Obama outshines traditional places
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by Ceylan Yeğinsu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 08, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL -US President Barack Obama outshone centuries-old attractions even if just for a day when interest in spotting him was more than interest in the Blue Mosque or the Hagia Sophia. President Obama also met with religious leaders during his one-day stay in Istanbul
There was only one word on the historic streets of Istanbul’s Sultanahmet neighborhood yesterday: Obama.
Turkish history and traditions ceased to be the area’s key attraction as tourists and locals alike gathered to watch U.S. President Barack Obama sightsee instead of seeing the sights themselves.
As a part of his two-day trip to Turkey, Obama spent yesterday morning visiting Istanbul’s landmark 16th-century Blue Mosque and the neighboring Hagia Sophia, a former Christian basilica that was later turned into a mosque and then into a museum. The area around Sultanahmet was completely blocked off to the public for Obama’s private tour with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
As hundreds of people gathered behind barriers, waiting for a glimpse of the president’s entourage, cafes, restaurants, shops and street vendors all hailed the event as an opportunity for business, with a different sales pitch. Instead of trying to entice tourists to taste Turkish specialties, they invited them onto rooftop terraces to enjoy a better view of the event while sipping on what some retailers starting calling "free tea from Obama."
A waiter at the neighborhood’s Bodrum Cafe, who gave his name as Metin, described the atmosphere as busy and full of excitement. "People were waiting as if a football match was about to start, but the crowds waited quietly, with patience, and only erupted when they saw cars and then Obama himself," he said.
The Obama crowd was a cosmopolitan one, with a strong American and European presence. Jack Korby, a retired doctor from Minnesota who is visiting Turkey for the first time with his wife, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that Obama’s stop in Turkey is the most important on his European trip. "Obama’s visit to Turkey is a starting point for him to rectify the damage that has been caused between the Islamic world and the West in the past," Korby said.
German view
A student from Germany, who wished to remain anonymous, also commented on the religious significance of the visit, saying that the sightseeing tour of the Blue Mosque was symbolic of Obama’s peacemaking process with the Islamic world.
Locals were equally excited about seeing Obama. While many made remarks about the religious and political connotations of the sightseeing tour, others came to Sultanahmet merely for the fun. A street vendor, Murat Kandemir, drew a caricature of himself dressed as Obama and walked around the streets with the picture stuck to his clothes. An elderly lady who did not disclose her name told the Daily News she had been waiting two hours to see if Obama looked as he did on television, but added, "In the end, whether I see him or not does not matter as long as all ends well and he saves the world."
Obama visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul yesterday, following strong messages of U.S. reconciliation with the Islamic world on his maiden trip to a mainly Muslim country.
Taking off his shoes as tradition requires, Obama stepped into the 16th-century Sultanahmet Mosque in the ancient heart of Istanbul, accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan amid tight security in the area. Two Muslim preachers guided Obama inside the grandiose edifice Ğ better known as the Blue Mosque for its blue tiling Ğ and the president smiled when they showed him a dome scripture mentioning the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein, Obama's middle name, Anatolia news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians thanked Obama for appealing for more religious freedom in a speech to Parliament Monday, according to the news agencies. A church spokesman said Patriarch Bartholomeos I, who is based in Istanbul, met Obama in private for 15 minutes at the president's hotel yesterday.
Turkish history and traditions ceased to be the area’s key attraction as tourists and locals alike gathered to watch U.S. President Barack Obama sightsee instead of seeing the sights themselves.
As a part of his two-day trip to Turkey, Obama spent yesterday morning visiting Istanbul’s landmark 16th-century Blue Mosque and the neighboring Hagia Sophia, a former Christian basilica that was later turned into a mosque and then into a museum. The area around Sultanahmet was completely blocked off to the public for Obama’s private tour with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
As hundreds of people gathered behind barriers, waiting for a glimpse of the president’s entourage, cafes, restaurants, shops and street vendors all hailed the event as an opportunity for business, with a different sales pitch. Instead of trying to entice tourists to taste Turkish specialties, they invited them onto rooftop terraces to enjoy a better view of the event while sipping on what some retailers starting calling "free tea from Obama."
A waiter at the neighborhood’s Bodrum Cafe, who gave his name as Metin, described the atmosphere as busy and full of excitement. "People were waiting as if a football match was about to start, but the crowds waited quietly, with patience, and only erupted when they saw cars and then Obama himself," he said.
The Obama crowd was a cosmopolitan one, with a strong American and European presence. Jack Korby, a retired doctor from Minnesota who is visiting Turkey for the first time with his wife, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that Obama’s stop in Turkey is the most important on his European trip. "Obama’s visit to Turkey is a starting point for him to rectify the damage that has been caused between the Islamic world and the West in the past," Korby said.
German view
A student from Germany, who wished to remain anonymous, also commented on the religious significance of the visit, saying that the sightseeing tour of the Blue Mosque was symbolic of Obama’s peacemaking process with the Islamic world.
Locals were equally excited about seeing Obama. While many made remarks about the religious and political connotations of the sightseeing tour, others came to Sultanahmet merely for the fun. A street vendor, Murat Kandemir, drew a caricature of himself dressed as Obama and walked around the streets with the picture stuck to his clothes. An elderly lady who did not disclose her name told the Daily News she had been waiting two hours to see if Obama looked as he did on television, but added, "In the end, whether I see him or not does not matter as long as all ends well and he saves the world."
Obama visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul yesterday, following strong messages of U.S. reconciliation with the Islamic world on his maiden trip to a mainly Muslim country.
Taking off his shoes as tradition requires, Obama stepped into the 16th-century Sultanahmet Mosque in the ancient heart of Istanbul, accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan amid tight security in the area. Two Muslim preachers guided Obama inside the grandiose edifice Ğ better known as the Blue Mosque for its blue tiling Ğ and the president smiled when they showed him a dome scripture mentioning the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein, Obama's middle name, Anatolia news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians thanked Obama for appealing for more religious freedom in a speech to Parliament Monday, according to the news agencies. A church spokesman said Patriarch Bartholomeos I, who is based in Istanbul, met Obama in private for 15 minutes at the president's hotel yesterday.