Istanbul　Sketch　　　　　　　Takeshita　Kinga

Last year I had the opportunity of living and studying in Istanbul, and hereI would like to share some of my impressions, related to history and culture from a Hungarian’s view point.

Istanbul  is a city of glorious past which extends over 26OO years. It was founded as a colony of  the Greek city of Megara, and was named Byzantion, Its strategical location made it excel among the cities of Asia Minor. Under the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great it  became the new capital of the Roman Empire in AD 33O and was called after his founder as Constantinople. It was considered the second Rome and the Slavs called it Tsargrad:  Royal City. It fell to the Turks in 1453 and became the capital of the Ottoman empire. The name Istanbul is derived from the phrase eis ten polin, which means ? to the city” and was interpreted by Muslims as Islambol; ”full of Islam”.

For Hungarians the main sights of Istanbul: the royal palace of the Topkapi Sarai, the Sublime Porte (the govermental office of the Empire) and the prison fortress of the Seven Towers (Yedikule) symbolize the oppressive might of the Ottoman Empire. But there are also monuments with gentler connotations, such as the Zeyrek Cami which was called in Byzantine times the Monastery of the St Saviour Pantocrator. It  is the burial place of  Empress Irene who was the daughter of St. Ladislaus (Laszlo), the king of Hungary and married to the Byzantine Emperor John II Commenus. Her piety earned her sainthood in the Orthodox church and her portrait is preserved among the mosaics of the gallery of the Hagia Sophia, along with her husband  and her son.

Another interesting Hungarian?related monument is the church of St. Benoit in the district of Galata where the original sites of the tombs of Prince Rakoczi Ferenc, his mother Zrinyi Ilona, his son, Joseph and his general,  Count Bercsenyi and his wife can be seen. Their remains were brought home with great festivities to the cathedral of Kassa at the turn of the twentieth century, but the original location at the St. Benoit still continues to guard their memory. Also, in Rodosto, the modern Tekirdag, a lovely town on the European side of the sea of Marmara, Rakoczi’s old house is turned into museum and contains a collection of Kuruc memorabilia and personal objects and has a room devoted to the memory of his faithful secretary, Mikes Kelemen whose famous letters were recently translated into Turkish.

In the old Christian cemeteries of Sisli district of Istanbul the fugitive soldiers of Kossuth found resting place. Count Szechenyi Odon, who became the head of the firemen in Istanbul, also lies among them. I participated in a wreath laying ceremony in their memory.

Hungarian immigrants greatly contributed to the international culture of Istanbul during the past centuries.  Printing was introduced to Turkey in the eighteenth century by a Hungarian from Transylvania whose Turkish name was Ibrahim Mutafarrika.

In the late nineteenth century the affinity of Hungarian and Turkish languages was advocated by the scholar Vambery Armin who was once tutor to the Sultan’s children. Turanism ?while rejected in scholarly circles, gained following among poets, ethnographers and politicians in the early twentieth century. The development of Turkology in Hungary and strengthening ties in cultural cooperation (inviting Turkish students to Hungary, launching ethnographical expeditions to Asia Minor) opened new perspectives. Bartok Bela collected folk music in Asia Minor. The turmoils of the two world wars and subsequent political changes set back this process, but modern Turks continue to believe in our common cultural heritage, in the brotherhood of the two peoples, thus upholding the old myth of the Hungarian chronicles, concerning the common Hun/ Magyar origins. The figure of the formidable Hun conqueror king Attila is popular among Turks as his victories over the Romans prefigure the Ottoman conquest of Europe. (The Szeklers of Transylvania trace their origin to Attila’s younger son, Csaba who was born according to legends from his Byzantine wife, the princess Honoria.)

While cherishing their Asian roots, there is also a growing feeling of pro-European consciousness in accord with new political realities in Turkey. It was a fascinating experience to visit their land and learn about their cultural values.