An Important Leisurely Slant

President Biya ended his stay in Turkey with a visit to some rare historical sites in Istanbul last Thursday.

The Ottoman Empire and Constantinople etc are some words which resonate regularly when one talks about world history. President Paul Biya and he First Lady Chantal ended their four-day stay in Turkey with a relaxed visit of three history-laden sites in the millennial city of Istanbul, one of the largest cities of the world with its population estimated at over 20 million.

Cameroon's first couple visited the Topkapi museum which served as residences of all Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years (1465 to 1856) and was seat of the Ottoman Empire, built on the orders of Sultan Mehmed 11 in the 17th century. The museum which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985, has four courts with each hosting a number of left-overs of the period spanning the seventh century and the Ottoman conquest.

The President of the Republic and the First lady were able to see relics carefully preserved from the time of the Ottoman Empire in well-guarded and protected glass cases swords and other replicas of implements used by Prophet Mohammed and reproduced by artists of that period are safely kept for generations to see. From the Topkapi museum, the first couple went to the Saint Sophia museum, a Christian basilica which was built in the sixth century under the direction of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was built in about six years, a relatively short time as compared to similar structures of the time. After the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed 11 had the basilica repurposed as a mosque. It is in 1934 that Atatürk secularised the mosque, and it became a museum in 1935.

The last stop-over for the President and Madam was at the blue mosque, just meters away from the Sophia museum. Here, they were able to follow a mid-day prayer session life. During the prayer session, the Imam prayed for world peace and wished the presidential couple a safe return to their country. The President of the republic and the First lady subjected themselves to the rigours of religious procedure by pulling off their shoes at the entrance of the mosque while the first Lady was given a piece of linen to cover her hair-do before entering the mosque.

The blue mosque was built by Sultan Ahmed between 1609 and 1616. It is known as the blue mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. Like many other mosques , it contains the tomb of its founder. Apart from being a mosque, it has also become a major tourist attraction as Cameroon Tribune was able to observe the huge human movements in and out of the mosque as the Cameroonian delegation made its own rounds within the mosque.

It is on this spiritual note that the President of the republic hit the road for the 15-minute drive to the Atatürk International airport from where he flew off to Cameroon after having expected a guard of honour at the foot of his plane. The plane took off the ground at about 2 PM.