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Notes from my trip to Barcelona: Day 4
Posted by admin in Art and Design, Travel on Mayıs 6th, 2009
This actually doesn’t count as a day because we didn’t actually get to do anything else in Barcelona.
Being weiry and tired of the endless hopping around in Barcelona I got up late, but just in time to reach the flight back home. Angry to miss the chance of one last visit to La Boqueria Mercat (marketplace) at Las Ramblas, I was still grateful not to have missed the flight.
My intention for that morning was to get up very early, go shopping for a few local items at the marketplace and then catch the flight. But not everything goes as planned, does it.
So I think it would be OK to dot down some notes that I think you should bear in mind if you plan on going to Barcelona.
Do’s and don’t do’s in Barcelona:
- Use the sightseeing bus for getting around. Only use the metro if you have to, because you will miss the attractions along the way. We mostly used the tube, we had so little time, wei didn’t want to waste time in traffic, but it was dreadful spending all that time underground. It was too late when we found out that there was an economical ticket for a period of days for the touristic sightseeing bus.
- If you don’t want to waste money don’t buy stuff like drinking water from touristic spots such as Las Ramblas (The price for a bottle of 1.5lt. water is 2€ appr.). If you go to local stores off the touristic route you can find stuff for a quarter of the touristic price.
- Plan your trip ahead so you can see as many places as possible.
- If possible arrange your stay there for at least a weak, 10-15 days would be superb.
- If you go there in summer, make sure to visit the beach.
- There is bike rental system you can use to get around. Try it out!
- Buy your wine from local markets it’s cheaper and better, than duty free, trust me.
- Try to visit Monserrat, a monastery close to Barcelona famous for its wine.
- Places I missed:
- olympic stadium
- the Calatrava tower
- The Dali Museum (outside Barcelona)
- Nou Camp
- The funicular to Montjuïc
- Torre de Collserola, telecommunication tower designed by Norman Foster Architects
- Tibidabo, the amusement park
- Poble Espanyol at Montjuïc (a sweet preserved old Catalan town)
And that will be all about this trip. Hope to tell you about other places soon 
.
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Notes from my trip to Barcelona: Day 3
Posted by admin in Art and Design, Travel on Mayıs 4th, 2009
Day 3
This was our last whole day at this wonderful city. We were due to leave at noon the next day, and we still had a lot to do. We were already very tired from the previous day and had decided to take it a bit slower than the day before, but the “big” sites were left for that day so there was still no time for relaxing.
1. We again woke up early, had breakfast and got out towards the metro station to head to our planned destination “La Sagrada Familia”. We spared the whole morning for this attraction point, and tried to get there as early as possible.
Leaving the metro station we turned around and saw this amazing building. You should have seen us, eyes and mouthes wide open .
It was unbelievable, to see this building with their own eyes, everyone must do it. All the mass, the details, the sculptures, the spires, even though the building is unfinished, its whole impression is remarkable.
Although we were there by 9:30 AM the site was full of buses and tourist groups trying to enter the building.
We found the gate for individual tourists, (the gate for groups was seperated and on the Nativity side of the building) it was on the Passion side so we had to walk around.
We could have spent the wole day at this spot but we only had until noon according to our plan. 
So we toured the interior and took a look at the exhibitions of Gaudi’s conceptual drawings and models. There are a few large exhibitions in the main hall and at the basement level. All exhibitions explain the conceptual work of Gaudi with models and drawings. And additional information is given on the significant construction techniques. Every part of Gaudi’s designs are inspired from an organism from nature, be it a plant or animal. In a rational point of view, Gaudi uses these inspirations to mimic the functional aesthethics in nature. For example to elaborate a column he uses the tree as a figurative and structural element. Therefore, his figurative designs are derived from the trees form and function. This is where he gets his modernist side. However the figurative nature of Gaudi’s architecture is far from being modernist in style, since it is not reproducably cost effective.
Now Gaudi had erected only the Nativity facade while he was in charge of the project. The building had no interior, just a facade. After he died the construction stopped because of lack of funds and the Spanish civil war. Years later the construction was given a kick start and the funds collected from private sources and the income from the tours of the building. A sculptor named Josep Maria Subirachs was commissioned with the articulations of the Passion facade. His work was criticized being different from Gaudi’s original design, but in my opinion the difference makes the building more attractive.
We couldn’t have left without riding the elevator to the top and viewing the Cathedral and the surroundings, so waited the long que for nearly an hour and had a look at the spires and the city from above. Then we walked the narrow spiral staircase down and finally left the cathedral to go to our next stop: Parc Güell.
