Ayasofya // Hagia Sophia Museum
Hagia Sophia (Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία; "Holy Wisdom", Turkish: Ayasofya, Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 AD on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features - such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside - were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the secular Republic of Turkey.
The Blue Mosque // Sultan Ahmet Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and was the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1299 to 1923). The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul. The mosque was to be built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, facing the Hagia Sophia (at that time the most venerated mosque in Istanbul) and the hippodrome, a site of great symbolic significance. Construction of the mosque started in August 1609 when the sultan himself came to break the first sod. It was his intention that this would become the first mosque of his empire. He appointed his royal architect Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa, a pupil and senior assistant of the famous architect Sinan as the architect in charge of the construction.
Suleymaniye Mosque
The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii) is a grand mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built on the order of sultan Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1557. The 53m high central dome of the mosque rests on four pillars, called elephant-feet, and has a diameter of 26.5m. It is considered to be a kind of architectural answer to the Byzantine Hagia Sophia, commissioned by the Emperor Justinian. The Hagia Sophia, converted into a mosque under Mehmed II, served as a model to many other Ottoman mosques in Istanbul. Sinan's Sulimaniye is a more symmetrical, rationalized and light-filled interpretation of earlier Ottoman precedents, as well as the Hagia Sophia. It is possible that dialogue between Italy and Istanbul contributed to Sinan's enthusiasm for symmetrical and rational forms, as promoted by writers like Alberti.
Yerebatan (Basilica) Cistern
The largest of covered cisterns in the city was built during the reign of Justinian I, the Byzantine Emperor. The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: 'Yerebatan Sarayi' or 'Yerebatan Sarnici'), is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul, former Constantinople, Turkey. The cistern, located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul next to the Hagia Sophia, was built during the reign of emperor Justinian I in the 6th century, the age of glory of Eastern Rome, also called the Byzantine Empire. This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber of 143 by 65 metres, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The large space is broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns each 9 metres high. The columns are arranged in 12 rows each consisting of 28 columns. The capitals of the columns are mainly Ionic and Corinthian styles, with the exception of a few Doric style with no engravings. According to ancient historians, emperor Constantine had already built a basilica and cistern on the same spot. As the demand for water grew, emperor Justinian enlarged the cisterns and incorporated the basilica.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum
The Istanbul Archaeology Museum (Turkish: Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzesi) is an archeological museum, located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapi Palace. The Istanbul Archaeology Museum actually consists of three museums. Those are the main Archeology Museum, the Old Eastern Works Museum and the Enameled Kiosk Museum. It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history. The construction of the Main building was started by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1881, attaining its present form in 1908. The architect was Alexander Vallaury. The façade of the building was inspired by the Alexander Sarcophagus and Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, both housed inside the Museum. It is one of the prominent structures built in the neoclassical style in Istanbul. The Ancient Eastern Works Museum was commissioned by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883 as a Fine Arts School. Then it was re-organized as a museum and opened in 1935. It was closed to visitors in 1963, and reopened in 1974 after restoration works on the interior. The Enameled Kiosk Museum was commissioned by Mehmed II the Conqueror in 1472. It is one of the oldest structures in Istanbul featuring Ottoman civil architecture. It was used as the Imperial Museum between 1875 and 1891. It was opened to public in 1953 as a museum of Turkish and Islamic art, and was later incorporated into the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapi Palace (Turkish: Topkapi Sarayi) is a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans, from 1465 to 1853. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today. The name directly translates as "Cannongate Palace", from the palace being named after a nearby gate. Initial construction started in 1459, ordered by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At the height of its existence as a royal residence, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, formerly covering a larger area with a long shoreline. The complex has been expanded over the centuries, with many renovations such as for the 1509 earthquake and 1665 fire. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Topkapi Palace was transformed by government decree on April 3, 1924 into a museum of the imperial era. The Topkapi Palace Museum is under the administration of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public today. The complex is guarded by officials of the ministry as well as armed guards of the Turkish military. The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture and also contains large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry.
