Istanbul and Lisbon: How Diffrent They Are?

Curious Cities

Nº1 MAY 2015

ISTANBUL AND LISBON: HOW DIFFRENT THEY ARE?

EDITORIAL

Starting a new project is always something nice, but at the same time stressful. You need to define a name, something that takes days to think, and then get an image, something that takes time to do. Writing about cities may seem easy, but if the goal is to be diverse and have good content the task becomes more difficult. But challanges is what journalism is made from and to overcome those challenges is our job. The Curious Cities aims to be a different bet in the travel segment. Combining the history of the sites, with the similarities and differences between two cities is always special . Prepares people for what they will find in the various spaces taking into account what they already know. This is our challenge and this is our goal. In the first edition we will be able to learn more about two cities that are in Europe extremes. Lisbon (Portugal) and Istanbul (Turkey), as you will be able to see, have much in common.

Have fun on this trip,

Rodrigo Fernandes

Curious Cities 3

Here it is not only at 5pm

Tea plantation in the Azores

The distance between Ribeira Grande, in the Azores, and Istanbul is 4632.97 Km and apparently these two cities have nothing in common. But it is on the Portuguese city were the two only tea factories in Europe are located. The Fábrica da Gorreana began it’s production of tea in 1883, while the Fá- brica do Porto Formoso began its production in 1920. These two factories produce more than 40 tons of tea a year, and this tea is moustrly consumed in Portugal, USA and the UK. And why does this have to do with Istanbul? The answer is simple, Turkey is the world leader in tea consumption, with a total of 6.87 kg per capita equivalent to about 1600 cups per year, ie 3-4 per day. Of the approximately 515 tons 25 235 666 drinks in the country are produced in Turkey, which makes this Eurasian country being the world’s fifth largest tea producer. In Turkey the most famous area is Rize, a region which is in the north of the country in the Black Sea region. To be aware, in Portugal the average is 0092 kg and in the World 0:57 kg. But let’s see what is the main difference in tea consuption between the Portuguese and the Turks.

Curious Cities 4 Tea in Turkey has the same function as the coffee in Portugal, namely the wake of the person and keep active. On the other hand, in Portugal, tea is more commonly used as a way of interaction and and by older people, as well as for therapeutic purposes. The most popular kind of tea is black tea, it has strong featured and drinking it with sugar is almoust mandatory. But there are other variations like the Kiwi or Apple tea. One of the moust interesting things about tea is the container used to drink it. In Portugal, and almoust all around the World, tea is drinked with in a cup, but in Turkey there are characteristic glasses. But back

Traditional tea glass in Turkey to the Azorean tea in the past there have been attempts to take it to Turkey, but those attemps have failed due to the high cost of expor- ting tea there, and because it would not be sustainable on the turkish market. Now you know. If you go to Turkey and go to a café, do not ask for a coffee, ask for a tea. And if you do order a coffee, you will be served with another turkish speciality, but that is for another article.

Curious Cities 5 Istambul and Lisbon: Diffrent or equal?

Istanbul and Lisbon flags

Istanbul and Lisbon, two very different cities, but at the same time very equal. These two cities beginning and end Europe, are two very cosmo- politan centers and the biggest cities of each country, even if Istambul isn’t the capital of Turkey, unlike many people think. The turkish capital is Ankara. Let’s begin with a short presentation of each city starting with Istanbul. Istanbul is Europe’s largest city and is also the only one that is divided in two continents (Europe and Asia). With over 16 million habitants this Turkish city has been known by other names – Byzantium and Cons- tantinople – and has much history and culture everywhere, from the time of Byzantium, through the Roman Empire and Ottoman and now with Turkey. Lisbon also has a lot of history and culture to tell its visitors. The Portu- guese capital was the capital of the world during the 15th century to 17, when Portugal ruled the waves and had the sea route to India with the lucrative market of spices. In 1755 an earthquake followed by a tsunami and a fire almost destroyed the city which has lost much of its history.

Curious Cities 6 But the recovery made the city more organizes, with the Baixa de Pom- bal, and made it gain more experiences. Currently it has about 550 thousand habitants. The population and all that this entails, is precisely the great difference between the two cities.

