The Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome (At Meydanı) was a horse-racing track. But during the Byzantine Empire, the hippodrome was not only used for chariot races but also for Court ceremonies, coronations and parades, making it the sporting and social center of Byzantine life for over 1000 years. It was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultan Ahmet Square. The Obelisk of Thutmose III was erected by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.

The Sultanahmet Mosque or The Blue Mosque

The Sultanahmet Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) was built between 1609 and 1617 and is also known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles used to decorate the walls of its interior.
The construction was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I. The only mosque in it's time to have 6 Minarets.

The Sultanahmet Mosque or The Blue Mosque

The Sultanahmet Mosque combines the best of two architectural styles. It is a mixture of traditional Islamic architecture with Byzantine elements, taken from the adjacent Hagia Sophia.

The Blue Mosque and it's six minarets

According to the most obvious urban legend, this whole issue was the result of a misunderstanding between the sultan and his architect. The sultan supposedly had asked to have altın minare (minarets in gold) and the architect understood altı minare (which means six minarets). A second, less plausible legend is that the architect decided that gold minarets were too expensive and therefore decided to make six of them.

Whatever the true story behind the six minarets is, the sultan overcame the problem by paying for a seventh minaret at the mosque in Mecca.

Entrance to The Blue Mosque from Hippodrome

Only the sultan was allowed to enter the court of the mosque on horseback. The chain was put there, so that the sultan had to lower his head every time he entered the court in order not to get hit. This was done as a symbolic gesture, to ensure the humility (smallness) of the ruler in the face of the divine.

The Interior of the Blue Mosque

Each semi dome has 14 windows and the central dome 28 windows(four of which are blind). The colored glass for the windows was a gift from the Signoria of Venice to the sultan

Interior of The Blue Mosque

At Blue Mosque lower levels and at every pier, the interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, made at Iznik city (Nicaea) in more than fifty different tulip designs.

Hagia Sophia

Known as the “Great Church” or “Magna Ecclesia” in Latin, the first church was built at the same location where there had been a pagan temple before. It was Constantius II who inaugurated Hagia Sophia on 15 February 360. From the chronicles of Socrates of Constantinople, we know that the church was built by the orders of Constantine the Great.

This first church was a wooden-roofed basilica with a nave flanked by two or four aisles, each carrying a gallery storey. It was preceded by an atrium. This church was largely burned down in 404 during riots since patriarch John Chrysostom was sent into exile by the Emperor Arcadius.

Sophia means Wisdom in Greek Language. When we translate the full name of Hagia Sophia to English it is Shrine of The Holy of God.

Hagia Sophia

On 29 May 1453, The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet II, conquered Constantinople after a 54 day siege. He directly went to the ancient Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia. Mehmet II ordered the church to be converted into a mosque.

The Dome of Hagia Sophia

Many consider Hagia Sophia the supreme masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. A lofty central dome, 102 feet in diameter and 184 feet in height, spans its spacious nave. That dome sits on pendentives – or supporting arches at the corners of a square – that make the transition to a circular plan possible.
Hagia Sophia is famous for the light that reflects everywhere in the interior of the nave, giving the dome the appearance of hovering above. This effect was achieved by inserting forty windows around the base of the original structure

The enormous disks are inscribed with calligraphy bearing the names of important Islamic prophets and leaders, and hang near the second floor gallery.

Deesis is a traditional representation of Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist, imploring Christ the salvation of man.
It is widely considered the finest in Hagia Sophia, because of the softness of the features, the humane expressions and the tones of the mosaic. The style is close to that of the Italian painters of the late 13th or early 14th century, such as Duccio. In this panel the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist (Ioannes Prodromos), both shown in three-quarters profile, are imploring the intercession of Christ Pantocrator for humanity on Judgment Day. The bottom part of this mosaic is badly deteriorated. This mosaic is considered as the beginning of the Renaissance in Byzantine pictorial art.

