Grand city keeps enchanting
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Gül Demir and Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 17, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Istanbul’s historic peninsula has hundreds of fascinating places to visit above ground and underground. On top of everything, the city is constantly changing, especially as 2010 approaches and Istanbul will be crowned one of the European Capitals of Culture. However, this magnificent city with an extremely rich and enchanting history, home to three civilizations, is also home to many places that have changed very little over time
The horses and chariots are racing around the Hippodrome. The emperor, empress and nobles are cheering from the imperial stands. It’s a tight race, and no one knows whether Ben-Hur or his competitor will win. Of course, this scenario was the 19th century creation of Lew Wallace, governor of the territory of New Mexico and U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire (1881-1885), later translated for the big screen four times.
The Hippodrome is on the crown of the first of the seven hills on which Constantinople Ğ a city that was later to become today’s Istanbul Ğ sits. In fact the first settlement of this strategic site was to be found on the Asian shore in today’s Kadiköy, according to traditional accounts. These claims are now being refuted by archaeological finds discovered as the Marmaray underground train’s main station was being built. These have pushed the history of the city back a couple thousand years, although at first it was thought that only Byzantine remains would be uncovered. The remains are being transferred to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Mosaic Museum
The grand palace of the Byzantine rulers was located approximately where today’s Topkapi Palace is found. Some of the mosaics from the palace are displayed in the nearby mosaic museum. A few other remains that can be found inside Topkapi include a balustrade and a baptismal font.
Today’s Topkapı Palace is totally different from any kind of palace that people coming from the West would think of. It is a series of small pavilions, each of which had different designs and purposes. They are believed to have been built this way to resemble the tents that the Turks used in their migrations from Central Asia. Plus by having a number of different such pavilions, the need the sultans felt to be architects was satisfied. Today, as a museum, it is devoted to showing off many of the items that were collected in the palace that belonged to the Ottoman sultans, from weapons and clocks to jewels and sacred relics.
Part of the Topkapı Palace complex includes the three Archaeological Museums. The main museum, which was built at the end of the 19th century, houses many artifacts that have been excavated or found in Turkey from all the cultures that preceded the Ottoman Turks. The Çinili Pavilion, built in 1472, shows off some of the magnificent tiles built in the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. The third museum is devoted to the ancient Middle East. But what lurks in the depots of the museums is anybody’s guess Ğ thousands of cuneiform tablets are only the tip of the iceberg.
A bit of green in gray
Below these museums is Gülhane Park, a green space in an otherwise gray city. It used to have a rather sad place with a tiny zoo, but they have eliminated the zoo. The park is used primarily as an area of relaxation and eating a picnic lunch. Recently a new museum has also been added in the area Ğ the Istanbul Museum of Islamic Sciences and Technologies.
Within the great walls of Topkapı Palace is a Byzantine church, St. Irene or Aya Irini. It dates from the fourth century A.D. but is basically overshadowed by its neighbor, St. Sophia. Today Aya Irini is used mostly for concerts.
Then there is the famous St. Sophia. Originally a church that was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the sixth century A.D., it was a marvelously beautiful creation that was one of the wonders of the world. Following the conquest of Constantinople in the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. Minarets were added to the complex, while inside a wooden platform was added from which the head religious figure would read the Friday sermon; huge roundels with the names of Allah, Mohammed and the four caliphs of Islam were attached to the upper walls; and an area was put aside in which the reigning sultan could worship in privacy. In the courtyard, a number of mausoleums were erected and contain the coffins of some of the sultans and close members of their families. It was only after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic that the structure became a museum, a compromise that originated with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, between Orthodox Christians, who wanted their church back, and Muslims, who wanted their mosque.
From in front of St. Sophia extending southward is the Hippodrome with its ovoid shape that has more or less remained the way it was in Roman and Byzantine Empire days. The buildings that ring it are later, sometimes much later. In the middle of the space, we see columns set up by the Byzantines and the fountain of German Kaiser Wilhelm from the early 20th century.
