Anatolia

Destinations

AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD ... ISTANBUL ...

Istanbul (Byzantium) was the centre of the ‘known’ world, the Orbis Terrarum the ’world Island’ as shown above….drafted by Hecateus of Milas in 6th century B.C.E. where Straits divide Europe from Asia and are the link between East and West. These were formed at the end of the Ice Age approximately 7,500 years ago when rising seawaters overflowed from the Aegean and Sea of Mamara turning a landlocked lake into the Black Sea. .…..
And tis now that the myths start…..

THE STRAITS OF BOSPHORUS

Zeus seated upon on his golden throne on Mount Olympos spotted a beautiful girl called Io, a priestess to his wife Hera , and he desired her. To protect her from Hera’s jealousy he transformed her into a white heifer. Hera asked the hundred-eyed giant Argos to follow her through the plains of Thrace. Argos fell asleep and Hera furious had Argos killed…but decided to save his eyes….which she gave to the Peacock.
In the meantime Io leapt over the Straits and continued down the western coast of ‘Ionia’. And this is how the Bosphorus got its name ‘βοὸς πόρος’, the cattle strait, ….Ox Ford!… You may want to know how the romance progressed…Io became pregnant and gave birth in ‘Anatolia’…..but that is another story!

‘Anatolia’ or ‘ἀνατολή’ means ‘east’ or more specifically…’from where the sun rises’, the realms east of the higher plateau and mountain ranges beyond. From here every morning Helios reined his four-horse golden chariot to bring the next dawn to those impatiently awaiting daylight.. Helios had a son Phaeton who decided to take the reins in his own hands. One evening after Helios returned to base via the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean, Phaeton stole the chariot and whipping the horses, veered violently across the skies creating the Milky Way then skimming down so low that he actually scorched the lands of Abbysinnia (Ethiopa) and the Sahel…..

CHAOS

The earth’s very future was threatened. Zeus hurled a thunderbolt at the chariot. Nymphs followers of Phaeton were so devastated that their tears turned to Amber and they became trees!
By 146 B.C.E Rome had taken Anatolia, now becoming ‘Asia Minor’ and added lands stretching south to Egypt and eastwards towards the Persian Gulf.

Helios had lost his son and was was now totally eclipsed by Mithra the Invincible Sun god and patron of soldiers.

Road construction linked all the areas in the Empire …trade increased as caravans bringing spices, silk and porcelain from the East returned loaded with corn, wool, leather, olives, wine etc. St Paul used these roads as he spread the Good News west, while in Tarsus his father no doubt had a flourishing business making tents for travellers.
All through Asia Minor were constructed shrines to Mythra, Sol Invictus, until…..Constantine orders his soldiers to fight with the sign of Chi-Rho emblazoned on their shields. He overcomes his rival Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian Bridge.… He now is Caesar of East and West.. the ’Emperor’ erecting a Colossus of himself in Rome, whose feet alone measured two metres!
However the centre of his empire was to be Constantinople and St Sophia’s basilica was the image of his new religion Christianity for over a thousand years ………until on April 24th 1453 C.E. Fatih Sultan Mehmet in the name of Sunni Islam laid siege to Constantinople, dragging his fleet on wooden sleepers overland into the Golden Horn, then hen breaching the thousand year old Theodosian Walls he advanced straight to St Sophia where Patriarch,Emperor and entourage were slain celebrating a last Mass.
However as the story goes…the congregation disappeared into the rounded apse to re-appear out of these walls when St Sophia is once again the centre of Orthodox worship…..be this a myth, the main Patriarchate of the Orthodox church is still at Constantinople!
St Sophia was now given the essentials: minarets, a mihrap, a coating of fine plaster to cover frescoes and mosaics. While still essentially in Europe, Constantinople became Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman empire until 1922. Today Istanbul has a population of 17,000,0000 but the capital is Ankara set in the heartland of Anatolia….. in Turkish ‘Anadolu’……This Turkish word’s exact translation is ‘full of mothers’. During excavations the Mother Earths cult statuettes have been found in various proto-Neolithic sites.

The best known is that at Catalhoyuk near Konya. She sits on her throne, looking stern with her hair tied back and maybe giving birth, protected by sentinel lions.