You and your friends have just gotten off the plane in Istanbul, Turkey. You've been planning this vacation for years. You can't wait to explore the legendary beauty and amazing history of this ancient city!
You take a ferry from the airport to your hotel int the city center. You take in the beautiful views of the city in the setting sun. Istanbul straddles a waterway called the Bosphorus which connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
1. What advantages and disadvantages does Istanbul's location on the Bosphorus present?
Your ferry goes under the Bosphorus Bridge (which now connects the two sides of the city) just as the sun sets. Wow! What a view!
As the ferry docks, you spot an incredible building near the shore. It has an immense dome, surrounded by many towers and ramparts. You ask one of the workers on the ferry about the building.
"That, my friend, is the great Hagia Sophia! Her name means 'Holy Wisdom." That building has a sacred and tragic history."
That night, before you fall asleep on your soft hotel pillow, you think about all you've already seen, and wonder what else the city has in store.
The next morning, you wake to the sounds of the Islamic call to prayer, and open the shutters of your hotel to take in a beautiful view of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
At breakfast, you hear a peculiar song on the radio. You ask your waiter what it means. He explains:
"Ah, yes. Our city has as many names as a New York phonebook! Its first name was Byzantium - and it was founded by Greek colonists in 667 B.C.E. Later, when it was conquered by the Romans, it was called Augusta Antonina! Then, when Constantine moved his capital here, he called it New Rome. That didn't really catch on, and later it was called Constantinople, in honor of Constantine. Now it's called Istanbul, which comes from the Greek word for city. Because for everyone who lives here, this city is the best!"
2. In your journal, you write down the different names that this city has had!
On your way to the art museum, you take a tour of Hagia Sophia! What a view!
3. Like a suitcase with stickers for every place it's been, Hagia Sofia displays markings of its multicultural, multireligious past. In your journal, you write down some of the things you've learned about this great place of worship.
Your next stop is the art museum. Wow! There's as much gold there as in Michael Phelp's award closet! You find your favorite piece of work, and ask one of the guides to tell you about it. He explains that it's an icon, a stylized Christian image from the Byzantine Empire.
"It's beautiful!" You exclaim.
Then he goes on: "Yes, the Byzantines are famous for their beautiful icons, but there was a time when icons weren't so beloved. In 730 B.C.E., a Byzantine Emperor, Leo III, banned the use of icons in Christian churches and homes. He thought the Old Testament prohibited it. He created a new policy, iconoclasm, which resulted in the destruction of countless works of religious art."
"Wow," you say, "That's sad. But that would never happen today."
"Actually, he continues, "it has has happened throughout history. "During the Reformation, icons were smashed, and even the Taliban practiced iconoclasm in this century!"
You buy your own icon in the gift shop of the museum - it's painted on an egg, a symbol of hope and new life. You promise to keep it safe from iconoclasts, and hopefully it will survive the plane trip home, too!
4. In your journal, you jot down the word you learned from the guard: Iconoclasm. Then you write down what it means.
After your visit to the art museum, you proceed to the history museum. There, you see an exhibit on the Emperor Justinian. You ask the guide to tell you more.
Then, you see an exhibit that describes how the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church. You learned about three different episodes which led to the split (schism).
When you get back to your hotel room, you and your friends decide to review what you learned today. You put on a puppet show about one of the historical events you learned about at the museum.
