THE HAREM OF TOPKAPI PALACE IN ISTANBUL

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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Topkapi Palace was the residence of the Ottoman sultans for many centuries. It is said that almost 10.000 people lived in this palace to attend the sultan, who had about five hundred wives and many concubines. Black eunuchs supervised the harem. Every day a huge amount of food was cooked in the very large kitchen for the sultan and his court.

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Visiting Topkapi Palace, I asked myself, ‘Was the sultan happy?’ I don’t think so. A harem, although it is made of the most beautiful women in the world, cannot give happiness. Human desires are insatiable!

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I also asked myself, ‘What was the criterion to select the women for the sultan?’ Of course, it was physical beauty. They didn’t select women according to their wisdom or heart. In my opinion, it was a wrong criterion of selection. An intelligent and wise woman that really loves you is more worth than five hundred beautiful women with no heart!
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

VISITING THE GRAND BAZAAR IN ISTANBUL

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

20190614_125515Besides Haghia Sophia, what impressed me in Istanbul was the Grand Bazaar. It deserves to be visited not only for its bigness but also for its architecture, the kind of merchandise the shops display, and the swarm of thousands of people looking into the shops here and there. On the other hand, shop sellers try to allure passersby and ask them to enter their shops to buy something.
Imagining life in the Antique Grand Bazaar many centuries ago, I can see the swarm of slaves sent to the market by their masters to purchase this and that. I imagine patricians in their litters carried on slaves’ shoulders, who look at the comings and goings of people from the litters.
Opposite our room in the hotel, there are the remains of an old Roman aqueduct. Something of the old aqueduct still remains, but now where are those who haunted the Grand Bazaar in ancient times? What’s left of them? Nothing! Life in the Grand Bazaar will continue after us, from generation to generation, but with different characters!
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

 

THE BASILICA OF SAINT SOPHIA IN ISTANBUL

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

20190613_122337Visiting the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Istanbul is like reading a book of history.
The most ancient Basilica of Saint Sophia was built by order of Emperor Constantine, the one who liberalized all religions in the year 313 AD. The basilica was dedicated to Divine Wisdom, in Turkish Haghia Sophia, but it didn’t last long, because it was destroyed by a fire.
Later, by will of Empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian, the Basilica of Saint Sophia was rebuilt bigger than it was before. It is said the Emperor Justinian aimed at realizing a basilica bigger than the Temple of Solomon. Justinian is renowned for creating the Codex of Justinian, a body of laws which was the fundamental legal text for many years to come in continental Europe. This emperor was intolerant against the pagans. If they didn’t convert to Christianity they were executed. Due to his intolerance against the heathen, he shut down the Philosophy School of Athens.

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After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Basilica of Saint Sophia was converted first into a mosque, and later into a museum.
What surprised me was the closeness between Christian and Muslim symbols. In fact, verses of the Koran stood beside the mosaics portraying Jesus and Our Lady. This means to be tolerant.
In my opinion, only one God exists, the modes of worshipping God differ. The Basilica of Saint Sophia in Istanbul highlights the idea of tolerance and respect towards all religions.
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo