OK, so I’m back home now— and officially married. She said “yes” (*phew!*) and was then nice enough to humour me during some of my underground related antics during the week-long honeymoon in Istanbul. For eg: having to tag along with me as I entered just about every lighting store we came across to find a 24″ portable  flourescent unit. I look forward to being able to use it to light my shots, but I know it’s going to be a real pain to have to bring around with me. I might have to get Teri back underground to help me carry it.

One of Istanbul's many treasures.

And of course, with a week to spend wandering the streets of Istanbul, I inevitably began to wonder about its sewer system- especially in and around the older parts of the city. The manhole covers would often have ventilation holes large enough to be able look down through the shaft without having to crouch down. I was never able to see anything that looked larger than a couple of feet in diameter, though. (Side note: some of the covers have “kanalizasyon” stamped on them- the turkish word for sewer, obviously derived from the french term “canalisation”) I rarely heard, saw or smelled any significant amount of wastewater flowing through anything.  I’m sure there are good things to be found. I’m just too used to Montreal. I guess my sewersense needs to become more refined for it to work in Europe.

A typical Istanbul manhole cover. Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/smallscreen

Unfortunately, the internet wasn’t of much use either. Searching for “kanalizasyon istanbul” revealed little that I could make any sense of. My knowledge of Turkish is limited to about a dozen or so words. Good enough for exchanging pleasentries, but not so much for tracking down sewer maps. The one English page I could find was only good for this particular photo:

Turkish sewer construction photo complete with moustachioed men and lady friends.

There are also supposedly “several hundreds” of ancient underground cisterns/reservoirs scattered around Istanbul, one of which (the Yerebatan Sarayı) has been restored and opened for public viewing. Teri and I gladly paid our $8 to go have a look and to take a break from the high temperatures that day. The lighting is tastefully done and made for an interesting enough experience, although I could have done without the snackbar found right inside of it.

Inside Istanbul's Yerebatan Sarayı (aka Basilica) Cistern.

We also spent a bit of time in Athens— a city that’s even more chaotic and poorly planned than Istanbul. This was my second there and I still can’t figure out the writing on the manhole covers. It’s hard to imagine that a well-ordered and comprehensive sewer system was ever set beneath the city’s crazy street grid, but I’m sure there are more than a few good things to be found. At least, that’s the impression I get from the website for the city’s wastewater management department.

A 75 foot wide drainage canal system heading underground in the south end of Athens.

There also looks to be an impressive drainage canal system, portions of which seem to go underground for kilometers on end. It seems to be relatively new construction, but might prove to be interesting.  Being the kind of city that Athens is, I’m sure it also has its share of older underground treasures as well. The Ilissos river, which flowed along the north edge of the Acropolis and is now underground, would probably be a good starting point. I hope to be able to get back soon to see what I can find.

Map showing the River Ilissos (Ilissus) skirting the outskirts of the old city grounds in Athens.

In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for good old Montreal.