2. It seemed we had reserved that day for Gaudi’s architecture. We got directions at Sagrada Familia to get to Parc Güell, it was far from the metro station at Valcarca and had to walk for nearly half an hour uphill to the eastern gate. Actually after entering the gate the tour was downhill. So that was a relief. You can see that this park carries that this park carries the same characteristics of Gaudi’s architecture, his inspirations from nature, and his playful yet artistic attitude towards design.
3. I could have spent the rest of the day there but duty called. It was our last day in Barcelona and we hadn’t been to the World Architecture Festival yet . I decided to attend Norman Foster’s speach so me and a few pals left the park to the Barcelona Forum Convention Center. I missed Norman Foster’s, but what the heck all the site seeing Ihad done did it for me . I looked around to see what was going on at the fair. There were many Real estate projects exhibited. I left early and didn’t attend the closing party.
4. My last stop was The Torre Agbar, a high rise modern office building designed by Jean Nouvel. Night had fallen and I got to see it up close. Being one of its landmarks, the colourful lighting can be seen all over Barcelona. It was late so I didn’t get to see the interior 
. After getting a quick snack for dinner (may I remind you I hated the food in barcelona) we headed to a flamenco show downtown on our last night in this city.
5. The flamenco show, although not a part of Catalan culture was still something we couldn’t miss while we were in Spain. We couldn’t find many alternatives but we were lucky with the choice that we made. The show was very lively, there was a female dancer a male singer and a guitarist. It was a simple show where there were tables around a small stage, yet it was very touching and interactive. The artists invited a few people from the audience to the stage in turn to participate with the show.
After the show we headed back to the hotel. We were tired but we still wanted to go back to Las Rambles and visit the market in the morning before we left the hotel to the airport. That was our last plan for our trip to Barcelona.
I wasn’t intending on writing about DAY 4, but I must add some final notes about Barcelona. So you can follow a few more things on my next and last post about this trip.
Notes from my trip to Barcelona: Day 2
Posted by admin in Art and Design, Travel on Mayıs 2nd, 2009
DAY 2
The previous night we stayed up late to plan the rest of our trip (2 and a half days left). We made a list of all the “must see” spots and grouped them according to their locale. The Picasso Museum, Miro Foundation and Gaudi’s works were on top of the list. We didn’t have much time so we needed a plan that could provide us with a fast tour.
On our second day we woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel, which was not very apealing at all (only the bread rolls and cheese were worth the taste).
1. We went to see the Parc Ciutadella first thing. We strolled around, saw the Three Dragon Castle, and the Parliament Buildings from the exterior and came to the gate of the Zoo. Although we really wanted to go in we decided not to, because it was obvious we would spend the rest of the day there.
2. Next we went on towards the Picasso Museum. The Museum was about 15 minutes walk from the Park. When we came to the Picasso Museum we were happy to find out that there were discounted museum passes available. We could visit the 7 major museums by paying 20€. That was quite a relief since I was estimating the museum fees would cost 100€ for myself only. I already was a great fan of Picasso and I loved seeing all of his displayed in the Museum, especially the work he did on Las meninas. The documentary video show on Picasso’s Las meninas was really worth seeing (I think I’ll write a seperate post on this subject later on).
3. Our next stop was the Barcelona Cathedral (Cathedral of Santa Eulalia). This Cathedral is at Barri Gothic, the old city of Barcelona, and as you can guess is in Gothic architectural style. It is also the seat of the archbishop of Spain. The Church is dedicated to the co-patron saint of Barcelona St. Eulalia, who was a martyr of the Roman era. The Cathedral has a courtyard housing 13 geese which is a symbol of the age St. Eulalia was martyred. We had no time to stall so after a quick tour of the cathedral we left for the Museum of Contemporary Art.
4. The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art in other words MACBA, designed by Richard Meier, is an important example of neo-modernism. With its minimalist white facades and simplistic forms, the architecture carries on the legacy of Mies van der Rohe’s famous words “Less is More”. The only thing about this building was that the exhibitions were shaded by their container, the building itself. If the exhibited items could have co-existed with the architecture in a more creative way I think the function of being a museum would have balanced the museum being an object of art itself.
5. The Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture was our next stop. It is close by the MACBA and has an inner courtyard. The main feature of the building is the modern extension to the old building. The two standing adjacent to each other. We wanted to visit the center but the personnel said that the exhibition would open the day we were going to leave so we passed on that.
6. We were close to the Universitat Metro station so we jumped on and according to plan and schedule by 2 PM we were at the Plaza de España. This square among many is one of the most largest and most important. Before passing the square towards the Venetian Towers we went to see the Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird) Statue by Joan Miró at the Parc de Joan Miró. This sculpture is covered with mosaic glass and is a beautiful example of his joyful child – like works. I was really getting exited in visiting his museum, hoping we would have enough time left to spend there. We were getting close to its location, and were supposed to be there towards the end of our day’s sightseeing schedule. The Joan Miró Foundation was one of the artspots I really couldn’t miss. So we really had to act fast, but without haste.