Dolmabahce Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace was the first European-style palace in Istanbul and was built by Sultan Abdülmecid between 1842 and 1853, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold pounds, the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. Fourteen tons of gold in the form of gold leaf were used to gild the ceilings of the palace. The world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria, is at the center hall. The chandelier has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and one of the great staircases has bannisters of Baccarat crystal. The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay in the Bosphorus which was filled gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; and it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe (Filledgarden) comes from, dolma meaning 'filled' and bahçe meaning 'garden'. Various summer palaces were built here during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The palace that stands here today was built between 1842 and 1853 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid, on the site of the old coastal palace of Besiktas, by the Armenian architects Garabet Amira Balyan and his son Nigogayos Balyan. The Sultans moved here, since the old Topkapi Palace lacked the modern luxuries that the Dolmabahçe could provide. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of Turkey, spent his last years in the palace as his health deteriorated. Atatürk died at 9:05 a.m. on November 10, 1938, in a room that is now part of the museum.
Galata Tower
The Galata Tower (Turkish: Galata Kulesi), also called Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) by the Genoese and Megalos Pyrgos (The Great Tower) by the Byzantines, is located in Istanbul, Turkey, to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is a huge, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline on the Galata side of the Golden Horn. The tower was built as Christea Turris in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. It was the apex of the fortifications surrounding the Genoese citadel of Galata. The current tower should not be confused with the old Tower of Galata, an original Byzantine tower, named Megalos Pyrgos, which controlled the northern end of the massive sea chain that closed the entrance of the Golden Horn. This tower was on a different site and was largely destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The 66.90 m tower (62.59 m without the ornament on top) was the city's tallest structure when built. The upper section of the tower with the conical cap was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires. In 1638, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings from this tower over the Bosphorus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side. In the 1960s the original wooden interior of the tower was replaced by a concrete structure and it was opened to the public. There is a restaurant and café on its upper floors which commands a magnificent view of Istanbul and the Bosphorus. Also located on the upper floors is a nightclub which hosts a Turkish show. There are two operating elevators that carry visitors from the lower level to the upper levels. Entrance to the tower costs 10 New Turkish Lira.
Galata Bridge
The Galata Bridge (in Turkish Galata Köprüsü) is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. From the end of the 19th century in particular, the bridge has featured in Turkish literature, theater, poetry and novels. The Galata Bridge was a symbolic link between the traditional city of Istanbul proper, site of the imperial palace and principal religious and secular institutions of the empire, and the districts of Galata, Beyoğlu, Şişli and Harbiye where a large proportion of the inhabitants were non-Muslims and where foreign merchants and diplomats lived and worked. In this respect the bridge bonded these two distinctive cultures. As Peyami Safa wrote in his novel, Fatih-Harbiye, a person who went from Fatih to Harbiye via the bridge set foot in a different civilization and different culture. Apart from its place in fiction, the romantic appearance of the Galata Bridge made it the subject of many paintings and engravings. All daily city tours in Istanbul include this bridge as it is the passageway to the Old City of Constantinople. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galata_Bridge
Underneath the bridge, touristy restaurants and cafés serve drinks and food all day and night. Come here to inhale the evocative scent of apple tobacco wafting out of the nargileh cafés and to watch the passing parade of ferries zooming past. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/turkey/istanbul/sights/1000322955?list=true
For More Information About İstanbul
general information
www.kultur.gov.tr
www.gallery.istanbul.gov.tr
www.ibb.gov.tr
www.istanbul.com
www.istanbullife.org
general information, places of interest, etc.
www.icvb.org
www.english.istanbul.gov.tr
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/turkey/istanbul/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul
general information, accomodation, entertainment, etc.
www.istanbultourist.com
www.english.istanbul.com
www.istanbulcityguide.com
Panaromic views
www.360tr.com/Sultanahmet/
www.360tr.com/topkapi/index.htm
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