TRAVEL JOURNAL TURKEY, SUMMER 2012 Wahid M. Amin, University College, Oxford As a student whose main interests lie in the history of medieval philosophy and the history and intellectual traditions of Islam in particular, a visit to Turkey was long overdue. I d heard from numerous colleagues and friends that Turkey is every historian s dream: anyone who knows even a little about the history of the middle ages will know that Constantinople (modern Istanbul) was one of the great centres of culture and politics during that period. For centuries it had been the hub of the Eastern Roman empire, swapping hands between the Christians and the Muslims in the year 1453 when the great Sultan Mehmet II, known as the Conqueror, entered the city after a 54-day siege. From that time, Ottoman Muslims would go on to create the longest ruling empire in the whole of Islam s history, a feat that is remembered and eulogised by Turks till this day. During this period the newly formed Istanbul rose to a prominence in the cultural history of Islamic civilization rivalled only by other imperial cities such as Shiraz and Delhi in the Safavid Persian and Mughal Indian empires respectively. For intellectual historians of Islam, this is a period filled with novelty and innovation: it saw the flowering of a culture that brought with it new and exciting developments in the arts and sciences. While some have drawn conclusions about the decline and decadence of Islamic civilization after the 13 th century most of which arose because of a fixation on previously thriving metropolises like Baghdad and Damascus others have argued that Islam s intellectual history continued to thrive, albeit in new frontiers and cultures such as those of the Ottoman Turks, the Persian Safavids, and 1
the Mughal Indians. But since these were perceived to lie too far east or north of the central Islamic (and Arabophone) lands, they were not believed to be as important as those previous, Middle Eastern communities. The greatest testament to the continuing strides that Islamic civilization made is the fact that anyone wishing to understand the intellectual history of Islam in the so-called Later Middle Periods (1250 1650) is compelled to look at the works of scholars written in the Ottoman and Persian lands, for it was here that the greatest developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, philosophy, and other arts and sciences was made. The subject of my DPhil examines the career and intellectual contribution of Naṣīr al- Dīn al-ṭūsī, a thirteenth century polymath who wrote one of the most significant theological summas of late medieval Islam. Unfortunately, there has not been a single study of this important thinker s ideas and contributions, at least in monograph form, that looks at his role in providing a philosophical basis for theology in Islam. In fact, the only notable works on this personality focus on his writings in astronomy and mathematics. My purpose for visiting Istanbul were thus primarily to track, find and collect manuscript copies of al-ṭūsī s and other Arabic and Persian authors works living during the final half of the 13 th century a period that I argue in my thesis was a formative period for the later history of Islamic theology and philosophy. To do this, however, required that I visit the historic libraries in Turkey, and none more important than the majestic Sulemaniyye at the heart of Istanbul. This journal records my adventures in exploring and learning from this wonderful city. I include photographs where possible for the places I visited as well the discoveries I made in connection to my research. Before proceeding, however, I d like to take this opportunity to thank the Roger Short Memorial Fund as well as University College, Oxford, for their kind award of the Roger Short Scholarship. I ve had a truly memorable experience in Turkey and my research has benefitted significantly due to this award, without which I would not have had the opportunity to visit Turkey or access to the vital historical material I needed to support my DPhil. Thank you! Arriving in Istanbul 2
Our flight was scheduled to take off in the early hours of Monday morning on the 7 th July, 2012. I d managed to convince my wife, Iman, to come with me to Turkey because I d wanted her to experience with me the delights the country had to offer. I also wanted a companion to share in the excitement of visiting historic sites such as the Hagia Sophia and the Bosphorus. My wife, especially, has a pedestrian way of dealing with the past: she likes to take her time and read all the plaques and information boards at key historical sites and likes to ensure she has all the information. I, on the other hand, am always filled with so much excitement that I rarely take the time to absorb what s being said in tourist guides or the headset that s offered on the walking tours: for me, the visual and aesthetic pleasures of just being somewhere important is enough the academic stuff could be read anywhere and at anytime, but the feeling one get s of being present somewhere historic is unique, and not to be wasted, therefore. Together, we re able to manage our holidays by