7. Next we walked by the Plaza de España, through the Venetian Gates, firstly towards Mies’ pavillion, eager to experience this masterpiece, however we were disappointed because the pavillion was closed for the day. Observing the building from outside I was disappointed again; although it was obviously a modern architectural masterpiece, the building did not fit in with the monumental environment. It seemed lost among the wide ally, exhibition halls and other structures.
8. We then continued up the monumental stairs to The National Art Museum of Catalonia. This museum is housed by the ornate Palau Nacional, a part of the region selected for the 1929 world fair, including the previously stated Mies van der Rohe’s German national pavillion. I enjoyed the art, especially the paintings of Velasquez, the interior furniture Gaudi, as well as the architecture of the museum.
9. Next we passed on to the Joan Miró Foundation, as I have already said, I was very excited. This is a very modest, playful and aesthetic building just like the art of Miró. His art contains the spirit of a child’s, who is satirical, misetchievous and also modest. One problem about the musuem was that it was too small to house the crowds that came to visit, and thus I got lost in the route and missed visiting the roof.
10. We were very tired of walking and took a bus back to the Plaza de España, and then hopped on to the subway to our next and final step of the day: Gaudi’s Casa Milo, in other words to La Pedrera. Words are never enough to explain Gaudi’s work. The man was definitely thinking and creating in another dimension. The intricate detailing, and the overall design of Gaudi depict a world that is certainly out of time. Although he has been stated to be a modernist, I believe his work cannot be categorized to any one style. The chimneys that resemble soldiers guarding the roof, the mosaic covered architecture, organic structure, details and spaces all must be seen to be appreciated to full extent.
What a day! We had visited so many spots in just one day. All because we had planned our trip so well. That was all for Day 2. To expect more would be insane. We decided to end the day and rest our poor tired feet.
Again at the end of the day I was exhausted, but at the same time very happy to have spent my day so fully. We didn’t go out to experience the Barcelona nightlife, but rested happily that night to be up early the next morning and do some more sightseeing the next day.
Do you want to hear some more? Read about my last day in Barcelona…
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Notes from my trip to Barcelona: Day 1
Posted by admin in Art and Design, Travel on Nisan 30th, 2009
Last October I went to Barcelona / Spain on a field trip with the firm I worked with. We were around 30 by number and were pretty much excited about the trip. Although the main focus of the trip was to attend the World Architecture Festival held in Barcelona between 22-25 October 2008, I knew that the opportunity to visit this beautiful city and Gaudi’s buildings was enough to make me happy. Our visit to Barcelona was very short, we were going to tour on our own and I had done very little preparation as to where to visit. I already knew many sightseeing spots, but because I had no time, I hadn’t studied the guide books or decided on any trip routes. Our trip was to be spontaneous, however as you will read we managed to create our own route and it was quite successful too.
Although I think 3 days is definitely not nough for Barcelona, you can use the notes on this post for a quick tour, especially if you are visiting Barcelona for business and you have limited time for seeing the city’s attraction points.
DAY 1
We left Istanbul early Wednesday morning and checked into our hotel by afternoon. After a 1 hour’s rest, we left the hotel to begin sightseeing, since our stay in Barcelona wasn’t very long. We decided to go to the Aquarium because it was close to the hotel.
1. The Aquarium is located at the Port Vell close to the Port Olymipic. We took the subway and got off at the Barceloneta station. The building houses 35 different aquariums, 11,000 animals of 450 different species. It was a very relaxing tour especially after our flight.
2. After the Aquarium, at around 9:00 PM we took a look at our maps and decided to have a quick tour of Las Ramblas, the street where the city nightlife takes place, and have somethings to eat. The street was full of tourists gift shopping and dining. The general atmosphere somewhat resembles Istiklal, (the street that never sleeps) in Istanbul. We strolled around looking for somewhere to dine and after 1 hour of searching we finally decided to eat piaella (local dish with rice and garnitures such as fish or meat of your choice) somewhere and ate. We ordered other local dishes as well, however nobody seemed to like the Catalan food served at the place we ate. Honestly speaking the food was bad. During our stay at Barcelona, neither the food we ate at restaurants, nor the breakfasts at the hotel were good. Maybe we didn’t know where to dine. But it shouldn’t be that difficult get a decent meal should it? Having had something to eat we left to our hotel. Since we were exhausted we decided to see Las Ramblas again the next day. We also decided to plan the rest of our trip that evening, so that we could make the best of Barcelona, otherwise we would waste much time wondering and deciding what to do next.