Seraphim's face

There are 4 seraphim mosaics ( God's protector angels with 6 wings) on the 4 pendentives that carry the dome. The 4 seraphims' faces were covered with 6-7 layers of plaster for almost 160 years during the sovereignty of Ottomans. The last person who saw the faces of the Seraphims was the Swiss architect Gaspare Fossati while he was holding the restoration at Hagia Sophia in 1840s. With a 10 day hard work, experts managed to take off the 7 layers of plasters and reveal the face of one of the seraphims.

The 16 years old scaffold that was standing on the southeast quarter of the dome for reconstruction purposes has been unstitched to be set up to northeast quarter.

The certain age of the mosaics is unclear however they are known to be older than 700 years.

Second Level of Hagia Sophia

Columns on the second floor gallery help support the dome above and are carved with the imperial monogram.

Chandeliers in Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia’s characteristic chandeliers are hung almost to ground level — an optical illusions makes you think you could almost reach out and touch them — and provide a warm glow to the huge space above.

Apse Mosaic

Located at the east end of the church, at a high point in the apse, it depicts Virgin Mary sitting on a backless throne decorated with jewels, and holding child Christ on her lap. On 29 March 867, patriarch Photius inaugurated the mosaic. The image was possibly damaged and destroyed before and restored heavily in the 14th century.

View of the Blue Mosque from Hagia Spohia

Restoring the Hagia Sophia

The pieces from pagan temples were incorporated into the Hagia Sophia as a means of incorporating cultural memory of its past and showing it now under the control and authority of the Christians; “a political statement of Christian hegemony.
The restorers have a difficult job in trying to balance the Christian and Muslim features in the Hagia Sophia so that it stands as a museum that testifies to its entire history. As Christian icons are uncovered and restored, it is done at the expense of destroying Islamic Art.

The Loge of the Empress in Hagia Sophia

The columns are made of green Thessalian stone. From there the empress and the court-ladies would watch the proceedings down below.

Topkapi Palace

The Gate of Salutation, entrance to the Second courtyard of Topkapı Palace. The Topkapi palace in the 15th century, served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.

Topkapi Palace, Third Court

Audience Chamber, built in the 16th century as a place for officials and ambassadors to conduct state business.

View of the Bosphorous Strait and Asia from Topkapi Palace

Bosphorous Strait, is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey. It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosphorus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. In the background of the picture above you can see the Çamlıca Republic Mosque, a new mosque that is the largest mosque in Asia Minor.

Interior of Topkapi Palace

After the conquest of Istanbul by Mehmed the Conqueror at 1453, construction of the Topkapı Palace was started at the year 1460 and completed at 1478

Basilica Cistern

The enlarged cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.

The Cistern is capable of holding 80,000 cubic meters of water.
The majority of the columns in the cistern appear to have been recycled from the ruins of older buildings.

Medusa column bases

The sideways Medusa head. There are two Medusa heads in the Cistern, one sideways and the other upside down.

Ottoman Harem Dances.

Hodjapasha

Belly Dancer

Hodjapasha

Belly Dancer

Clock Tower at Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Clock Tower is a clock tower situated outside Dolmabahce Palace. The tower was constructed by the famous Armenian architect Sarkis Balyan between 1890 and 1895 with the order of Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918).

Dolmabahce Palace entrance gate

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Palace grounds.
In Dolmabahce Palace the last 6 sultans and Caliph Abdulmecit lived and after him most of the subsequent sultans preferred to live in the smaller palaces that they had built on their own along the Bosphorus. This palace was used also by Ataturk with the declaration of the republic. When Ataturk visited Istanbul, he used Dolmabahce Palace as his residence. On 10th of November 1938 Ataturk passed away in this palace after a long period of sickness and then it was converted in to a museum.

