You may think that a city as noisy, crowded and chaotic as Istanbul would offer little in the way of any Zen-like moments in which to ‘be the Tao’, but you’d be mistaken. The Chinese word ‘Tao’ is a fundamental part of the Turkish language, in the form of ‘doğru’ (similar to Mongolian ‘töv’ and Japanese/Korean ‘do’), meaning straight, true, or right, and is further related to the words ‘doğa’ (nature) and ‘doğuş’ (birth) all of which suggests that, at least on a subliminal semantic level, we appreciate there’s a mysterious underlying harmonious ‘way’ that guides life, nature, ethics and existence, and is more primordial than religion, philosophy, or even consciousness. And although we may seem too noisy, querulous and herd-oriented to appreciate a fine moment of oneness with the universe, we too have our little Tao-Zen spots hidden amidst the superficial cacophony that surrounds us. Here are twenty places – and moments – worthy of simply ‘being in’…
1. The Haghia Sophia
There’s a trick to it: Go to the upstairs gallery, turn left, proceed to the very end until you’re in sort of a mini-chamber, wait until the camera-clickers are out, get in, rest your elbows on the marble balustrade, extend your head out just enough to block out any faces around you, plug in your earphones and play Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom on your MP3 player as you gaze at the floating dome above until you get to the Cherubim’s Hymn. Make sure to kick a tour guide in the nuts on the way out.
Haghia Sophia Museum (0212-522 09 89 / 522 17 50), Sultanahmet Square. Open daily (except Mondays) 9:30am-5pm.
2. The French Consulate courtyard
An oasis of tranquility located in the proverbial eye of the Taksim storm, this little Borgesian dreamscape comes alive like a Garden of Forking Paths as the sun on your face, the chirping birds, the murmur of voices, and the sound of people’s feet treading rhythmically over pebbles transforms your day into a mesmerizing moment that briefly hints at infinity before the muscular ezan from the ad hoc mosque with the tin minaret next door sweeps it all away in one fell stroke.
Fransız Kültür Merkezi (0212-249 07 76 / 252 02 62 / 244 44 95), Istiklal Caddesi 8, Beyoğlu.
3. The Cemetery
We Turks have two places to experience Zen: mosques and cemeteries. If you find any other place that’s Zen-worthy, we’ll set up a barbeque and a tape player and kick around a football while listening to depressing fatalistic music instead. But sanctity is something we’ll respect, and the cemetery is one of the most peaceful sanctuaries in the city. The Karacaahmet Cemetery in Üsküdar is the oldest in Istanbul and the second-biggest cemetery in the world. For extra ambience, play Radiohead’s ‘How to Disappear Completely’ on your MP3 pretending you’re a ghost walking amongst the graves – or better yet, play The Misfits’ ‘Zombies from Mars’ and pretend you’re a… um… Martian zombie?
Karacaahmet Mezarlığı, Üsküdar.
4. Dolmabahçe Palace
Never mind the palace itself, just go into the gardens on a sunny day, grab a bench looking out to sea and wait till a pod of dolphins crosses your path… Or go around back and watch jasmine leaves float in the pond in myriad patterns guided by invisible forces as peacocks stare eerily at the back of your head.
Dolmabahçe Sarayı, Beşiktaş.
5. “What the bleep do we know?”
What if the entire universe is, like, one massive atom in another universe that’s, like, one massive atom in another universe that’s, like… oh no, I lost my train of Zen thought. This film should clear it up though – or not – so go check it out at the film festival this month. The ‘bleep’ is of course a euphemism for ‘I’m too lazy to read A Brief History of Time, do you have something I can just watch instead please?’ The film even features a medium who channels the voice of a 35,000 year-old priest of Atlantis, but thanks to a serious face-lift, the priest doesn’t look a day over 34,960 years-old.
AFM Fitas, Taksim.
6. Gypsies selling flowers
Sit somewhere near Gypsies for twenty minutes and watch them – it could be by the Kadıköy wharf or on Valikonağı avenue in Nişantaşı. While everything around them whirls about in a bustling sprawl of busyness and ambition, they’re wise enough to know that the only thing that matters is a song, a dance, and pretty colorful things like flowers. They’ve got ‘not-giving-a-shit’ down to a Zen art.
7. Ataköy tennis courts
Head over to the Emlakbank tennis courts in Ataköy and step into the linear symmetry poised defiantly beneath the wild swirling sky above, as the rolling clouds clash and contrast with the lazy sounds of suburbia around you and time seems to stand still on the court. Once you get in the zone with your game you’ll feel like you’ve been playing tennis on that court, beneath that sky, all your life. BE the ball. PAY ten lira an hour.
Emlakbank Spor Tesisleri (0216 455 0153), Ataköy.