Because this is going to be too long, I’ll be writing about the rest of the trip in the following posts…
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A trip to the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul
Last Saturday I went to the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul. This museum is located in the famous Sultanahmet District near Topkapi Palace.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum
After entering the Bab-Ali gate (The Imperial Gate) we strolled through the front garden of the Topkapi Palace. We passed by the Aya Irini (Haghia Eirene) Museum on the left, which is formerly a church, and by the Darphane (The Ottoman Mint). Instead of heading towards the palace we took a left turn and went down the pretty street towards the Museum of Archaeology. Entering the main gate we found ourselves in the calmness of the courtyard among 3 significant buildings.
The History
This complex of the Istanbul Museum of Archaeology consists of 3 museums and a courtyard. Built in various periods the museum was closed for restoration in 1963 and reopened again in 1974.
Museum of the Ancient Orient
The first building we encounter as we enter the courtyard is the Old Eastern Works Museum. Built in 1883 by Osman Hamdi Bey, an artist and museum director, the building was intended to be a fine arts school (Sanayi-i nefise), later it was restorated and organised as a museum. You can find Anatolian, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Arabic works of Art, among which exist exquisite pieces such as the Statue of Naramsin, the king of Akad, the Kadeş Agreement and Chained Statue. Also there are 75,000 cuneiform documents in the “Tablets Archive”.
Museum of Islamic Art (The Tiled Kiosk)
Sultan Mehmed the 2nd had the Tiled Kiosk built in 1472 to be a part of the outer gardens of Topkapi Palace. Later, in the 19th century it was converted into an imperial museum. And in 1953 it was added to the Archaeological Museum as a museum of Turkish and Islamic Art.
Archaeologiacal Museum (Main Building)
This building, designed by Alexander Vallaury was built in 1881, with the supervision of Osman Hamdi Bey. It is one of the few museum buildings which has originally been built as a museum. The Alexander Sarcophagus and the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, which are 2 of the masterpieces of this museum, are the sources of inspiration for the neoclassical facade. In 1998 a new modern wing has been added to the main building, and it has received the European Council Museum Award for the renovations and new displays.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum Photos
I have been to this complex several times and whenever I leave, I always feel that the day was not enough and I have to visit again. Even the courtyard itself being so serene, is a place where you can spend the whole day if you have the time to spare it’s definitely worth it.
Besides the archiecture the exhibitions also are absolutely astonishing.
The Exhibitions
Alexander Sarcophagus
The Alexander Sarcophagus is one of the most famous items in the museum. The facades are elaborated with bas-relief sculptures of the battles of Alexander the Great. The depictions on the facades are so vivid you can visualise the chaotic and brutal scenes of the battles all around the sarcophagus.
With the elaborations of Alexander all around the sarcophagus it appears to have been prepared for Alexander himself, however it is known that it is the burial tomb for Abdalonymus, the king of Sidon in Lebanon, who was appointed by Alexander after the Battle of Issus.
This item and the Sarcophagus of Mourning women were retreived by Osman Hamdi, who was the museum founder and director, and brought to Istanbul in 1887.
Both the Sarcophagus of Alexander, and the Sarcophagus of Mourning Women are from the 4th century B.C. and both are examples of Ionian architectural style, with all their elegance and artistic quality.
Mourning Women Sarcophagus
The Mourning Women Sarcophagus is another beautiful item in the collection of the museum. As you can understand from its name the facades are elaborated with bas-relief carvings of 18 women mourning, all in different form and figures. This Sarcophagus is assumed to be the tomb of King Straton of Sidon and the woman are thought to be from his harem. Looking at every sculpture of the women grieving around the sarcophagus you feel that they have lost someone special, a person loved by many women.
These are only two of the most significant items. There are many other items worth seeing in the hall of sarcophagi at the Archeological Museum, such as the Sarcophagi of Tabnit and the Satrap, and the monumental Lycian tomb.
Throughout the museum you can also find glazed tile images from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, many statues from the Roman era, busts of Alexander the Great and Zeus, one of the three known tablets of the Kadesh Treaty and many more items.
You can also have a look at the photos I have taken from my field trip either through the map above or click on my picasa web album on the left.
If you ever go to Istanbul, which you surely must do at least once in your life, be sure to visit this museum. It is, located at the Sultanahmet district which is the center of touristic attraction, easy to find, and most important of all it is one of the best museums in the world. Among all the other beautiful sites in the city, this tells the most of the cultural and historical heritage in Turkey.
For further reading go to:
Governorship of Istanbul Website
Ministry of Culture and Tourism Website
Wikipedia
The New York Times
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