Transition to Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Ancient but Still Growing

Istanbul straddles the border between Europe and Asia.

No other city in the world does so, and that unique geographic position has made it a major hub for trade between those distinctly different continents.

So, it's only natural that our excursion kicked off with a bus ride across a bridge to the Asian side, accompanied by introductory narration by our knowledgeable guide, who fortunately was not trying to divide his attention by also driving our bus through the snarling bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Bosporus Strait Dividing Europe From Asia

Our bus driver did an excellent job throughout the day, always keeping his cool despite the fact that traffic stretched our 9 hour tour into 10 1/2 hours by the time we returned to Azamara Journey after dark.

It's nice to say we've been to the Asian side of Istanbul, but a round trip ferry ride across the Bosporus Strait with a short time to walk around would have been ideal.

Two Mosques Beyond the Grassy Park.

We had an overnight stay in Istanbul, so anyone with sufficient motivation could have
returned to Asia the next morning.

Colonists from Megara, Greece, arrived in 667 BC, founding their colony which became known as Byzantium in honor of their leader, King Byzas.

As you may surmise, that name is where German historian Hieronymus Wolf came up with the name Byzantine Empire, which is also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire.

Praying Area for Men Only in Blue Mosque

At the time history unfolded, however, the citizens throughout the sprawling empire considered themselves simply Romans, with Byzantium shorthand to refer to the eastern region, like calling the northeastern region of the U.S. by the shorthand New England.

During the first few centuries of Roman rule, the city of Byzantium kept its original name, but for a brief time in the third century it became Angusta Antonina, named after an otherwise historically insignificant Roman royal.

Madonna and Jesus flanked by Emperors Justinian I and
and Constantine I at Hagia Sofia

The far more significant Roman Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity legal and then the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, declared the city to be the eastern capital of the Roman Empire on May 11, 330.
People began calling it Alma Roma (Eastern Rome), or the more complex New, Second Rome. Eventually, it became known as Constantinople, in honor of the Emperor who rebuilt the key city on a monumental scale similar to Rome itself.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar

Beginning in the tenth century, Armenians and Muslims began to refer to Constantinople as Istanbul, which essentially means "in the city," much in the way Knickerbockers might refer to New York as "the City," but it didn't become Istanbul officially until the new Republic of Turkey made it so in 1928.

After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, they referred to it as Istanbul in some records but the official name was Kostantiniyye, the Arabic translation for "place of Constantine,"

The rise of the Ottoman Empire from inception in 1299 to their conquest of Constantinople coincided with the decline of the Byzantine Empire. The Christian Crusades had met with some degree of success in retrieving the Holy Lands in the 1100s and 1200s, but the Muslims struck back, capturing Jerusalem in 1287.

Wes Outside Topkapi Palace Entrance

In thinking about the Crusades, it may be easy to think the Holy Lands were the sole focus of a united Europe, but then as now, there were all kinds of side intrigues and all out wars dividing the interests of world leaders.

In addition to Crusading, English King Edward I became known as the Hammer of the Scots for his fierce control of Scotland, and he also battled France. Edward I was a staunch supporter of the Knights Templar, with whom he fought side by side in the Holy Lands.

Flowers and Artifact by Wall Outside Hagia Sofia

King Philip IV of France had to fund his war with England using loans.

Jewish bankers helped finance Philip the Fair (a rather ironic nickname in retrospect), not knowing he would rid himself of that debt by arresting all the Jews in 1306, confiscating all of their property, and expelling them from his country, unpaid. Of course, this type of treatment of Jews has been a recurring theme throughout history.

Philip had also borrowed heavily from the Knights Templar, who, rich from their Crusading activities, had re-settled as power brokers in Europe in the 13th Century.

Blue Mosque Ceiling Section

However, King Philip could not take action against the Knights Templar as long as their powerful royal friend King Edward I lived.

That didn't stop Philip from plotting a scheme with his Counselor William de Nogaret to replace the Pope with one more amenable to the will of Philip, planning to have that Pope find the Knights Templar guilty of trumped-up crimes against the Church, so that Philip could cancel his debts and seize their wealth.

To those ends, Philip and De Nogaret first tried to get Pope Boniface VIII removed from power, which resulted in threatened ex-communication. Changing plans, De Nogaret kidnapped the Pope and imprisoned him. Soon, Boniface died from the harsh treatment.

He was replaced by Benedict XI, who also apparently wouldn't play ball with Philip and was poisoned by De Nogaret. Pope Clement V proved to be a keeper.

The final piece of the puzzle for King Phillip IV was the death of King Edward I in 1307.