meeting somewhere in the middle. About eight months prior we travelled to Sydney. The memories of our journey there haunted us both, I think: Ilhaam, our daughter, was only a year old and travelling with an infant on a trip to the other side of the planet was a trying and testing time for all of us. Thankfully, our time in Sydney was great, but I knew that Ilhaam would have a much more exciting time in Turkey given that she was now fast becoming an independent person, having discovered her sense for exploring the world, which by now was a source of joy and intrigue for her, and a source of fatigue and panic for us. For that reason, though we both carried some doubts about her, we knew that it wasn t going to be as bad as the previous trip to Sydney. Our itinerary was planned in advance: my wife and daughter would stay with me in Istanbul for five nights before returning back to London, and I d stay a further seven nights in order that I could pursue the more academic purposes of my trip. This proved to be a wise decision: I got to spend the early part of my trip travelling and sharing in the joys of Istanbul s tourist sites while also enjoying the special feeling of spending time with my family. Oxford s hectic and demanding schedule hasn t been so kind for us in terms of allowing me to enjoy time with my family without the pressures of research and academic life plaguing my mind. But this trip meant I was able to set everything aside for a week and enjoy my daughter s company I m so 3
glad, because we all had a great time as a family in a way that we hadn t for a long time. We arrived at Heathrow s Terminal 5 around 5:20am. I m always surprised by how busy Heathrow is at all times of the day. As was to be expected, Ilhaam was full of energy and found the vast open spaces of the terminal a joy to run around in; my wife and I, on the other hand, were happy to watch her do her thing as our circadian rhythms grudgingly entered normal waking hours. We landed in Istanbul after a relatively pleasant flight. Ilhaam was awake throughout the journey but for the most part she was very well behaved. Having the ipad with a few videos definitely helped, and the intermittent interruption of refreshments and meals made the inflight experience a cosy one for our two year old. I seem to recall one Roman historian making the insightful remark that food, drink and entertainment are usually enough to distract most people from challenging the authority of the ruling classes; in the case of our daughter this seemed partially true. Occasionally, of course, there were moments where her behaviour would need to be checked: she d stand on the seat, for example, and flap the window cover up and down to the nuisance of others in seats around us, but to my wife and I, seeing our daughter enjoy herself and take in the experience of flying on a plane was enough to make us quietly content. In Istanbul things started off with panic. My wife had left her hand luggage on the plane and with it both of our phones and my wallet! I got annoyed and clearly worried by this; so I took Ilhaam and instructed my wife to go and find someone who could help. She was gone for about ten minutes, during which time I had to manage an overexcited two year old and a fast increasing blood pressure. She returned with a form and instructions that we had to go see the airport s manager in his office. Once there, we were glad to hear that her bag had been found on the flight and was being brought over. In the meantime, we had to fill in a form that was in Turkish; and that s how we both had our first crash course in the language! Thankfully, the form was filled to the manager s satisfaction and after a few questions about what lay inside the bag, we were given our possessions without much fuss. (The previous year I d travelled to Iran and compared to that experience, this was so much more straightforward. Although I d had a fruitful time in Iran, the beaurocracy and 4
ubiquitous suspicion over British citizens was a constant hindrance: it was virtually impossible to get anything done without constantly having to convince people you weren t a British spy or an enemy of the Iranian state, not to mention the lengthy security checks that would need to performed over things which in other countries would never have been questioned.) With memories of the ordeals I d had to endure in Iran the year before, this temporary annoyance and frustration of losing items as important as a phone and wallet brought with it some wisdom and reassurance. At an early stage in our journey I d learnt that things in Turkey were more organized than in Iran, and that the system operated to the standards we d accepted as a normal state of affairs back home. This was reassuring, and thinking ahead to when I d have to travel to the famous libraries in Istanbul, I was instilled with some confidence that this time round I d be granted access to the manuscripts I so wished to examine. We were probably the last people to arrive at the baggage collection hall having spent almost an hour chasing the whereabouts of my wife s hand luggage, but after collecting our luggage and jumping into the nearest taxi we