Silent witness

Üsküdar’s ancient planes

By Monica Fritz | March 4, 2018


Deep in Üsküdar, up on a hill overlooking the sea next to the famous barracks where Florence Nightingale nursed the sick and the dying of another pointless war, lies the Baroque Selimiye Mosque and its garden, now stark and into the pre-spring pruning season. John Freely describes the garden as "exceptionally lovely, shaded by three of the finest old plane trees in the city". I found two of the three trees strong and  amazing to see. The winter landscape has created that often-talked-about melancholy and great beauty as they frame the Barracks reaching over to the other side of the street.

The lively Wednesday market below helps to preserve the sweet, authentic neighborhood of Çiçekçi.

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