Meanwhile, in response to the Ottoman Empire amalgamating Muslim kingdoms under their rule, Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay planned a Return of the Jedi (great link here) scenario.

De Molay headed to see Pope Clement V to receive Church sanction for another Crusade, not realizing Clem was in the pocket of Philip the Fair. The Grand Master obviously lacked Yoda-like powers of perception, because en route he accepted a royal invitation to meet with King Philip in Paris, hoping to get the French monarch on board with his plan and make it a slam dunk for Papal approval.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip had the Knights Templar arrested and subsequently tortured into confessions. The demise of the Knights Templar made the Ottoman Empire's rise easier.

Once the Ottomans took control of Constantinople in 1453, they owned the most valuable trade routes between East and West, and their wealth and influence grew, making the Ottoman Empire into the most powerful nation in the world.

Julie at Topkapi Palace Entrance

We would see the incredible wealth of their royal treasury for ourselves at Topkapi Palace, which occupies an area about a third the size of the wealthy country of Monaco.

Had Philip the Fair not hatched his plan against the Knights Templar, and they had successfully united Europe for another Crusade to the Holy Lands, then perhaps the Roman Empire would not have lost Constantinople.

Then, that young Italian Christopher Columbus might not have shown up before Queen Isabella I of Spain, hat in hand, asking for funding to find an alternative trade route to Asia sailing west.

And the conquest of America might have been delayed a few centuries.

Were all of the Knights Templar killed by Philip the Fair?

Knights Templar Charge at the Battle of Bannockburn

No.  Many later recanted their confessions made under torture.  Other than in France and some Italian city-states, most European governments didn't accept the unjust rulings, and Knights Templar were gladly absorbed into their armies.

In Scotland, it is said that Knights Templar with white capes and red crosses emblazoned across their chests came to the aid of Robert the Bruce in 1314 just as defeat seemed imminent at the Battle of Bannockburn, charging over the hill to reverse the tide and win Scotland's independence.

Pinta, Santa Maria and Niña Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

In fact, if you went to school in the same era as I did when Columbus was still considered a great explorer and hero, you may remember paintings of the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria with red crosses on their sails.  Those Crusader crosses are not royal symbols of Spain.

In 1492, Queen Isabella and her hubby King Ferdinand not only launched exploratory ships to the west but also completed the Reconquista, reclaiming Spain from the Muslim Moors, who had invaded almost 800 years earlier and whose architectural influence is still seen in great Spanish cities and throughout the New World.

Arches at Topkapi Palace

Perhaps you've also noted a white cross on red background on Swiss Army Knives or the Swiss flag.  The Swiss Confederation was established August 1, 1291, or about the time Knights Templar returned to Europe.  Switzerland, of course, remains one of the great banking centers of the world.  Coincidence?

European powers changed focus for their adventurism from the birthplace of civilization to the New World and future glories.

They found great wealth there, sufficient to fund power which eventually reclaimed the Holy Lands from the Ottomans after the Muslims sided with Germany in World War I.  As I think about it, their former colonies, the United States of America, rode over the ridge just in time to turn the tide in favor of Great Britain's allies, like heroic knights.

From the ashes of the Ottoman Empire rose the Republic of Turkey, and Istanbul remains a vibrant hub where East meets West.

Knights of St. John in Rhodes, Greece

Situated on a beautiful Greek harbor, the well-preserved Medieval walled fortress of Rhodes offers plenty of photo ops.

As the day warms, quaint bistros and shops within the ancient walls progressively open, and arriving tourists find many tempting offers on refreshments and souvenirs among the inviting storefronts.

Early morning chalk board signs advertise 2 euro  beers and 6 euro lunches at scenic sidewalk cafes, while shops offer tee shirts, lovely jewelry and colorful scarves at similarly reasonable prices.

However, we had enjoyed a great breakfast on board, so the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and breakfast specials didn't entice us, while shopping rarely does.

We  actually spent a lot of time exploring nooks and crannies away from storefronts.

The joys of a morning stroll through this historic village are subtle but quite satisfying.

Despite the reasonable prices and quaint cafes, we headed back to the ship when lunch time rolled around.

On our way there, we saw our Toronto friends Joanne and Stan, who were heading into town for the first time, probably to get lunch at one of those scenic restaurants.

After saying, "See you later," we never did.

We had actually planned to get together with them in San Diego in January, but we hadn't exchanged information up to that point, so that was not to be.  I mention this as a cautionary tale for when you meet new friends anywhere.