could find, we were fast on our way to the hotel we d booked the Sultan s Royal Hotel in Sultanahmet. We first laid our eyes on Turkey through the small oval shaped windows on our flight s descent, and now through the windows of the taxi we were being escorted in, we caught our first glance of life in Turkey on the ground. I guess that s how it works for most tourists, peering with hope and excitement through some window or other before one actually gets out to see properly the new sights and sounds of a foreign country. We travelled across the highway that passed along the Sea of Marmura toward the Sultanahmet region of Istanbul where our hotel was located; and seeing the water bathed in the Sun s rays, shining with a reflection of the blue sky above, was a delight to our eyes. It was hot and easily nearing thirty degrees, but there was a breeze and together, the Sun, sea and wind made for such a pleasant climate. I began to think to myself how bright and colourful Istanbul was, and thoughts about the environment occurred in my mind. England is quite a dull place: grey is probably the default hue in terms shade. And being a small Island, where space is at a premium, matters are not helped by the densely populated buildings that inevitably swallow up what light reaches our major towns and cities. Oxford is clever in the way it deceives us about the dullness of our ordinary city surroundings though, for in and amongst every stone 5
walled college there are patches of lawn that add colour and life to the academic greys that surround us most of the time; it is often these that give some of us the escape we need from the mental torture of academic life. So driving along in the back of this taxi hearing the sounds of some Turkish folk music, I wondered how much an effect brightness and colour has on our moods and productivity. I m sure someone has studied the effect of light and colour on human populations around the world About ten minutes into our taxi s journey we caught our first glimpses of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. The minarets and tombs of both landmarks are unmistakable, each as formidable as the other, and yet so different in their own unique ways. The feeling had now settled inside me that we were now in Istanbul on first sight of both mosques (the Hagia Sophia was converted by the Ottomans to a mosque in the 15 th century), and all my worries and anxieties about the next two weeks evaporated from my mind. If an hour before I was panicked at the thought of having been separated from my phone and wallet, I was now in a good place: calm and content. I smiled at my wife and we both explained to Ilhaam what it was she was looking at with excitement and bags of anticipation; both of us were now excited by prospect that in a few hours time, we d be standing inside those buildings. Predictably, Iman reached for DK Eyewitness Travel Guide and began immediately reading about the sites we were passing. As the traffic in the city began to intensify, our driver offered each of us a bottle of cold water. We sat back, enjoyed the sights and sounds Istanbul had to offer us, sipped our drinks and looked forward to arriving at the Sultan s Royal Hotel. It was close to midday local time when we arrived into Sultanahmet. The roads here were narrower, steeper and more crowded than the wider roads we d passed on our journey from the airport. This part of Istanbul was clearly ascending to an altitude. I d 6
read that walking around in the Sultanahmet region was equivalent to a moderate workout and now I could see why. Our hotel was located on a quiet road in a well maintained neighbourhood. Most of the buildings were hotels. Our hosts kindly unloaded our entire luggage and after a few minutes of courteous conversation with the hotel manager, a young and friendly gentleman by the name Coskun, we were shown to our bedroom. Ilhaam found great pleasure in pushing the buttons inside the elevator and it was pleasing for me to see that she was having a good time taking in all the new sights and sounds. I was glad to have finally got a chance to take off my shoes and put my feet up. Inside our room, which, though not very big, was large enough for us to feel comfortable. The minibar graced us with the opportunity to have some cold soft drinks, and the bed an opportunity to wind down and take stock of our first few hours in this new country. As we unpacked our luggage we talked about what we were going to do for the rest of the day. Visiting the main area of Sultanahmet and getting some food were quickly decided on, and so after taking turns to use the bathroom, we were soon back out in the pleasant air of Istanbul. Our hotel was located on a street called Cuc uk Aya Sophia, at the end of which was a mosque that was surrounded with a landscaped lawn area. We decided to go and have a look this would be our first proper excursion in Istanbul. The name Cuc uk Aya Sophia means small Aya Sophia, and its clear why the street is called by this name. The mosque was really beautiful. Its walls on the outside were decorated with pastel shaded stonework and adorned with colourful calligraphy and Islamic geometrical patterns. Inside it was breath taking. The floors were covered in traditional rugs and the ceiling consisted of small domed enclaves with patterns and designs all over. In the centre of the floor area was the Imam s minbar (i.e. the raised seat from which the sermon would be delivered) and hanging from the ceilings were huge chandeliers. Inside the cool interior of the mosque was a sense of serenity and calm. The windows allowed the Sun s light to peer 7
