05-14-2013
A View Above Istanbul
Every sketch has a vantage point, and selecting one entails more than just finding the best view. The location of the vantage point should be secluded and out of the way, a place that is peaceful and relaxing but definitely comfortable because you may be sketching for awhile. The journey to find the best setting to sketch from is as much a sense of discovery and amusement as the sketching itself.
Whilst I was traveling in Istanbul, I decided to sketch the Suleymaniye Mosque. The Suleymaniye Mosque is a majestic mosque situated in the center of the old district of Istanbul. The miniature domes of the mosque are handsomely stacked one on top of the other, stepping upward to frame the main dome. Although I had sketched this mosque previously, I wanted to sketch it from a new vantage point in order to discover more about the building's form and massing. Subtle nuances of a buildings form can be revealed during the calm silent focus of sketching and it is exciting to watch those relationships emerge from the paper.
Traffic in Istanbul is rarely accommodating and that day was no exception. I was traveling with my wife on the southern shore of the Golden Horn and the traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, was at a standstill. Drivers were lounging against the hoods of their vehicles enjoying the outside fresh air (i.e. smoking). Parents and children were jostling past one another in all directions: back and forth between the markets and the park. Sunday strollers and morning joggers were streaming and clogging the paths along the banks of the water. It was going to be a long and difficult journey to the mosque.
My wife suggested that in lieu of heading downtown toward the mosque, amidst all the congestion, we should travel against the traffic to a park at the top of a hill overlooking the city. As this would be more peaceful, we turned and started to walk to the hill only to discover that the tram that would take us to the top of the hill was just as crowded as the roads. This perceived obstacle actually afforded us the opportunity to enjoy the outside air, hence we passed the tram and continued our trek on foot.
The park is actually the Cemetery of Sultan Eyup, a mixture of Ottoman tombs and modern grave-sites steeped at the edge of a large forested cliff. The cemetery is made up of various low-walled plots crammed into an irregular network of terraced platforms stepping haphazardly up the slope. Numerous cobbled stone staircases weave between these raised terraces connecting the bottom of the hill to the summit. As we approached the base of the hill, we slipped between two terraced plots and took such a cobble stone stairway to start our ascent. Various Ottoman headstone "posts" with turban style tops are scattered throughout the cemetery like reeds in a stream enhancing the ceremonial but haphazard setting.
As we made our way upward, the cliff's edge became more severe and a panorama of the city opened up beneath us. The city stretched beyond the banks of the Golden Horn with the minarets of the numerous mosques dancing along the horizon above. This is the image of Istanbul one experiences from within the city, and this is the same image that I wanted to capture. The various layers of the ancient and modern city emerging and contributing to the diversity and vibrancy of Istanbul crowned by the playful sprinkle of minarets that frame the stately domes of the Hagia Sophia, Sultanhamet and Suleymaniye Mosques.
Near the top of the hill, I wandered off the main road and found a grassy mound isolated from the families strolling through the cemetery below. I settled on top of a stone wall between two plots, and with my sketch book and charcoal in hand began framing the view of the drawing. Istanbul stretched across the horizon from the new modern towers of Levent in the North, to the Topkapi Palace and the Fatih mosques in the south. The focus of the sketch was to be the noble mosques sheltering the city below. The outward sounds disappeared and the nearby images faded away as I focused on the sketch. Families strolled below unnoticed. A few young boys that stopped to watch me sketching slowly came and went, tossing and kicking their football amongst the headstones.
After sketching for an hour and before my legs became completely numb from sitting so still, the drawings were finished. My wife greeted me just as I was descending from my perch. We both turned and leisurely made our way back home with fresh sketches of a scenic view of Istanbul.
Whilst I was traveling in Istanbul, I decided to sketch the Suleymaniye Mosque. The Suleymaniye Mosque is a majestic mosque situated in the center of the old district of Istanbul. The miniature domes of the mosque are handsomely stacked one on top of the other, stepping upward to frame the main dome. Although I had sketched this mosque previously, I wanted to sketch it from a new vantage point in order to discover more about the building's form and massing. Subtle nuances of a buildings form can be revealed during the calm silent focus of sketching and it is exciting to watch those relationships emerge from the paper.
Traffic in Istanbul is rarely accommodating and that day was no exception. I was traveling with my wife on the southern shore of the Golden Horn and the traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, was at a standstill. Drivers were lounging against the hoods of their vehicles enjoying the outside fresh air (i.e. smoking). Parents and children were jostling past one another in all directions: back and forth between the markets and the park. Sunday strollers and morning joggers were streaming and clogging the paths along the banks of the water. It was going to be a long and difficult journey to the mosque.
My wife suggested that in lieu of heading downtown toward the mosque, amidst all the congestion, we should travel against the traffic to a park at the top of a hill overlooking the city. As this would be more peaceful, we turned and started to walk to the hill only to discover that the tram that would take us to the top of the hill was just as crowded as the roads. This perceived obstacle actually afforded us the opportunity to enjoy the outside air, hence we passed the tram and continued our trek on foot.
The park is actually the Cemetery of Sultan Eyup, a mixture of Ottoman tombs and modern grave-sites steeped at the edge of a large forested cliff. The cemetery is made up of various low-walled plots crammed into an irregular network of terraced platforms stepping haphazardly up the slope. Numerous cobbled stone staircases weave between these raised terraces connecting the bottom of the hill to the summit. As we approached the base of the hill, we slipped between two terraced plots and took such a cobble stone stairway to start our ascent. Various Ottoman headstone "posts" with turban style tops are scattered throughout the cemetery like reeds in a stream enhancing the ceremonial but haphazard setting.
As we made our way upward, the cliff's edge became more severe and a panorama of the city opened up beneath us. The city stretched beyond the banks of the Golden Horn with the minarets of the numerous mosques dancing along the horizon above. This is the image of Istanbul one experiences from within the city, and this is the same image that I wanted to capture. The various layers of the ancient and modern city emerging and contributing to the diversity and vibrancy of Istanbul crowned by the playful sprinkle of minarets that frame the stately domes of the Hagia Sophia, Sultanhamet and Suleymaniye Mosques.
Near the top of the hill, I wandered off the main road and found a grassy mound isolated from the families strolling through the cemetery below. I settled on top of a stone wall between two plots, and with my sketch book and charcoal in hand began framing the view of the drawing. Istanbul stretched across the horizon from the new modern towers of Levent in the North, to the Topkapi Palace and the Fatih mosques in the south. The focus of the sketch was to be the noble mosques sheltering the city below. The outward sounds disappeared and the nearby images faded away as I focused on the sketch. Families strolled below unnoticed. A few young boys that stopped to watch me sketching slowly came and went, tossing and kicking their football amongst the headstones.
After sketching for an hour and before my legs became completely numb from sitting so still, the drawings were finished. My wife greeted me just as I was descending from my perch. We both turned and leisurely made our way back home with fresh sketches of a scenic view of Istanbul.