Tire: Turkey’s time machine 

20 Kasım 2007 20:00 · Editor · Etiketler turkey

History and the present day nestle within one another in İzmir's historical district of Tire. Home to the old city, the plain across which the Küçük Menderes River wends its way is like an open-air museum.

Set at the feet of the Bozdağlar Mountains, Tire's unique attributes are enough to make one forget the very concept of time.

You enter the city through a landscape of fields and fertile soil. The modern sites you initially encounter should not confuse you; all will be revealed shortly. Soon you will encounter a multicolored structure hidden in exquisite detail as you wander the streets of Tire, where multiculturalism is written into the very stones of its historical buildings and reflected in its handicrafts, bazaar and cuisine.

Consider yourself lucky if you find yourself in Tire on a Tuesday, for that is the day that Tire's much-acclaimed bazaar sets up stall. The morning begins with "Turkish" prayers broadcast over municipal loudspeakers. Honesty and justice are emphasized in the prayers, and local tradesmen and customers alike participate. Villagers form the majority of vendors at the bazaar and most of their products are natural, organic even -- the enticing scent of hand-cultivated fruit and vegetables hangs in the air. One of the most eye-catching elements is the great number of female vendors. Coming from mountain or plain villages these women devote as much energy to selling their goods as they do to keeping up a steady flow of chatter with one another.

Nihat Günaydın is at the bazaar to sell some lambs he brought from Yeniova village. He also had to sell his beloved lamb which he called Sürmeli (meaning "eyes blackened with kohl" for YTL 120. "I would not have sold him if I hadn't been so in need of money,"' says he. Ali Ezgin from Buruncuk village has started to work at his mother's stand. Binnaz Teyze notes that she needs her son's help due to her advancing years.

You come across numerous long-established professions as you continue through the alleys that encircle the old bazaar. Makers of packsaddles, felt, string, rope, harnesses, quilts, bath clogs, halters and mats remain, though many are only just surviving. Packsaddle craftsman Kamil Bezcioğlu remarks he has been engaged in the business for some 60 years and believes he is among the last practitioners of his profession. Noting he has not found any apprentices, Bezcioğlu explains that he also sews cushions for "?ark kö?eleri" (literally "oriental corners," an area of a room decorated in the traditional style in which seating is provided in the form of floor cushions).

A traditional tinsmith is another outstanding sight in the bazaar. Mehmet Usta (usta is a title meaning craftsman) says he has long been engaged in the profession. Concerned about the drop in demand for his goods, Mehmet Usta works the bellows with one hand while completing orders with the other.

Tire's ubiquitous coffee houses are to be found at every turn; traditionally places for men to gather and chat whilst smoking nargile (water pipes) and sipping coffee, the coffeehouses also cater to a newer generation and even foreign guests. Germans Horst, Renate, Kerstin and Erika have settled in Turkey and are occasional visitors to Tire's local coffeehouses, where they gather to drink tea. Although they say that Germans are not that fond of tea the group explains that they choose to live in Turkey because they love the country and the kindness of its people.

The historic streets of Tire are studded with mosques, hamams (Turkish baths), külliyes (complex of buildings adjacent to a mosque) and libraries. The small 15th-century mosques are particularly fine. The earliest Ottoman masterpiece in the district, Yeşil İmaret Camii (Green İmaret Mosque) is outstanding for its decoration, ebony detailing and glazed-brick minaret. The mosque features the first example of a half-dome structure in Anatolia. Tire Central Bazaar, which includes the Ye?il İmaret Zaviye (a small dervish lodge), is also host to Kapan Caravansary, Kutu Hanı (Box Inn), shops and a hamam.

Yeni Camii (New Mosque) is the only stone mosque in Tire. Karakadı Camii (Black Judge Mosque) is also eye-catching, with a hexagonal minaret decorated with bricks.

Among other masterpieces you may see in Tire are the Kurt and Doğancıyan Zaviyes; Yoğurtluoğlu Külliye; Ali Baba Dervish Lodge; ?emsi Camii (?emsi Mosque) and Bakırhan (spring); Abdüsselam and Yeni Han (inn); Eski-Yeni Hamamı (Old-new Turkish bath); Terziler Hamamı (Seamstresses' Turkish bath); Yalınayak Hamamı (the barefoot Turkish bath); and the Tire Museum.

Necip Pa?a Library is one of the most significant historical settings in Tire. Within the library, which is set in a beautiful garden, are many masterpieces. Librarian Ali İhsan Yıldırım says it contains manuscripts of many well-known scholars including Avicenna (a famed Persian scholar) and Muhyiddin Ibnul Arabi (an Islamic Sufi scholar). Yıldırım adds that the library has welcomed people from all around the world who have visited to conduct research among its bountiful shelves.

The history of Tire dates back to the Lydian period, when it was known as Tyrha, meaning "castle," in the sixth century B.C. The dominance of the city by Turks began with the state of the Aydınoğulları in the 13th century and continued with the Ottoman conquest of the district in 1426. Though not often visited by high-profile guests in recent years, Tire once hosted many historical "celebrities" such as Muslim philosopher Sheikh Bedreddin, Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and 14th-century warlord Tamerlane (or Timur, as he is known in Turkish).

Over the history of the city, Tire has been host to members of the Bektaşi Sufi order, during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II; people from Ephesus, during the reign of Sasa Bey of the Aydınoğulları state; and Jews brought from Palestine in the time of Alexander the Great. In the early 20th century the "Greek" Turks were sent to Tire from Crete during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. This rich ethnic diversity spanning the centuries, along with a lively trade life, has given arts and crafts a remarkable vitality in this "time machine" among Turkish cities.

todayszaman.com

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Turkey Hotels | Hotels in Turkey 

19 Kasım 2007 18:58 · Editor · Etiketler turkey

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