through creating shadows that added to the room s character. We sat on the ground, allowed ourselves to take in the moment, whispered to each other so as not to disturb the peace, and then made our way back out into the hot courtyard area. This was a perfect spot for some family photographs. 8
We soon made our way up the steep climbs of Istanbul s old cobbled streets towards Sultanahmet Square, a huge open space between the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia. This part of the city gets its name from Sultan Ahmet I, who built the Blue Mosque. Opposite is the Hagia Sophia, an outstanding example of early Byzantine architecture. A neat oblong square next to the Blue Mosque marks the site of the Hippodrome, a chariot-racing stadium built by the Romans around 200 CE. On the other side of the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet slopes down to the Sea of Marmura in a jumble of alleyways. This small area boasts a number of important cultural landmarks, including the Basilica Cistern (which dates from the reign of Justinian in the 6 th century), the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Mosaic Museum, the Baths of Rexelana (designed by the famous architect Sinan in the 16 th century), Istanbul s Crafts Centre, as well a host of smaller bazaars and restaurants. There was clearly enough here for one to do for the best part of a few days, but given that my wife and daughter were planning to leave in four days, we decided to try and get as much of the Sultanahmet area done the next day. In the meantime, we walked casually between the two greatest landmarks in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, basking in the Sun and enjoying the sights and sounds of children running around and chatter amongst the adults. Ilhaam was really enjoying herself, and so were we. 9
We had our first meal in the Sultanahmet Square in a bustling open kitchen restaurant. Its locality and menu was enough for me to realise that this was one of the more pricey options in the area. The meal was fine but not extraordinary. Nevertheless, it was nice just to be sitting around with my loved ones and finally getting some food. The traditional Turkish kebabs were quickly consumed; Ilhaam was still full of energy and enjoying what must have been her first culinary experiences of fine dining. It was just after 5pm when we finished and the time for Ilhaam s bedtime routine was quickly approaching. After settling the bill we began our journey back to the hotel, this time walking through the open lit bazaar on the way back. The marquees were filled with stalls on either side of a long and well lit corrider, each one selling something different. There were calligraphers, confectioners, tea sellers, coffee sellers, jewellery stalls, arts and craft displays, furniture stalls and lot more besides. Everything on sale was so carefully prepared and so pretty. I had to buy something, if only for the experience and nostalgia whatever I d buy would bring me about this bazaar when back in England. Naturally, the bibliophile in me found some handcrafted bookmarks with images of whirling dervishes and famous Sufi saints spoilt with choice I bought five different kinds. The Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazar, and the Topkapı Palace During the course of the next three days we crammed our mornings and afternoons with as much travelling and site seeing we could manage. Our days began early, usually around 6am. The hotel s breakfast was an easy incentive to get out of bed, consisting of every type of breakfast food imaginable. It was Tuesday and our plan for the day was as follows: visit the two main attractions in the centre of Istanbul, the 10
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque; have lunch at the Café Denizen an American cafe that a colleague of mine had recommended; and take a stroll along the coast of the Marmura Sea. One of the striking things about mosque architecture is the varied forms and styles they can take. There are things that every mosque has in common: the minaret from where the muezzin would traditionally call believers to prayer; the mihrab (prayer niche) from where the imam would lead congregational prayer; and the minbar (pulpit) from where he would deliver the sermon. Apart from these constants most other aspects of mosque architecture and design are susceptible to customization and creative licence. The Blue Mosque is no exception. One of the things that struck me as very unique about the Blue Mosque (apart from its Iznik tiles that gives it its blue colour) is the graceful cascade of dome and semidomes. This particular aspect of Ottoman mosque architecture is an ubiquitous feature in Istabul: all the mosques we visited placed an architectural emphasis on the dome. Because we entered through the courtyard entrance Ilhaam enjoyed the large open spaces to run around and speak to other tourists. We sat in one of the corners of the courtyard s several platforms taking a moment to read about the mosque s history and read some of the calligraphy that decorated its walls. Most of these were either verses 11
