April 2012: AMMAN, Jordan

Marney and Andy Clarke had invited us last Christmas to visit them in Jordan before Marney's contract at the International school in Amman ended in July 2012.

We'd never been to the Middle East before so we were much looking forward to experiencing a new culture,not  least after the Arab Spring. And with its long-standing links to the UK, Jordan was undoubtedly a 'safer' option for sampling the region.

So on 24 April we set off from Gatwick. The plan was to stay with Marney and Andy in their flat in Amman and to use it as a base. We'd hired a car, and were determined to see as much of the country and the sights as we could in our 8 days there.

Armed with detailed instructions, provided by Marney, for the drive from the airport to their flat, we set off in the rust-bucket we'd hired. And it was quite a baptism of fire!! Jordanian drivers take no prisoners. It's every man for himself here.

It was with more than a bit of relief we navigated the 5th Circle, found the HSBC building and parked outside the flat.

25th April 2012: JERASH, Jordan

First stop was to be Jerash, the best-preserved and most explorable Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean, about 50 kms. north of Amman.
Our first day, and a hot one. It had been our intention to drive further north after Jerash to Umm Qais, another Roman remain and from which you can look across at the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee, but we under-estimated the distance and time involved and so had to change our plans.
It's a lovely drive to Jerash, once you've survived the intersection at the 8th Circle, through beautiful countryside lush with eucalyptus and olive trees. Being the Middle East, however, the Real World is never far away, the road taking us past Baqaa, the biggest of Jordan's UN-run Palestinian refugee camps (today a city of 100,000 plus).

Archaeological evidence shows the Jerash area to have been settled since around 1600 BC. The city itself (named Gerasa) was founded by the Greeks around 170 BC, and 'liberated' and granted autonomy by the Romans under Pompey in 63 BC. It was in the century after this that the basic town plan as it survives today was laid down.

Hadrian's Arch

This is the first monument we saw as we approached Jerash from Amman, an 11-metre high triple-arched gateway which originally stood to almost 22m. It was built in 129 - 131 AD to honour the visit of the Emperor Hadrian. Being sited over 400m. from the city walls, it was presumably expected to be a great city gate that was to be the entrance to a planned, but never built, vastly-expanded city.

The Hippodrome

This array of small arches belongs to the reconstructed south wall of the Hippodrome, the scene of ancient Gerasa's sporting festivals and chariot races. 244m. long, and seating 15,000 spectators, it is the smallest hippodrome so far discovered in the Roman Empire. ( The Circus Maximus in Rome could seat 157,000.)

RACE reenactments.

1. Chariot Racing.

A company called RACE (Roman Army and Chariots Experience) stages in the Jerash Hippodrome reenactments of chariot races and displays of Roman military prowess. Based on extensive research, shows take place twice daily, all the costumes and equipment being made locally and everyone involved in the show being from Jerash.

We sat where the original spectators would have been sitting.

The Hollywood image of chariot racing, as shown in 'Ben Hur' and other films, is of gleaming, armour-plated war chariots, but in reality the Romans used chariots only for racing, not in battle, building fifty-kilogram wicker-work chariots, drawn by two horses.

     2.    Roman Legions and Gladiators.

Other Sights in Jerash

Our visit coincided with the arrival of numerous groups of Jordanian school children, all female. (We couldn't figure out whether teenage boys were not taken there or whether there was a policy of segregating the sexes during visits.) We proved to be a greater attraction to many of the girls than the site they had been taken to, following us around and constantly wanting us to take pictures of them with us! And, did they make a lot of noise!!

South Gate

• The Cardo - a 600 m (660 yards) colonnaded street that runs the length of the city. It was once lined with the city's major buildings, shops and residences. A complex drainage system lies below the stone paving. 

• Temple of Artemis - impressive temple ruins dedicated to the patron goddess of the city.

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• Forum (Oval Plaza) - an unusual wide, asymmetrical plaza at the beginning of the Cardo (or Colonnaded Street), built in the 1st century AD. The Oval Plaza is 80 m by 90 m (262 ft by 295 ft) and is enclosed by 160 Ionic columns.