Same shape
The very end of the space was the sphendome; some of it still exists if you care to go down the back on one of the roads leading to the Sea of Marmara. Sultanahmet Square is still roughly the same shape as it was in Byzantine times when it was the scene of so many exciting games and the occasional political riot. Under the Ottomans, the area served as a military exercise ground and was even called the Horse Square. Today it is the place that all tourists are required to see because in its vicinity are the most remarkable buildings that are the world’s heritage from past eras.
The Sultan Ahmet Mosque is named after the 14th Ottoman ruler who had the mosque that fronts on the square that also bears his name. It is a magnificent mosque known for its particularly beautiful blue tiles and six minarets instead of the more conventional two or four. It has a large courtyard and its northeast side has been turned into a garden.
Between the St. Sophia Museum and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a modest looking building Ğ the Haseki Hamam. It is one of the best models of its kind and was built in the second half of the 16th century at the request of Haseki Hanım, who is known in the West as Roxelana. She was the beloved wife of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman and the commission was carried out by Mimar Sinan, who is considered one of the best architects in the world of all time. It is one of the best examples of a Turkish hamam to be found but fortunately or otherwise it is currently being used to promote the sale of Turkish carpets and kilims.
To the west of St. Sophia is a marvelous cistern that was built by Justinian in the sixth century. The building has 336 columns and measures 140 meters by 70meters. It used to be that the only way you could see the cistern was to descend a rickety wooden staircase and stand on a platform that allowed you to only see five or six columns before the remainder dissolve into the darkness. Today a walkway allows people to comfortably traverse the entire area and see the famed Medusa columns without getting their feet wet and afterwards they can refresh themselves at a small restaurant that has been set up.
Another treasure in Sultanahmet area is Ibrahim Paşa Saray or the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. The original building was built in the 16th century for Ibrahim Paşa, who was a grand vizier and the son-in-law of Kanuni Süleyman.
Founded in 1914 and housed elsewhere until 1983, this museum was the first to bring together a collection of Turkish and Islamic Art.
The Grand Bazaar
From there, no visit to Istanbul is complete without a visit to the Grand Bazaar set up by Fatih Sultan Mehmet originally as a place where the tradesmen doing business in the building could store their valuables overnight, something like a giant bank vault. From there it expanded into the several thousand tiny cubicles from which innumerable items are offered to potential buyers.
One could go on because there must be hundreds of places to visit in what is dubbed the historic peninsula. People have written major books on many of the places to visit in this small area that is basically bounded by the walls of Theodosius. So grab a good guidebook and set off. But you should know that on top of everything, the city constantly changes, especially as 2010 approaches and Istanbul will be the European Capital of Culture.
The Hippodrome is on the crown of the first of the seven hills on which Constantinople Ğ a city that was later to become today’s Istanbul Ğ sits. In fact the first settlement of this strategic site was to be found on the Asian shore in today’s Kadiköy, according to traditional accounts. These claims are now being refuted by archaeological finds discovered as the Marmaray underground train’s main station was being built. These have pushed the history of the city back a couple thousand years, although at first it was thought that only Byzantine remains would be uncovered. The remains are being transferred to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Mosaic Museum
The grand palace of the Byzantine rulers was located approximately where today’s Topkapi Palace is found. Some of the mosaics from the palace are displayed in the nearby mosaic museum. A few other remains that can be found inside Topkapi include a balustrade and a baptismal font.
Today’s Topkapı Palace is totally different from any kind of palace that people coming from the West would think of. It is a series of small pavilions, each of which had different designs and purposes. They are believed to have been built this way to resemble the tents that the Turks used in their migrations from Central Asia. Plus by having a number of different such pavilions, the need the sultans felt to be architects was satisfied. Today, as a museum, it is devoted to showing off many of the items that were collected in the palace that belonged to the Ottoman sultans, from weapons and clocks to jewels and sacred relics.
Part of the Topkapı Palace complex includes the three Archaeological Museums. The main museum, which was built at the end of the 19th century, houses many artifacts that have been excavated or found in Turkey from all the cultures that preceded the Ottoman Turks. The Çinili Pavilion, built in 1472, shows off some of the magnificent tiles built in the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. The third museum is devoted to the ancient Middle East. But what lurks in the depots of the museums is anybody’s guess Ğ thousands of cuneiform tablets are only the tip of the iceberg.