We went to the poolside grill, where they had a great selection of European sausages to go along with grilled burgers.  There was also a menu of items prepared in the kitchen, but bratwurst with a beer sounded  perfect to me on this sunny day.

Following lunch, we headed back into town, where a friendly host coaxed us to take seats at a lovely sidewalk cafe across from a fountain.

Prices had seemed so universally low on our morning walk that we didn't ask for a menu.

I ordered a beer, and the waiter smilingly asked if I wanted the large one, to which I said no.  He returned with a gigantic beer, and unfortunately it wasn't very good.  Still, the giant size made me laugh, so I kept it.

I drank maybe a third of it, and when I received the bill, it was something 11 euro just for mine, plus 6 for Julie's wine, which I guess isn't terrible, but we could have had lunch elsewhere for that price.

That bill was the only downer of the day, and even then, it came after a nice time watching the world pass by and accessing free wifi.

Before lunch, we had enjoyed visiting the Palace of the Grand Masters, a castle which the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem made their headquarters from 1309 to 1522.  

The modest admission fee was money well-spent.

During their two centuries ruling Rhodes, the Knights of Saint John became essentially Christian corsairs, sailing under the banner of the cross to wage war against the Muslim Barbary Pirates.  Of course, one king's pirate is another king's privateer, but the Christian warrior monks fought for what I personally consider to be the good guys.

We did not take an excursion or hire a guide along with our admission tickets to the Palace of the Masters, which according to at least one book is among a list of 100 of The World's Must-See Places, of which we actually saw eight on this trip alone (and I counted 40 total for my lifetime).

However,  while wandering through the fascinating castle, Julie and I frequently found our paths temporarily blocked by guided tour groups following English-speaking guides, from whom we would pick up dribs and drabs of information, none of which could could be clarified immediately with questions, because we obviously weren't in the tour groups.

"...this intricate Hellenistic and Roman tile work actually came from buildings in nearby Kos..."  (I assumed at the time she referred to Kas, because we'd just been there, but upon further research once back home, it now seems likely she meant the Greek Isle of Kos.)

"...the first stop of Crusaders..." (Possibly for some of them, but certainly not the Knights of St. John.)

"...also called the Knights Hospitallers..."  (This was a bread crumb that definitely demanded further research.)

The Knights Hospitallers had their origins in about 600 AD when Pope Gregory I commissioned a hospital to be built in Jerusalem to care for Christian pilgrims visiting the holy sites.  At that time, the area was still part of the Roman Empire, which had become Christian about three centuries earlier beginning with Constantine.

Persians briefly displaced the Romans from 614 to 629, destroying the hospital.  Roman's rebuilt the hospital when they briefly regained control of Jerusalem, but in 638, the first Caliphate of Arab Muslims took control.

The Muslims of this period were apparently tolerant of Christianity, and the Muslims allowed the hospital to continue serving Christian pilgrims.

In fact, in 800, Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne added a library and expanded the hospital.  And Jerusalem prospered.

During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th Centuries), hospitals were run as ministries of churches in the Christian world.  They also doubled as inns (and if you are interested in the topic of priory hospitals, read Ken Follett's excellent novel,  World Without End, though it is set mostly in England), making them essential to Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Lands in an age before cruise ships and hotels.

Monks would guide pilgrims to the holy sites, and events occasionally required these monks to act as protectors.  They carried weapons, beginning the tradition of warrior monks who became known as Knights Hospitallers.

On September 29, 1009, exactly 1006 years before we boarded Azamara Journey for our Holy Lands cruise, an Islamic zealot, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim destroyed the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre, kicking off the destruction of churches, synagogues, Torah scrolls and other non-Muslim sites and religious artifacts, including the hospital.

The desecration spread throughout Syria during subsequent years.

All non-Islamic sacred buildings and artifacts were completely annihilated.

As a result, western historians and literature often refer to al-Hakim as the Mad Caliph (though certainly not as lovable as Mad Ludwig).

On the other hand, he became a revered figure for Shia Muslims.  In 1018, the Druze of the Levant declared al-Hakim to be the incarnation of god.

And there you have it.

That stark, diametrically opposed division ---crazy evil or godlike --- is what the Crusades were all about, and it is that same type of incompatible schism --- Is a suicide bomber a homicidal nut job or a saint with an express pass to heaven? --- remains at the heart of Western Civilization's current conflict with neo-Nazi Islamic Extremists (which neither explicitly means nor implies all Muslims, as some like to contend).

Over the last half decade, popular western culture has overwhelmingly chosen to deride Crusaders as cruel, greedy Christians trying to impose their wills on peaceful Muslims in a land far from Europe, taking the "flawed protagonist" concept from fiction to the extreme where Christian Knights have become villains.