8. Bebek Park
Sit back and watch the sunlight glisten off the tiny ripples of the Bosphorus, from amidst the anchored yachts and rustic fishing launches, with the verdant hills, the seaside mansions, the mighty bridge, the Rumeli Hisarı fortress, and the far shores of Asia all captured in one majestic scope…
Bebek, next to the mosque and, unfortunately, McDonalds.
9. Ataturk Airport
People-watch in the best place ever: an airport. People in transit are out of their element, estranged and uncomfortable, making it the perfect place to watch so many of them in such a vulnerable state without being upbraided for staring. We recommend you only do this when you yourself are in transit, otherwise you seriously need to get a life.
Ataturk International Airport
10. Inönü Stadium
Lose yourself in a crowd of fanatics, hypnotized by the melodic chanting of tens of thousands of voices hollering in unison like a pagan ritual, fierce, loud and sanguine, forming a Leviathan-like being that fills the stadium like a protean mass before draining back out into the streets and dissipating after the final whistle. We are of course talking about football.
İnönü Stadium, Beşiktaş.
11. The Süleymaniye Mosque
This most splendid of Ottoman mosques has an aura of other-worldly mystery and serenity that envelopes you as soon as you walk into the couryard surrounding it, and amplifies ten-fold once you’re inside. Go alone and enter from the northwest gate.
Beyazıt Square, behind Istanbul University.
12. The Forest
There’s a picnic area near a small reservoir deep in the Belgrade forest that you might accidentally come across while mountain biking. Do this during the week and you’ll be completely alone, standing before surreal utilitarian shapes of stone slab tables that stand like remnants of a Dada art exhibit deliberately abandoned in a wilderness of trees, as if waiting for you to stumble across them.
Belgrade Forest
13. The Archaeology Museum
The aesthetic juxtaposition of architectural linearity with curvaceous stone-carved Greek and Roman statues, of prurient physical muscularity within an ordered, white, pristine sterility, all make this the perfect place to glide through and appreciate the vivid contrasts amid the silent gaze of dozens of ancient petrified eyes. Best museum in Istanbul.
Arkeoloji Müzesi (0212 520 7740/41), Topkapı Sarayı, Sultanahmet.
14. Ferry ride
The sun, the sea breeze, the waves, the seagulls, yadda yadda. Zen purists may scoff, but if you have an MP3, play Chopin’s prelude number eight in F sharp minor, Opus 28. Its undulating finale in the last few seconds is the musical definition of Zen and always seems in cadence with the sea around you.
15. Sit on a street curb
Sit on a curb on a small street in any working class neighborhood for twenty minutes. The cats, the children, the housewives, the street vendors, cars and tradesmen will all meld into a kind of chaotic harmony and suddenly you’ll realize that there actually is some sort of invisible order and mad sense to the anarchy around you.
16. Rumeli Hisarı
This ancient fortress should be visited during the week. The mighty walls, the melancholy emptiness and the cutting wind make for a haunting experience. You can hear the ghosts if you cup your hands over your ears… and happen to be insane.
Rumeli Hisarı Müzesi (0212 263 53 05), Yahya Kemal Caddesi 42, Hisarönü.
17. Watch tankers float by
This is Istanbul’s favorite pastime. Get a bag of sunflower seeds, find a solitary spot somewhere between Beşiktaş and Bebek, let your feet dangle above the swirling waters, and chit-chit-chit away as those big majestic ships pass you by.
18. Observe a construction site
If you can find a little opening, look in and watch the little workers toiling away in what looks like a massive ant farm or a giant aquarium. The contrast of depth and distance with that of the tiny human forms that occupy it makes it difficult to look away. Istanbul has a lot of constructions, but a good one to check out is the one in Beşiktaş opposite Polat Tower.
19. Santa Maria Draperis Church courtyard
Get away from the crowds at the St. Antoine Church and slink in off Istiklal Avenue into this sunken courtyard for a brief moment of peace and tranquility. Sit on the steps under the image of the Madonna, or go inside and spend some moments alone with your thoughts on a pew.
Santa Maria Draperis Katolik Kilisesi (0212 244 0243), Istiklal Caddesi 431, Beyoğlu-Tünel. Open daily 10am-12pm and 2-4pm.
20. Café Bunka
The Japanese have such a refined sense of aesthetics that they make everyone else look like complete pigs. Step into Café Bunka in the Japanese Cultural Centre and you’ll immediately feel the big dirty city wash off of you as you partake in a tea ceremony, eat some sushi, and enjoy a long-needed respite from the bustling anarchy outside. There’s something about polished stone and wood together that just makes you feel all light and fluffy inside.
Japon Kültür Merkezi (0212 293 3249), Ana Çeşme Sokak 3, Taksim-Beyoğlu (behind the French Consulate). Open daily 12 midday-11pm.