from the Qur an or traditions of the Prophet which extolled the benefits of prayer and worship. Ilhaam seemed content to be running around and exploring the area but eventually (about 15 minutes later) we made our way into the mosque itself. Once inside the first thing I noticed was how much cooler it was inside. The carpeted floors were soft to feel on the souls of my feet and air was fresher here than it was outside. The large open plan design of the mosque s interior and its high ceiling gave a sense of space and depth, spatially as well as spiritually. Ilhaam continued to run around and explore; and my wife and I continued to talk about the mosque, its design, and its history throughout pointing at various parts of the mosque here and there to draw each other s attention to some particular feature. The design and architecture clearly drew inspiration from Byzantine architecture. There are more windows in the Blue Mosque than in any other mosque I ve visited, and the high ceiling especially is characteristic more of a Christian cathedral than it is of mosques, generally speaking. Having said that there was also clearly an Islamic feel to the place. Geometrical patterns and designs, which feature so prominently in Islamic architecture, were to be found in every corner of the building. Its designers it seems had no hesitation in fusing and drawing inspiration from their conquered subjects just as much as the traditional art forms of their own Islamic culture, and throughout my time in Istanbul this aspect of the city s history would continue to impress on me: that this was a meeting place of cultures and peoples whose wrestling with each other militarily and politically gave way to new cultural forms in art, architecture, and ideas. 12
We spent about two hours in the Blue Mosque. I was keen not to miss out on any of the details and made a point of spending a few minutes at each of the important parts of the mosque, such as the sultan s lodge, the prayer hall, the Muezzin s quarter, mihrab and pulpit. From the Blue Mosque we made our way across the Sultanahmet Square with the Hagia Sophia in our sights, with occasional stops to examine the ancient Brazen Column and Egyptian Obelisk. The church of the holy wisdom, Hagia Sophia is among the world s greatest architectural achievements. More than 1,400 years old, it stands as a testament to the sophistication of the 6h-century Byzantine capital. The vast edifice was built over two earlier churches and inaugurated by Emperor Justinian in 537. In the 15 th century the Ottomans converted it into a mosque: the minarets, tombs, and fountains date from this period. The help support the structure s great weight, the exterior has been buttressed on numerous occasions, which has partly obscured its original shape. Since the fall of the Ottoman caliphate in the 20 th -century the Hagia Sophia was converted again, this time to a public museum. That means you have to pay to enter! 13
The Hagia Sophia is a phenomenal landmark; one imagines that the Ottomans who first conquered Constantinople would have been struck by its awe and majesty. The Hagia Sophia is a three-tier building, comprising a ground flow, galleries and upper walls and domes. Designed as an earthly mirror of the heavens, the interior of the Hagia Sophia succeeds in imparting a truly celestial feel. The artistic highlights are a number of glistening figurative mosaics remains of the decoration that once covered the upper walls but which has otherwise mostly disappeared. These remarkable works of Byzantine art date from the 9 th century or later, after the iconoclastic era. Some of the patterned mosaic ceiling, however, particularly those adorning the narthex and the neighbouring Vestibule of the Warriors, are part of the cathedral s original 6 th -century decoration. But this is not just a site belonging to the history of Christianity, for no sooner than the Ottomans captured Constantinople than the marks of Islam and Muslim culture soon began to be impressed on the building s character. The huge calligraphic roundels, each one displaying the name of one of the prophet s companions (who would later become caliphs of Islam) or members of his family, are unmistakable hallmarks of an Islamic presence. There is perhaps no place quite like this on Earth (apart from Israel/Palestine) where two great world religions each tell their own story about the same patch of land (in this case a single building). As a historian and student of religions myself, I can understand fully why this place has captured the intrigue and fancy of so many people, the public and academics alike: it is without question one of the most remarkable places for what it represents and tells us about the medieval world, and ideas about the place of religion, power, and empire. We took our time and followed one of the guided walking tours around the Hagia Sopha, and marvelled at the various relics and artefacts on display. We were soon being led through an enclosed staircase that took us to the second floor where the galleries were. On the south side we passed through the so-called Gates of Heaven and Hell, a marble doorway of which little is known except that it predates the Ottomans. Passing by the Gates of Heaven and Hell and turning around corner, we were shown the stunning Deesis Mosaid depicting the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist with 14
