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UP THE CREEK - The Divine Road To IstanbulThe Divine Road to Istanbul Anatolia: From the Greek word meaning East-the land of the rising sun. Today Anatolia refers to the country called Turkey whose borders stretch from the Balkans to Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Saturday Afternoon Crowd - Between Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar Anatolia. Let the word swirl through your mind and you’ll see caravans guided by starlight traveling across a wheat-colored plain. The imam sings his prayer while a woman sets up her loom and weaves the story of her tribe. On a steep Istanbul street leading to the Bosphorus where the air smells of yeast and sesame, workers crowd tramcars. And in fertile plains where grapes were harvested long before they came to Europe, the mother goddess watches unblinking from potsherds and statues. Oh to be in Istanbul this year when the city, chosen as a 2010 European Capital of Culture, showcases its history, vibrant art, music, culture and business scene. Is Istanbul European, you ask? Well, yes and no and yes. While it's true that Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents - Europe and Asia - the discovery of a Neolithic gravesite near the Bosphorus (where construction is underway to build the world's deepest underwater tunnel - 197 feet below sea level) pushes the city's first inhabitants back in time to 6500 BC. The skeletons of two adults and two children lie curled-up in a fetal position as if they are ready to be born into the next world.
Along with the remains, archeologists found pots, tools, wooden pieces and bones as well as houses made of branches. While areas in Central Anatolia like Catalhoyuk give a glimpse into the Neolithic world, the newly-discovered site shows that Istanbul was an outpost and a gateway to development in Europe. So, it seems appropriate that Wild River Review will continue its coverage of a city we've been visiting since 1995. Wild River Review's West Coast Editor, Angie Brenner, will look at what has changed in the fifteen years she's been visiting the city and what remains. Shellie Corman, who left San Francisco for Istanbul and opened up Kahvedan, a popular cafe in Cihangir (also Orhan Pamuk's neighborhood) will keep us up to date on the goings-on near her cafe and beyond. We'll travel to Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence, which will open in July. And we'll visit Cordon Blue-trained Eveline Zoutendijk at her cooking school, Cooking AlaTurka. From there we will travel across Anatolia and discover why, in the 21st century, perhaps all roads lead through Istanbul.
The Once and Future Museum of Innocence And if, by chance, you happen to be in Sultanahmet, home of Topkapi Palace; and if you happen upon the Cemberlitas Tower, you will find yourself standing in the very place where in the 4th Century, Constantine the First, Emperor of Byzantium, established a new capital, Constantinople, and a new road, which he called The Divine Road. It led through the Balkans into Europe and ended at an old capital: Rome. To support our mission and passion for good storytelling, please make a tax-deductible donation by clicking here: Wild River Donation. Joy Stocke, WRR Editor-in-Chief  Joy E. Stocke is founder and Editor in Chief of Wild River Review. She has published fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and has written about and lectured widely on her travels in Greece and Turkey, as well as religion, ancient and modern. She is the author of a bi-lingual book of poems, Cave of the Bear, translated into Greek by Lili Bita; and a novel, Ugly Cookies, co-written with Fran Metzman. Her travel memoir, Anatolian Days and Nights, based on ten years of travel through Turkey, co-written with Angie Brenner was published in March 2012 by Wild River Books. You can visit the book's website at: Anatolian Days and Nights.com. Or order Anatolian Days & Nights by clicking here: ADN. Her essay, Turkish American Food, appears in the 2nd edition of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (OUP, 2012).. An experienced editor, Stocke works with many of the writers who appear in the pages of Wild River Review, as well as clients from around the world. She has interviewed Nobel Prizewinners Orhan Pamuk and Muhammud Yunus, Pulitzer Prizewinner Paul Muldoon, Roshi Joan Halifax, anthropologist and expert on end of life care; Ivonne Baki, President of the Andean Parliament; and Templeton Prizewinner Freeman Dyson among others. She is currently working with Harriet Mayor Fulbright, widow of Senator J. William Fulbright and President of Harriet Fulbright College, on Mrs. Fulbright's memoir. In 2006, along with Executive Editor, Kim Nagy, Stocke interviewed scientists and artists including Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman and Dean of Faculty, David P. Dobkin for the documentary Quark Park, chronicling the creation of an award-winning park built on a vacant lot in the heart of Princeton, a park that united art and science and community. She is on the board of the Princeton Middle East Society , and a member of the Turkish Women's International Network. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism, she participated in the Lindisfarne Symposium on The Evolution of Consciousness with cultural philosopher, poet and historian, William Irwin Thompson. In 2009, she became a Lindisfarne Fellow. EMAIL: jstocke@wildriverreview.com JOY STOCKE IN THIS EDITION: » View all articles by Joy Stocke |
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Connecting People, Places, and Ideas: Story by Story
May 2012
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