In 1023, wealthy merchants in Salerno and Amalfi, Italy, petitioned the Caliph of Egypt for permission to restore the hospital in Jerusalem.

They were granted the right to re-build their hospital on the site of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist.

About fifty years later, persecution of Christians heated up again, and in 1095, Pope Urban II, pushed past the metaphoric brink, called for a Crusade to re-capture Jerusalem and the Holy Lands.

For the next four years, Knights led armies of serfs from Western Europe to fight for God and glory in the Holy Lands, and in July of 1099, they re-captured Jerusalem.

The Hospitallers were chartered by the Pope as the Order of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, and given the responsibility to care for and defend the Holy Lands.

The military arm of the Knights of St. John and the Knights Templar (DEFINITELY click this hotlink to see a great video about the Knights) became the most formidable fighting forces in the Holy Lands.

As I'm sure you have surmised, the Muslims did not go quietly into the night, and in 1287, they re-captured Jerusalem, which they held until it fell to British control in 1917, after the Islamic, historically-powerful Ottoman Empire sided with Germany in World War I.

Following the fall of Jerusalem in 1287, the Knights of St. John withdrew from Jerusalem to Tripoli, but in 1291, that fell to the Muslims, too, and they were forced off the mainland to Cyprus.

Meanwhile, the Knights Templar, who had accumulated massive wealth in the Holy Lands, whether through plunder, taxing trade, arbitrage, protection money, industrious work, discovery of treasures, banking or some combination thereof, became power brokers in Europe, even financing governments and royalty, including King Philip IV of France who borrowed heavily to conduct his 10-year war with England.

On Friday the 13th in October of 1307, the French King, motivated by the prospects of erasing his own debts and capturing all that legendary Templar wealth for himself, ordered all the Knights Templar arrested, not unlike a modern day gang sweep.

The Knights Templar were tortured into confessions of everything from heresy to homosexuality to financial corruption to idolatry to fraud to secrecy to recanting their vows.

King Philip IV was Catholic, so his allegiance was to Pope Clement V, who had to be convinced to issue the warrants to arrest the Knights.  So, Philip had to split Templar cash and treasures with the Church, probably attributing his take to something like administrative expenses.

In 1312, the Pope gave the Knights Templar's other tangible assets to the Knights of St. John, who were then forced to pay a high annual tribute.

The Knights of St. John  had already successfully established rule over Rhodes in 1309.  They maintained power in Rhodes until 1522, when 400 ships and 100,000 men under the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (not to be confused with Wise King Solomon), besieged the 7,000 Knights of Rhodes, forcing their surrender after six months.

They withdrew to Sicily and bounced around Europe until King Charles I of Spain, who was also King of Sicily, gave them the island of Malta, where they wielded power until Napoleon arrived in 1798.

Post Script:

While in high school, I was a very lax student when it came to social studies homework.

Too much reading.

I would answer the assigned questions at the end of the chapter by skimming back and looking for key words, so I guess I was a cut above being a total slacker.

Unlike newer generations of boys who, according to lamenting fathers and mothers, won't take time away from video games to put their names homework papers and turn in cursory passes at answers, I understood that getting zeros on homework would make earning more than a "C" an onerous task requiring perfect scores on tests, because I was committed to an easy "B" and possible "A."

I loved going to school to see my friends, and because my parents also strictly enforced a rule that if I was too sick to go to school, I was too sick to do anything fun like play outside, I had close to perfect attendance.

I generally found that if I paid attention in class, I could do pretty well on tests.

Study for exams?

I don't think so.

I was too busy hanging out with my friends, which was a lot more fun.

Because I mathematically understood the impact of zeros, I would always do assigned reports, usually starting on the evening before the due date.

What does all that have to do with the Knights of St. John?

Not much, actually, but sometimes I just have to write something or I won't start a project, just like in high school.  While I never believed I enjoyed writing reports, I must have, because I frequently go through essentially the same process when writing this blog, which is certainly not mandatory.

I have also found that when I take a narrated shore excursions on a cruise, it is very much like attending class between fun times with friends as it was in school, where I have enough informational foundation to figure out the rest.

Because it really has little to do with the subject matter, I cut this from the beginning and pasted it at the end, just in case anyone cares what I was thinking when I started this post.

Besides, I took lots of marginal photos, and having some kind of copy next to them makes them look somewhat less unnecessary.

Just in case you can't tell how big the
Palace of the Masters is, that's me entering.