Christ. In the last bay of the southern gallery are two more mosaics, each as impressive as the other. The right hand one is of the Virgin Mary holding Christ with the Emporer Johnn II Comnenus and his wife Zoe on either side. Apart from the eyecatching roundels another clear Islamic mark on the building s appearance is the decorative calligraphy that circumvents the great dome itself. The highest parts of the once Byzantine cathedral are very obviously reserved for Qur anic scripture, a sign no doubt of the Ottomans wanting to impose their faith at the summit of this spectacular structure. Finally, we moved to the upper walls and domes area where there happened to be a photographic display and exhibition of images of the Hagia Sophia. Although very impressive, it seemed to me to be an irony that anyone would want to look at photographic images of the iconic building which they were standing inside! I was far more interested in the real thing and so passed by the photographic display, nonchalantly preferring to make my way towards the balcony area in order to catch a glimpse of the view that awaited me of the Hagia Sophia ground floor from the height of the third tier, a view that I will probably never forget. 15
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We d spent the whole day in the Sultanahmet area in a space occupying no more than a kilometre in length, but in which there was so much history in time, occupying the energies of two great empires and two great faiths. This was an experience that neither my wife nor I would forget. The next day we travelled on Istanbul s metro to visit the Grand Bazaar. The streets were littered with places to eat and herds of waiters waving their menus in an attempt to usher and entice pedestrians into their restaurants. The entrance to the Grand Bazaar is a deceptive one; it hides what lurks behind: hundreds of stalls and a maze like network of indoor alleyways each leading in a different direction on paths that seem to stretch as far as the eye can see. The place is a cacophony of noise and colour, with thousands of people skirmishing like ants. My senses were so excited by the sights and sounds I felt as if I was sucked into a black hole under whose gravity and pressure it felt as if I d lost my own sense of being. After walking along a few alleyways it became quite repetitious and predictable but no less intriguing. Many of Istanbul s fine crafts can be found here, from ornaments and furniture, to evil-eye jewellery and Turkish rugs. Haggling for a bargain was not as easy as I thought it would be but an experience worth going through nevertheless. Ilhaam befriended one vendor of handcrafted bowls from whom we were able to negotiate a reasonable price for some items. The whirling dervishes were now becoming a theme, and just like the bookmarks before on our first day in Istanbul I chose one of these designs to take back home. Leaving from one of the many exits we said goodbye to the Grand Bazaar and walked out onto a small quarter of private shops. There I found a calligrapher s studio and 17
wandered in to have a chat to Mustapha, a man in his mid-30s who specializes in Arabic and Latin calligraphy. He showed me some examples of his work and described with amicable enthusiasm the history of Arabic calligraphy and the novel ways in which Ottoman scribes added to this important tradition. He was also possessor of several seventeenth century manuscripts of the Qur an, and with these beside him I was given a half hour tutorial on the characteristic features of the calligraphy that they were designed in. His confidence and expertise were a wonderful complement to his good nature and polite manner; I could tell that this man was passionate about his craft and willing to share it with anyone willing to listen. I sat in Mustapha s office-cum-studio for what must have been about 45 minutes. When the time came for me to leave he offered to hand-cut a calligraphy qalam (pen) that would be suitable for me given that I am left-handed person. I was very grateful and felt tremendously honoured to have shared the company of someone so full of love and compassion and who was also a master craftsman. Iman and Ilhaam enjoyed some Turkish ice cream while I pursued my interests in Arabic calligraphy. I emerged from the calligraphy shop to find Ilhaam sitting on some delicately hand woven Turkish rugs put out by their vendor directly under the Sun s glare. She was lounging in the mid-afternoon sunshine having probably exhausted herself from running around and walking up staircases and alleyways in the Grand Bazaar. It was probably around 5pm so we started to make our way back to the hotel, looking forward to dinner and an early night after long day on foot than began in the early hours. 18
