Sultanahmet
District
Rustem Pasa Mosque
Ayasofya Museum
Cinili Kosk
Ibrahim Pasa Palace
Naval Museum
Rahmi Koc Industry
Museum |
SULTANAHMET DISTRICT
Facing St. Sophia stands the supremely elegant, six-minaret,
imperial Sultanahmet Mosque. Built between 1609 and
1616 by the architect Mehmet, the building is more
familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because its
interior gleams with a magnificent paneling, of blue
and white Iznik tiles. During the summer months an
evening light and sound show both entertain and inform.
The cascading domes and four slender minarets of
Suleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the Golden
Horn's west bank. Considered the most beautiful of all
imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between
1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the
Ottoman golden age. On the crest of a hill, the
building is conspicuous by its great size, which the
four minarets that rise from each corner of the
courtyard emphasize. Inside, the mihrab (prayer niche)
and the mimber (pulpit) are of finely carved white
marble; fine stained glass windows color the incoming
streams of light. It was in the gardens of this
complex that Suleyman and his wife Hurrem Sultan,
Roxelane, had their mausolea built, and near here also
that Sinan built his own tomb. The mosque complex also
includes four medrese, or theological schools, a
school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath,
and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.
Another skillful accomplishment of the architect
Sinan, the Rustem Pasa Mosque was built in 1561 on the
orders of Rustem Pasa, Grand Vizier and son-in-law of
Suleyman the Magnificent. Exquisite Iznik tiles panel
the small and superbly proportioned interior. The
imperial Fatih Mosque, constructed between 1463 and
1470, bears the name of the Ottoman conqueror of
Istanbul, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, and is the site of his
mausoleum. Standing atop another of Istanbul's hills,
its vast size and great complex of religious buildings
medreses, hospices, baths, a hospital, a caravanserai
and a library, make it well worth a visit. The great
Mosque of Eyup lies outside the city walls, near the
Golden Horn, at the supposed place where Eyup, the
standard bearer of the Prophet Mohammed, died in the
Islamic assault on Constantinople in 670 A.D. The
first mosque built after the Ottoman conquest of the
city, this greatly venerated shrine attracts many
pilgrims. Built between 1597 and 1663, the Yeni (New)
Mosque hovers over the harbor at Eminonu, greeting the
incoming ferryboats and welcoming tourists to the old
city. Today its graceful domes and arches shelter
hundreds of pigeons who make this area their home.
Marvelous Iznik tiles decorate the sultan's balcony
MUSEUMS
The
Basilica of St. Sophia, now called the Ayasofya Museum,
is unquestionably one of the finest buildings of all
time. Built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed
by Justinian in the 6th century, its immense dome
rises 55 meters above the ground and its diameter
spans 31 meters. You should linger here to absorb the
building's majestic serenity and to admire the fine
Byzantine mosaics. (Open every day except Monday).
The
Archaeological Museums are found just inside the first
court of Topkapi Palace. Included among the displays
are the celebrated Alexander Sarcophagus among its
treasures of antiquity The Museum of the Ancient
Orient displays artifacts from the Sumerian,
Babylonian, Assyrian, Haiti and Hittite civilizations.
(Open every day except Monday.) Originally built as a
kosk, or pavilion, by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 15th
century, the Cinili Kosk, which houses the Museum of
Turkish Ceramics, contains beautiful Iznik wares from
the 16th century and fine examples of Seljuk and
Ottoman pottery and tiles. (Open every day except
Monday). Like the Ayasofya Museum, the St. Irene
Museum was originally a church. It ranks, in fact, as
the first church built in Istanbul. Constantine
commissioned it in the fourth century and Justinian
later had the church restored. Reputedly the building
stands on the site of a Christian temple. (Open every
day except Monday.)
The dark stone building that houses
the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art was built in
1524 by Ibrahim Pasa, Grand Vizier to Suleyman the
Magnificent, as his residence. It was the grandest
private residence ever built in the Ottoman Empire.
Today it holds a superb collection of ceramics,
metalwork, miniatures, calligraphy, textiles, and
woodwork as well as some of the oldest carpets in the
world. (Open every day except Monday.) Across the
street from the Ibrahim Pasa Palace is the Museum of
Turkish Carpets which contains exquisite antique
carpets and kilims gathered from all over Turkey (Open
every day except Sunday and Monday) Near St. Sophia is
the sixth century Byzantine cistern known as the
Yerebatan Sarnici. Three
hundred and thirty-six massive Corinthian columns
support the immense chamber's fine brick vaulting. (Open
every day except Tuesday) The Mosaic Museum preserves
in situ exceptionally fine mosaic pavements of the
fifth and sixth centuries which remain from the Great
Palace of the Byzantine emperors. (Open every day
except Monday) The Kariye Museum, the 11th century
church of "St. Savior" in Chora, is after St. Sophia,
the most important Byzantine monument in Istanbul.
Unremarkable in its architecture, inside, the walls
are decorated with superb 14th-century frescoes and
mosaics. Illustrating, scenes from the life of Christ
and the Virgin Mary, these brilliantly colored
paintings embody the vigor of Byzantine art. Restored
wooden houses in the area surrounding the church offer
tea and coffee in a relaxed atmosphere far removed
from the city's hectic pace. (Open every day except
Tuesday)
The
Aviation Museum in Yesilkoy traces the development of
flight in Turkey (Open every day except Monday). The
great field tents used by the Ottoman armies on
campaigns are displayed in the Military Museum. Other
exhibits include Ottoman weapons and the accoutrements
of war. The Mehter Takimi (Ottoman military band)
perform Ottoman martial music between 3:00 and 4:00
p.m. (Open every day except Monday and Tuesday) The
house in which Ataturk lived in Sisli now serves as
the Ataturk Museum and displays his personal effects.
(Open every day except Saturday and Sunday) In the
Besiktas district the Naval Museum displays the great
imperial caiques in which the Sultans were rowed
across the Bosphorus, as well as many other
interesting exhibits of Ottoman naval history (Open
very day except Monday and Thursday). Also in Besiktas,
the Museum of Fine Arts displays Turkish paintings and
sculptures from the end of the 19th century to the
present clay (Open every day except Monday and Tuesday).
Located within the gardens of Yildiz Palace, the City
Museum preserves and documents the history of Istanbul
since the Ottoman conquest. (Open every day except
Thursday) Also within the gardens are the Yildiz
Palace Theatre and the Historic Stage Costumes Museum,
with its richly decorated scenery and stage, and its
exquisite costumes.
Rahmi
Koc Industry Museum, in the suburb of Haskoy on the
coast of the Golden Horn, an Ottoman period iron- and
steel-works building formerly called Lencei-liane,
houses industrial development exhibits. (Open every
day except Monday). Up the Bosphorus in the
picturesque suburb of Buyukdere, the collections of
the Sadberk Hanim Museum fill two charming 19th
century wooden villas. A private museum which
originally displayed Turkish decorative arts, it has
recently been expanded with a new collection of
archaeological finds. (Open every day except Wednesday)
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