The fastest way to go from one to the other city is through the Turkish Airlines that makes two daily flights from each one.

Sultanahmet was built from 1609 to 1616 Religion Let us start discovering each city. A person who arrives to both of these cities will emideatly notice many mosques in Istanbul and Chur- ches in Lisbon. Reli- gious worship is something that is well placed in the culture of each of these two cities, even though it has been decreasing in recent times, especially in Lisbon. Walking through Istanbul will definitely be a good experience. You will hear Ezan five times a day, indica- ting the time to pray. These hours change from day to day and have to do with the sun’s position. If a Friday you are walking around a mosque at noon do not be surprised to find many people outside it to pray. Whenever you visit a mosque, be sure to go well composed not using armhole sleeves or shorts / skirt / short dress; but if you are using this type of clothing do not worry the entry will have scarves to cover. To enter the mosque also will have to take off; Finally and only for women is also necessary to cover their hair. Curious Cities 7 Lisbon despite the many churches there is a great bustle around the same, only on Sundays is a larger movement. To enter the same there is no special care to have, but during the time of the Mass is not advisable to visit. As a final curiosity in Istanbul there are some churches with special empha- sis on both the Istiklal Avenue; In Lisbon there is one mosque, and planes for the construction of a second one.

Food This is perhaps the strength of each city. In either case there is a huge varie- ty of all kinds of food. In Istanbul the strong point is the Kebab, there hun- dreds of different ways to prepare this type of meat. As is known, the pork can not be consumed by Muslims, so it is virtually impossible to find it for sale. Another of the most popular dishes and more presence on the streets is the Balik Ekmek, or fish in bread, which as the name implies is a sandwi- ch with fish that adds lettuce and onions. Yogurt is also a constant presence in many dishes, including soups. Also very sold on the streets is the Simit, a type of bread with toasted seeds. When it comes to drinks Ayran is king. This drink that combines yogurt with water and salt is often used due to spicy which is used in foods. In the street is also common to find natural juice sellers of Orange and Po- megranate. Tea (çay) is also very popular in cafes, as you can saw in pages 4 and 5; as mentioned in the article on tea, coffee in Istanbul (and Turkey) is different, being called Turkish coffee. This coffe is joined with the dregs,

and in the end, it is traditional to Traditional portuguese steak read people’s future with this sludge. When it comes to alcoholic drinks Raki reigns. This Turkish drink made by anise and grape needs water to be added in order to be drinked. The candies are also something very famous and easy to find throughout the city, the most characteristic are the baklavas in its various flavors. Curious Cities 8 By the Lisbon seafood restaurants and breweries are the spaces with more fame. Eat fresh seafood or a steak is something easy to find. The codfish, cooked in many different ways, is present in almost all places, as well as all kinds of fish. Selling food in the street is not very common, but a Bifana, especially in big events, is not too hard to find. When it comes to the more traditional drinks is there is the Portuguese wine, but if you walk the in the streets of Lisbon, you will also find several shops selling ginginha, a drink made on the basis of Ginja. When it comes to sweets there is the Pastel de Nata and the Pastel de Belem wich are the most famous and go very well with a cup of coffee. As a final point on this issue something characteristic to the two cities. The sale of roasted chestnuts is common, but despite being baked differently, the smell is the same.

Hospitality Another very similar point between the two cities and between the two countries. The Turks are very hospitable people and try to make their guests feel good, either in their homes or by street. The great weakness of this hospitality is the fact that they only speak Turkish, so it often becomes impossible to exist good communication between foreigners and Turks. On the other hand, there is a strong point on this weakness, because even if they don’t speak English, they do everything to commu- nicate, from using the calculator to show the numbers to using gestures. Portuguese people are also known to be very hospitable and unlike the Turks, they speak all the languages in the world, or at least they think

Curious Cities 9 they do, wich is good, because they can make every foreigner unders- tand them.