Thursday was Iman and Ilhaam s final full day so we didn t want to waste a single moment. Our itinerary for the day included a morning visit to the Topkapı palace, and afternoon lunch at one of Istanbul s famous grill houses, and an evening stroll through the northern areas of Istanbul where the famous Sulemaniyye mosque was situated. Even though we were packing our days with things to do we realized early in the week that it was impossible to get everything we had hoped to achieve done. Istanbul is full of places and things to do that even a week filled from dawn till dusk barely touches the tip of Istanbul s history and culture. It was a choice between a half day s trip along the Bosphorus or a trip to the Topkapı. Iman had read about the palace and decided that was where she wanted to go, so we set out straight after breakfast in that direction. Shortly after his conquest of Constantinople Mehmet II built Topkapı as his main residence. Rather than a single building, it was conceived as a series of pavilions contained by four enormous courtyards. From what I gathered from one of the guides, the palace served more than just a seat from which to wield authority and political power; it also housed a school in which civil servants and soldiers were trained as well as a royal library that was made accessible to the empire s learned men, dignitaries and diplomats. I wasn t expecting the palace to be as big as it was. Academic Pursuits: the Sulemaniyye Library, the Beyazit Library, etc. 19
Iman and Ilhaam left for London on Friday evening. Most of the early part of the day was therefore spent packing and getting everything arranged and in order for a safe trip home. I accompanied my wife and daughter back to Atatürk airport in a dejected mood: their going back felt as if my trip was also coming to an end; but I had to keep reminding myself that in some respects it was only just about to begin. I stayed in Istanbul for a further five days during which I would spend the majority of my time on research related activities. In the following pages I describe the academic and research aspects of my remaining stay in Istanbul. For large parts of the twentieth century our narrative of Islamic philosophy went something like this. Under the aegis of Abbasid caliphs, early humanist philologers and philosophers gathered in the royal courts of Baghdad during the ninth-century to translate Greek and Syriac works of ancient and late antique philosophy into the Arabic language. Soon after, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, Islamic philosophy emerged as a thriving and dynamic tradition, reaching its zenith in the work of the Persian philosopher Avicenna, only to fall into decline in the later parts of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as the Islamic world began to politically fragment and crumble under the pressures imposed upon Islamic lands by Crusader and Mongol powers. In 1258 the Mongols sacked Baghdad, the iconic centrepiece of Islamdom during the middle ages. The following centuries were believed to be one of decadence and decline; philosophy would not recover until much later, during the Safavid period (16 th century Iran), though even then what was meant by philosophy was more akin to a mystically laden rationalism and not, by western standards, philosophy per se. In works of western historiography, philosophy moved west into the Latin and Christian world to cities such as Toledo, Paris and Oxford; and as the story would have it told, as the east began its long slumber, the west was beginning to wake up from its own centuries long dark ages. Modern research, however, has shown that this is an inaccurate portrayal of the fate of Islamic philosophy, which continued for several centuries after the sacking of Baghdad. My research studies a crucial period in this history by examining the role of a cluster of thinkers caught in the midst of the Mongol invasions of the Islamic east, and yet still keen on pursuing scholarly activities in theology and philosophy. As many have shown recently, whilst the Mongols wreaked havoc in Islamic lands, plundering and butchering several thousands of people in their expansion westwards, they were not targeting Islam as such but rather the political Muslim dynasties that stood in their way. From a cultural and artistic point of view, the Ilkhans were quite favourable in 20