A bit of green in gray
Below these museums is Gülhane Park, a green space in an otherwise gray city. It used to have a rather sad place with a tiny zoo, but they have eliminated the zoo. The park is used primarily as an area of relaxation and eating a picnic lunch. Recently a new museum has also been added in the area Ğ the Istanbul Museum of Islamic Sciences and Technologies.
Within the great walls of Topkapı Palace is a Byzantine church, St. Irene or Aya Irini. It dates from the fourth century A.D. but is basically overshadowed by its neighbor, St. Sophia. Today Aya Irini is used mostly for concerts.
Then there is the famous St. Sophia. Originally a church that was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the sixth century A.D., it was a marvelously beautiful creation that was one of the wonders of the world. Following the conquest of Constantinople in the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. Minarets were added to the complex, while inside a wooden platform was added from which the head religious figure would read the Friday sermon; huge roundels with the names of Allah, Mohammed and the four caliphs of Islam were attached to the upper walls; and an area was put aside in which the reigning sultan could worship in privacy. In the courtyard, a number of mausoleums were erected and contain the coffins of some of the sultans and close members of their families. It was only after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic that the structure became a museum, a compromise that originated with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, between Orthodox Christians, who wanted their church back, and Muslims, who wanted their mosque.
From in front of St. Sophia extending southward is the Hippodrome with its ovoid shape that has more or less remained the way it was in Roman and Byzantine Empire days. The buildings that ring it are later, sometimes much later. In the middle of the space, we see columns set up by the Byzantines and the fountain of German Kaiser Wilhelm from the early 20th century.
Same shape
The very end of the space was the sphendome; some of it still exists if you care to go down the back on one of the roads leading to the Sea of Marmara. Sultanahmet Square is still roughly the same shape as it was in Byzantine times when it was the scene of so many exciting games and the occasional political riot. Under the Ottomans, the area served as a military exercise ground and was even called the Horse Square. Today it is the place that all tourists are required to see because in its vicinity are the most remarkable buildings that are the world’s heritage from past eras.
The Sultan Ahmet Mosque is named after the 14th Ottoman ruler who had the mosque that fronts on the square that also bears his name. It is a magnificent mosque known for its particularly beautiful blue tiles and six minarets instead of the more conventional two or four. It has a large courtyard and its northeast side has been turned into a garden.
Between the St. Sophia Museum and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a modest looking building Ğ the Haseki Hamam. It is one of the best models of its kind and was built in the second half of the 16th century at the request of Haseki Hanım, who is known in the West as Roxelana. She was the beloved wife of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman and the commission was carried out by Mimar Sinan, who is considered one of the best architects in the world of all time. It is one of the best examples of a Turkish hamam to be found but fortunately or otherwise it is currently being used to promote the sale of Turkish carpets and kilims.
To the west of St. Sophia is a marvelous cistern that was built by Justinian in the sixth century. The building has 336 columns and measures 140 meters by 70meters. It used to be that the only way you could see the cistern was to descend a rickety wooden staircase and stand on a platform that allowed you to only see five or six columns before the remainder dissolve into the darkness. Today a walkway allows people to comfortably traverse the entire area and see the famed Medusa columns without getting their feet wet and afterwards they can refresh themselves at a small restaurant that has been set up.
Another treasure in Sultanahmet area is Ibrahim Paşa Saray or the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. The original building was built in the 16th century for Ibrahim Paşa, who was a grand vizier and the son-in-law of Kanuni Süleyman.
Founded in 1914 and housed elsewhere until 1983, this museum was the first to bring together a collection of Turkish and Islamic Art.
The Grand Bazaar
From there, no visit to Istanbul is complete without a visit to the Grand Bazaar set up by Fatih Sultan Mehmet originally as a place where the tradesmen doing business in the building could store their valuables overnight, something like a giant bank vault. From there it expanded into the several thousand tiny cubicles from which innumerable items are offered to potential buyers.
One could go on because there must be hundreds of places to visit in what is dubbed the historic peninsula. People have written major books on many of the places to visit in this small area that is basically bounded by the walls of Theodosius. So grab a good guidebook and set off. But you should know that on top of everything, the city constantly changes, especially as 2010 approaches and Istanbul will be the European Capital of Culture.