Geography The similarities in geographical terms also exist. To show these similarities nothing better than to start by highlighting the fact that Istanbul

and Lisbon to be known as the city of seven hills. Both cities have water to separate its Boğaziçi Köprüsü bridge between Europe and Asia banks, in the case of the Istanbul Bosphorus, in the case of Lisbon the Tagus river. Despite this Portuguese town is a little different, since the other side there are other cities, towns these that make up the metropolitan area of Lisbon. This makes it similar have constant boats to cross the banks with tourists and locals. Finally both have two bridges to make the connection between their margins, and the Boğaziçi Köprüsü bridge and the April 25 have many similarities in appearance.

Tourism Both cities receive much tourism being both in the Mediterranean Top7. But while Turkey is the sixth country with more tourism in the world – in 2014 were 37.8 million – Portugal receives just over 11 million. The two cities in question here are sites that receive more tourism in their country. The reasons for visiting are more than enough in any of them, and there are points of interest for all kinds of people and ages.

Curious Cities 10 Sports As you will be able to see in pages 12 and 13 Istanbul and Lisbon are the seat of the most important clubs in their countries – in Portugal Porto joins Lisbon. Istanbul is home of Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fernerbah- çe. Lisbon is the home of Benfica and Sporting. Sports emotions can be experienced every week with these clubs and many other less important

but that are the delight either in Istanbul or in Boğaziçi Köprüsü bridge between Europe and Asia Lisbon.

Games If you go to a cafe in Istanbul you can spend your time playing backgammon (Tavla) and Okey while drinking tea (cay) or smoking a shisha (nargile). In Portugal there are also games for those who go to cafes but it is much rarer. The cards are the most common, with the Swedish game that brings together more su- pporters. Although the games are different the practice of playing with others is common.

Others There are other similar factors between the two cities. The shoe po- lishers shoes are perhaps the most curious similarity between these two cities, since it is not very common. Public transport is also similar, with a particular focus on older electrical, such as Istiklal in Is- tanbul and 28 in Lisbon. The traffic in Istanbul is much more chaotic than in Lisbon, though both cities have many car accidents.

As you can see there are many similarities between these two cities, perhaps more than the differences. But the best way to find out is the same visit each one and see with their own eyes.

Curious Cities 11 The greatest love of these countries?

José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon

Turkey and Portugal are two countries that love sports, especially football; as indeed it happens in almost everyone. In fact the reality of the football championships have several similarities. In both countries there are three main teams and only five teams were national champions. Let then the names; in Turkey the big three are Beşiktaş (13 times champion), Fenerbahçe (19) and Galatasaray (19) who won 51 of 58 league editions (beginning in 1956/1957, these three join Trabzons- por with six titles and the Bursaspor with one. In Portugal the big three are Benfica (30 times champion), Porto (26) and Sporting (18) joining Belenenses and Boavista with one title each in 76 league editions (beginning 1938/1939). In the World and European Cups of football the balance turns out to be more positive for Portugal. In the world cup each selection has in the third place the best rating and what happened to both for only once; but the third Portugal joint fourth place which gives him an advantage. In Europeans the advantage of Portugal is higher. Portugal has been second once and third three times, while Turkey only reached the podium once with a third place. Curious Cities12 Let us now leave the queen mode to switch to the world’s leading sporting competition. Olympics Turkey gets the better of Portugal. There are 87 medals in 21 appearances (which gives an average of 4.14 medals per issue) while Portugal has 23 medals in as many appearances, which puts them in 29th and 65th in the ranking of medals. On the other hand if you do the math in the context of medals per capita Portugal is ahead of Turkey. In this particular ranking in Portugal comes in 63 with a medal for every 459.200 inhabitants; Turkey comes in 76th position with a medal every 858.899 inhabitants. Of the 87 medals in Turkey 40 are gold, while Por- tugal has only four. The Wrestling are the strongest sport in Turkey with the 58 medals won, on the other hand Portugal has its four gold medals in track and field and a total of 10 medals in the category. It is important to highlight the Weightlifting, it has a lot of tradition in Turkey and have 10 medals won, with eight gold, Portugal on the other hand just sent six athletes for this mode with a best result in 11th place. As a final curiosity Turkey has medals in six sports while Portugal has medals in nine sports. Both countries never won any medal in the Winter Olympics. Already the Paralympics Portugal is ahead of Turkey, but Turkey has only five appearances against nine of Portugal. Turkey won 14 medals in these holdings as Portugal won 88. Here we must highlight the Boccia, where Portugal is the country with more Paralympic medals. Turning now to clubs is necessary to emphasize more of a curiosity that unites the two countries and the Mediterranean. In these countries the clubs are not dedicated just a sport in general. So it is common to monitor the same club in various ways, instead of having a club for each mode. In the main class Olympic sports Turkey stands out in basketball in both sexes, despite never having won anything. The Turkish women’s volleyball has tradition, but again never managed to win any title. Portugal Ülker Sports Arena in Istanbul for its part, has no tradition in any team sport, and rarely appears in European or global. The conclusion is reached between the two countries is that they are countries that love sport, but the results, especially in the most famous sports, do not follow this fanaticism.