their patronage of Muslim scholarship and creativity. Naṣīr al-din al-ṭūsī was one such scholar who was a contemporary eye witness to the fall of Baghdad and who rose to such prominence in the court of Hulagu Khan (the Ilkhan prince) that he was appointed vizier, a position of immense importance and political power. In this role Ṭūsī managed to convince his patron and new ruler of the Islamic heartlands that an observatory be constructed in Maragha (now in modern day Azerbaijan) the Ilkhan prince obliged, and for a period of thirty years Maragha was a magnet for scientists and intellectual to gather, meet, discuss, and author new works in fields such as such as mathematics, physics, astronomy, philosophy, logic, and theology. Unfortunately, hardly any research has been done on this school, and for that reason we lack even a representational view of their activities. In such circumstances one of the surest ways of constructing a historical picture of this period is through analysis and examination of Islamic manuscripts, which are a crucial source for extracting information from which a historical picture can be inferred. The Sulemaniyye library in Istanbul is therefore one of the world s most important research libraries, housing several tens of thousands of Islamic manuscripts that were collected and gathered by the Ottomans once they had rose to prominence in the near east during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. For the next four days I d spend most of my mornings and days in this library, trawling through manuscript catalogues and databases in the hope of finding as much as possible about Maragha and the emerging philosophical tradition that it sprouted. On Sunday morning I made the trip by foot. I began walking at 8am and passed by nearly all the major relics and buildings of Istanbul as I made my way to the north of the city. I arrived at the Sulemaniyye Library close to 9:30am full of excitement. As I approached the courtyard of the mosque I knew I was walking on the same stone bricks that had been trodden by several hundred of Islam s greatest scholars in the past. With each step I took I was getting closer to the manuscript library, knowing that in that building were tens of thousands of manuscripts; and that somewhere inside, were works written by my scholar and the his associates. I was trying not to allow the excitement that was reaching tipping point inside me spill over out onto my outward physical appearance. I tried, without success, to act as normally as I could. As I approached the entrance of the library I was confronted by two security guards this I had expected. What I wasn t expecting was their friendly and unintimidating manner. After all, I was at the doorstop of what is considered one of Turkey s proudest cultural centres, the equivalent of what in England might be classified as a 21
National Heritage building. There were no security checks or awkward questions; all I had to do was hand over my passport and I was shown to the main entrance of the Sulemaniyye Library s reading room. What a marked contrast I thought to myself this experience was already proving to be compared to what I had had to undergo visiting some of the national libraries in Iran the previous year. Already I was feeling very positive about what lay ahead. Inside the library I was surprised to find how organized and meticulously planned the reading rooms were. What astonished me the most was that all of the Sulemaniyye s manuscripts had been digitally archived, meaning that anyone could sit at one of the computer terminals and browse digital images of manuscripts they are interested in. I still can t get over this fact and what a tremendous achievement it is that the scholarly and intellectual heritage of Islam has been preserved and cared for in this way. I spent many hours each day sifting through manuscript catalogues and reading old Arabic scripts of unedited and unpublished works. As I trawled through thousands of folios of manuscript pages I began compiling a database of works, authors, dates, and places that would help me to draw up a picture of the philosophical activity in the period I am interested in. I also found several works that are currently unknown to modern scholarship which shed important light on intellectual trends and developments in philosophy during later parts of the thirteenth century. An example of such a work is shown in the photograph below. 22
A lot more could be said here about my findings but that would stray from the purpose of this journal. Suffice to say that I have come back from Istanbul with a collection of works that are highly significant and important for my research but also for the field that I work in. During these days I also made visits to two of Istanbul s important research centres. The first, Centre for Islamic Studies, was situated at Üsküdar, and the Islamic Research Centre for Islam, Culture and Art in Besiktas. At both institutions I met several important figures who very kindly explained the work they are involved and also showed me around their facilities. I was given some free literature and introduced to several of their students. Both trips were very useful for me for the purposes of networking and learning about study of Islam around the world. In conclusion, I have taken much away with me to keep me busy for several years nevermind the time that I have remaining on my DPhil. I return to England with a greater passion and sense of purpose for what I am doing, and I am honoured by the generosity and support that this award has provided. I d like to thank the University College and the trustees of the Roger Short Memorial Fund for granting me this award. Wahid M. Amin 20 th July 2012 23