The Palace is one of the most fascinating palaces in the world built in 19th century, Ottoman architecture and it was located in an area of 110 thousand squaremeters. It is located along the European shore of the Bosphorus between the ports of Besiktas and Kabatas. the plan arrangement of Dolmabahce Palace is an adaptation of traditional Turkish house in grandeur scale, constructed with brick internal walls, stone external walls and timber floors.

Taksim Square

The 11 m (36 ft) high monument portrays the founders of the Turkish Republic, prominent are depictions of Kemal Atatürk, who commissioned the work, his assistant İsmet İnönü, and Fevzi Çakmak. The monument has two sides, the side facing northward depicts Atatürk at an earlier period and the other one facing Istiklal Caddesi has Atatürk and his comrades dressed in modern, western-European clothing, symbolizing him in both his roles, as military commander-in-chief and as statesman.

Istiklal Street

Primary pedestrian thoroughfare in the Beyoğlu district is visited by millions of people daily. It houses innumerable hookah bars, restaurants, independent and chain shops, cafes, night clubs and restaurants.
It is the longest pedestrian avenue of Istanbul, lined with 19th century Ottoman architecture, consulate buildings, historical passages, cinemas, art galleries, music stores, libraries, theatres, bars, pubs, restaurants and shops. There are some stunning examples of Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau and the First Turkish National Architecture.

Istiklal Street at Dusk

People of Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul Street vendors

Eating street food is very much part of the Istanbul way of life.

Mısır – freshly boiled or grilled corn on the cob

Mısır – freshly boiled or grilled corn on the cob, often sprinkled with salt or spices. This popular snack is almost exclusively sold during the summer months by the real street sellers with their push-cars.

Istanbul Street food

Simit – a crisp, ring-shaped, savory roll covered with sesame. Sold by street sellers with glass-fronted push-cars. There are two main versions: sokak simit (sold on the streets and very crispy) and pastane simit (sold in shops and softer).

Döner – this tightly packed meat roasted on a large vertical skew

Döner – this tightly packed meat roasted on a large vertical skew is the basis for fast-food snacks (or even full meals) such as Pilav Üstü Döner, İskedender and Dürüm. Although you can find these half-outside/half-inside eateries almost anywhere, for the biggest concentration head to the beginning of Istiklal Caddesi in Taksim.

Turkish Ice-Cream Seller

Dondurma is Turkish or Azerbaijani ice cream. Dondurma typically includes the ingredients milk, sugar, salep, and mastic. It is believed to originate from the city and region of Maraş and hence also known as Maraş ice cream

Nargile or Turkish Water Pipe

The Turkish water pipe or nargile (sometimes also called a hookah or hubble-bubble or shisha) has been around for centuries. Although the water pipe is an established feature of Turkish culture, it originated in India by emptying a coconut and dipping in a straw a 1000 years ago.

View of Galata tower from across the Bosphorous

The Romanesque style tower was built as Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. Galata Tower was the tallest building in Istanbul at 219.5 ft (66.9 m) when it was built in 1348

Cormorant in the Bosphorous chasing fishes

Galata Bridge at Night

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.

Galata Tower

Might have been built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian around 507 CE. Back then, the tower was known as the ‘Christea Turris,’ or the Tower of Christ, by the Genoese, while the Byzantines referred to it as the ‘Megalos Pyrgos,’ or the Great Tower. But it was during the Genoese period the tower took on its current shape, when the Galata neighborhood was inhabited by the colonies of the Republic of Genoa, which served as a series of economic and trade posts in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

Along the Bosphorous

The New Mosque (Yeni Cami) in Eminönü, Istanbul in the background

Turkish Tea

The most commonly consumed hot beverage in Istanbul, tea is a relatively recent development in modern Turkish culture. Although, of course, tea itself is ancient, it was not a particularly popular drink among the Turkish people until the twentieth century. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, coffee became an extremely expensive import. Tea, meanwhile, could actually be grown domestically, along the coast of the Black Sea. A kind of black tea, Turkish çay is also brewed in a specific manner that is unlike traditional western-style or eastern-style brewing.