This past Friday our Anatolian Civilizations class, which is an archeao-history type of class covering the late antique through Byzantine periods, went on a trip to the Thracian hinterlands West of Istanbul. Thrace is the territory between modern day Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, and in late antiquity was a territory that was used for agricultural production as well as defensive measures for the Byzantine Empire.
We left campus at 7 am, and like on any good field trip, we first and foremost had to stop (quickly) to pick up some good breakfast. Murat and Elif, our wonderful colleagues who can navigate their way around any Turkish pastry shop, volunteered to retrieve the goods.
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| thank you Murat and Elif for ordering the breakfast |
and Nick enjoyed his homemade muesli, that smelled delicious to fellow foodie, yours truly...
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| Nick's delicious muesli mix |
We reached the Thracian city of Vize and disembarked near the top of a vast plateau. Vize marked the beginning of the water supply to Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire, and continued to be an important city during the Ottoman Empirem with its strategic military location close to Edirne. It has the perfect natural topography for an acropolis that looks down over plains, the crucial element of any good military defense system in antiquity.
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| oh academics!!: intently studying photocopied pictures of the mosque located directly next to them (posed photo) |
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| Eastern side of the now-mosque, positioned to allow for morning light to shine through |
The Ayasofya Camii (separate from the Istanbul Ayasofya) is a building located in Vize that was probably constructed in the late 8th or early 9th century AD - some have argued it wasn't built until the 12th or 13th centuries. Vize was a Christian community during the Byzantine Empire that was known as a place of exile during the time of Emporer Valens, c. 5th century AD. Constructed as a cathedral, the building was converted into the Ayasofya mosque sometime after the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet the Conqueror (apt title) in 1453.
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| restored facade of the now-mosque |
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| removed indents for the previously-displayed crosses |
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| inside the (now) mosque |
Reinforcements of uncut stone and brick within the Ayasofya connote that restructuring occured during the middle Byzantine period, sometime after 7th century. In addition, the absence of specific windows indicates the structure was partially destroyed at some point and rebuilt without the windows. This all should give you an idea of how difficult it can be to date a structure, as well as how much is needed to take into account when observing a structure that has existed for so long...
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| Trevor's presentation, interrupted by/interrupting a prayer service |
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| some spolia |
In this part of the world, we have to keep in mind that in many sites, the history of settlements will contain remnants from the Ottoman, Byzantine, Roman and even Greek periods. In Vize, it is clear that a Greco-Roman settlement was here, evidence by the towers seen below, which began being constructed in the late Roman period.
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late Roman tower
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| regally processing through the arch |
Before heading to the next item on our itinerary, we decided to have a picnic lunch on the Black Sea, located just a few minutes away.
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| mmm the Black Sea...ongoing question to those who have been to Ireland: resemblance? |
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| Nick setting up his perfect lunch on the beach |
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| picnic lunch on the Black Sea |
Our next stop was the Monastery of St. Nicholas, which had a very interesting English translated information guide - it's apparently a rare breed of the Ryzantinain period, not Byzantine, Ryzantine (I am sorry to make fun of poor English, especially when my Turkish is so bad, but this was just too funny).
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| terribly unfocused photo |
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| wall etchings inside the monastery, complete with a more modern 1916 etching |
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| view of the Black Sea |
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| just a pretty Thracian house |
We hopped into our trusty (?) bus and headed north to go see Anastasian walls and an aqueduct. On our way, we stopped to pick up a local product: buffalo yogurt and cheese. I sampled the cheese, which was tasty but incredibly salt (this coming from me means it really was salty, as I have a dangerous affinity for salt) and opted for a small clay bucket of buffalo yogurt...to see how the buffalo yogurt turned out, check out Dumi and Joans' International Apartment of Cuisine: November.
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| "Buffalo Yogurt and Cheese" |
After our stop at the buffalo-product market, we get back on the road and take a turn onto a narrow dirt road that led to the Anastasian aqueduct. About 10 minutes down said road, the driver announces he will not go any further, which is turns out is a good decision, because we are already stuck.
After about 45 minutes of strategically placing leaves and branches underneath the bus, and lots of pushing, the bus is free. Yay archeaological teamwork!
We (or a couple of us) decide that we will not let a little stuck in the mud get in our way of seeing the aqueducts, and at 4:20, as the sun is beginning to go down, we start the "2k" trek down to the aqueducts. I am thrilled, as I have been inkling to go hiking in the Turkish countryside ever since I got here. Others are not so thrilled...but we persevere!
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| the sun getting close to setting as we make our way down to the aqueducts |
As we make our way down, it is somewhat worrisome that the sun is close to setting, and the longer (and further down the steep, steep hill) we go, the more we realize how far we will have to come back - but it's worth it. After making our way down into the valley, crossing a stream and finnagling our way through some brush, we see the aqueduct in the distance...
and it is massive...
We ogle at the aqueduct for a good five minutes before it hits us that we really must turn around and be on our way...we have a little difficulty finding the path we came down on, and we have the thorn scratches to prove it. I, however, loved the whole experience, and would of been OK camping out for the night had we the right materials. Just to give you an idea of the situation....
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| making our way back out of the valley |
We eventually found the path, and after hiking up the steep hill, find out trusty bus. Exhausted and with no sunlight left, we have to skip the Anastasian Long Wall, but we are all ready to find a restaurant and open the two bottles of wine our professor promised us. Vegetable soup, homemade manta, rice pudding (and Duncan Hines banana cake) and wine; the perfect ending to a long and productive day out in the field.
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