Curious Cities 13 Atatürk and Salazar: two historical politicians

Ataturk statue in Kadıköy, Istambul

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and António de Oliveira Salazar have little in common, but both are considered the great figures of each of their countries. If in Turkey is fully accepted that Ataturk is the main figure, after all, he is called “Father of the Turks” in Portugal it is not well accepted that Salazar was the greatest Portuguese. The nationalist leader who ruled the country for 36 years in an authoritarian regime has this title through a program to define precisely who was the greatest Portuguese in History. This program eventually consider Salazar the largest Portuguese in History with 41% of votes, something that still causes controversy. Let’s now know Ataturk. The father of the Turks was born in 1881 in Thes- saloniki, currently a Greek city. With a military career is after the First World War, with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in this war, beginning the War of Turkish Independence in which it is the leader of the Turkish National Movement. By winning this war turns the Ottoman Empire into a modern republic and so the July 24, 1923 comes to Turkey with Mustafa Kemal as president. Although the capital at this time already be Ankara was in Istanbul that Ataturk lived, ruled and died on November 10, 1938. It has been known for its modern policies, how to defend equal rights between men and women. The focus on education was one of the strengths of its

Curious Cities 14 policy; but a break with previous policies and the religion were their biggest fights. For it made changes in language and despite maintaining Islam as religion became the most secular state and made the people go to dress more Western and less oriental way, a big break with the past. Currently, it is impossible to walk through Istanbul, as well as throughout Turkey, without seeing a reference to it’s first President; the references are of all kinds, such as the name of the main airport in Istanbul, flagsor statues everywhere, which proves the admiration and passion for his father. Salazar was born eight years later and that Ataturk came to power in 1932 after having been as Minister of Finance. It is in this area is considered one of the most brilliant. Soon governance could make Portugal a country bankrupt and seemingly salvation for one of the world’s richest countries, despite this wealth not be seen in the country. With a government that excel in authority, as evidenced by the censorship and the political police (PIDE), the Portuguese authoritarian regime was what could endure longer in Europe, with a total of 42 years; of which the last six who was ruled Marcello Caetano. While one of the main goals of Ataturk was the separation between State and Religion, the Church was Salazar’s greatest ally. One of the main events in favor of Salazar was to maintain the neutrality of the country in World War II. But one of the main points was avoid getting into a war another of the most important events of their governance is the War of Ultramar that lasted 13 years (1961-1974). In 1968 due to illness is forced out of government, and died in 1970 in Lisbon, after 81 years. For Portugal despite the title admiration for Salazar is debatable. After the 1974 revolution, which ended with the Estado Novo, the advance of communism in the country, which was the enemy of Salazar, tried to erase it’s name from History, and shapes the future from the perspective of just remember the negative aspects of its governance. One example of this at- tempt to erase history is precisely in Lisbon, where the name of the bridge over the Tagus went from Salazar Bridge to Bridge April 25, the day of the revolution. Although they are both considered the greatest figures of their countries, although in different ways, their presence in each of their countries is very different. Ataturk is present anywhere, Salazar in turn was the victim of a deletion in the lives of the Portuguese. Curious Cities 15