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| City Guide - Istanbul - Key Attractions | ||
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Key Attractions Haghia Sophia Haghia Sophia, known to the Turks as Aya Sofya and literally translated as 'Church of Divine Wisdom', is generally considered the finest extant example of Byzantine architecture in the world, although many of its interior columns were pilfered from pre-Christian temples. Consecrated in 537, its vast dome rises to 56m (183ft), designed to represent heaven and seemingly suspended in space. Two other churches were built on the spot but were destroyed, and Haghia Sophia remains a testament to the vision of Emperor Justinian and the sixth-century Greek mathematicians who were able to apply the latest developments in geometry to architecture. So impressed was Mehmet the Conqueror that when he took the city in 1453 he dedicated it as a mosque to Allah and it remained so until declared a museum at the founding of the secular Turkish Republic. Fortunately, many of the late Byzantine mosaics remain as do the huge circular shields from the Ottoman period containing calligraphy of Koranic verses. Sultanahmet, in front of Topkap? Palace Tel: (212) 522 1750. Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet. Opening hours: 0930-1630 Tues-Sun Admission: US$5. Topkap? Palace Mehmet the Conqueror originally built Topkap? Palace over the acropolis of pre-Christian Byzantium, as a summer residence and the seat of government. It was his great-grandson, Süleyman the Magnificent, who decided to consolidate home, harem, state administration and military personnel at Topkap? in the sixteenth century. In keeping with the Ottomans' nomadic Central Asian origins, the complex looks more like a walled city of tent-like pavilions than a royal fortress, but at its height Topkap? spread over the whole of Seraglio Point to the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara and had 3000 residents. Sultans abandoned it for the more European Dolmabahçe Palace in 1855, but the sumptuous jewels of the original treasury (which include the Topkap? Dagger, the 86-carat Spoonmaker's Diamond and gold-plated throne of Murat III), the armoury, the display of silk ceremonial robes, the collection of both Chinese and Iznik ceramics, holy relics including a mantle once worn by the Prophet Mohammed, and the collection of manuscripts and miniatures, all convey the extent of the Ottomon lifestyle at its peak. The Harem, which once housed up to 300 concubines, can only be visited by guided tour and requires a separate ticket purchased inside the complex; however, it is not at all glamorous and rather similar to a lavishly decorated women's prison. Topkap? requires at least half a day for a full visit. Seraglio Point, Sultanahmet Tel: (212) 512 0480. Transport: Tram to Sultanahmed. Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0900-1630. Admission: US$5; (Harem tour) US$1.50. Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) The Blue Mosque was built during the reign of the young Sultan Ahmet (1603-1617) as Islam's answer to Haghia Sophia, and to this day it is the symbol and centre of religious demonstrations. It takes the name 'blue' from the quantity of Iznik tiles that dominate the interior, giving a cooling effect, and the light that shines through more than 250 windows. From the small dome at the entrance gate to the vast central dome (43m/14ft high, 23.5m/77ft in diameter), architect Mehmet A?a's intention was to lift all eyes heavenward, even from a distance. The Imperial Loge is covered with fine latticework and the mihrab (prayer niche) contains a piece of sacred black stone from the Ka'aba in Mecca. During the summer months, there is a Son et Lumiere at dusk. The Imperial Pavilion also contains a state-run carpet museum with U?ak, Bergama and Konya samples, dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Hippodrome, Sultanahmet Tel: (212) 518 1319 or 528 5332 (carpet museum). Transport: Tram to Sultanahmed. Opening hours: Daily 24 hours except prayer times; Tues-Sat 0900-1600 (carpet museum). Mosaic Museum The small Mosaic Museum tucked behind the Blue Mosque amid an alleyway full of tourist shops contains all that is left of the magnificent flooring of Bucoleon Palace. This was the Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors, which once covered the area from the Hippodrome to Haghia Sophia and down to the harbour. Discovered in the 1950s, these mosaics depict mythological and hunting scenes including that of two men subduing a tiger. They are thought to date from the reign of Justinian (527-565) or even earlier, and to have been part of the walkway between the royal apartments and the imperial seats (kathisma) at the Hippodrome. Arasta Bazaar, Sultanahmet Tel: (212) 518 1205. Transport: Tram to Sultanahmed. Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0930-1630. Admission: US$1. Turk ve Esleri Müzesi (Turkish and Islamic Art Museum) The early sixteenth-century palace of Süleyman the Magnificent's most able Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, is now the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, containing more than 40,000 items dating from the earliest Islamic period of the seventh century to the nineteenth century. It is famed for its carpet display, which contains fragments of thirteenth-century Selçuk rugs and examples of Turkish carpets in Holbein paintings and other works by other European masters. Other highlights include Ottoman Koran cases and stands, illuminated manuscripts and tiles. In the basement, there is an exhibition of the evolution of the Turkish house - from nomadic tents to nineteenth-century palaces with floor plans and furnishings. Hippodrome 46, Sultanahmet Tel: (212) 518 1805. Transport: Tram to Sultanahmed. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1630. Admission: US$2.50. Archeoloji Müzeleri (Archaeological Museums) Istanbul's Archeology Museums are so-called because they are located in three separate buildings - which were once part of the Topkap? Palace complex. The main building was constructed to house the finds of nineteenth-century archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey, in particular the famous fourth-century Alexander sarcophagus discovered at the royal necropolis of Sidon in Lebanon. It also houses other early classical artefacts, Byzantine mosaics and sarcophagi, as well as an archaeological display of Istanbul. The Çinili Kö?k (Tiled Pavilion) near the entrance was built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1472 as a resting spot near the palace sports ground. Iznik tiles cover the interior and it also contains the fourteenth-century, royal blue Karaman Mihrab (prayer niche) and a collection of Iznik mosque lamps. Also near the main entrance, the Museum of the Ancient Orient contains artefacts from Egypt and Mesopotamia, including the Treaty of Kadesh, drawn up between the Egyptians and Hittites in 1269BC, as well as a magnificent frieze of a bull from the Ishtar gate in Babylon. Tel: (212) 520 7740. Transport: Tram to Gülhane. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1630. Admission: US$2.50. Yerebatan Saray? (Basilica Cistern) Sometimes referred to as the Sunken Palace, the Basilica Cistern was actually the reservoir for the prodigious quantity of water required for the Byzantine Great Palace, and it is thought to date back to the reign of Justinian in 532. It is a huge structure, measuring 140m (460ft) long and 70m (230ft) across, and it still contains a few feet of water over which wooden walkways have been constructed for visitors. The atmosphere is enhanced by low, eerie lighting and classical music. Many of the 336 columns supporting the cathedral-like ceiling have been recycled from pre-Christian temples - which explains the Medusa heads that are used as column bases, which can be seen near the exit. The cistern was used as a film set for the James Bond film From Russia With Love and also functions as a gallery during the International Istanbul Arts Biennial (September-October 2001 and 2003). Yerebatan Caddesi, Sultanahmet Tel: (212) 522 1259. Transport: Tram to Sultanahmed. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700. Admission: US$3.50. Kariye Muzesi (Kariye Museum) Originally, this was a church outside Constantine's original city walls and so named the Church of St Saviour in Chora (literally 'in the countryside'). The present church, however, dates from the eleventh century and was designed during a post-iconoclastic renaissance of figurative religious art. It contains the finest example of Byzantine mosaic work in the city, as well as superb fourteenth-century frescoes depicting the Genealogy of Christ, the Life of the Virgin and Christ's Ministry. Even though the church was converted to a mosque after the Conquest, the mosaics were merely whitewashed over and thus have been preserved for display in this secular museum, no longer used for any religious purposes. Kariye Camii Sokak, Edirnekap? Tel: (212) 631 9241. Transport: Bus 28, 86 or 90 towards Edirnekap? along Fevzi Pa?a Caddesi; or taxi recommended. Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0930-1630. Admission: US$3. Dolmabahçe Palace Dolmabahçe Palace was built in the mid-nineteenth century as the Ottoman Empire was falling into decline and most of the economy and development of the country was in the hands of Europeans. The Sultans wished to appear more Western; the new palace was intended to put on a brave face for the world but instead it nearly bankrupted the state treasury with its kitschy extravagance, and much had to be financed by foreign loans. Today, it is in poor repair, which partially explains the high entrance fee. Highlights include the crystal staircase, the royal bathroom made of silver and rare Egyptian alabaster, and the chandelier in the ceremonial room, rumoured to be the heaviest in the world. The palace is also full of gifts from foreign rulers, which seem to indicate their opinion of Ottoman 'taste'. There are two separate guided tours, one to the ceremonial chambers and another through the harem and concubine's quarters. Dolmabahçe Palace, Be?ikta? Tel: (212) 227 3442. Transport: Ferry from Eminönü to Be?ikta?. Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri-Sun 0900-1600. Admission: US$14 (complete guided tour only). |
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