Istanbul
Monday, December 15th, 2008So since it’s been two and a half weeks since I got back, I’m just going to post some pics of the things that happened and a little info about them…
The Basiclica Cistern
Built by Justinian I in the 6th Century, it’s the largest of hundreds of cisterns in Istanbul. In one of the corners of the cisterns, there are two medusa heads at the base of two of the columns. One is tilted upside down and one on the side. Not exactly sure why, but read that most people think it was deliberate.
Hagia Sofia
Hagia Sofia was a former basilica (the biggest in the world for over 1000 years), was later turned into a Mosque, and is now a museum. It is known for it’s huge dome, which is the first thing I ran to see, but it was covered because of restoration. It was also built by Justinian between 532-537 AD. When Contanstinople was conquored by Sultan Mehmed II and the Ottoman Turks, he turned it into a mosque, and plastered over all the mosaics. Thankfully they were able to save a lot of them.
The Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque, also called Sultan Ahmet Mosque, is directly across Sultan Ahmed Square from Hagia Sofia. It is known as The Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles inside. It was built in the early 1600’s, in interior of which was built with over 20,000 handmade tiles. Pope Benedict visited here in November 2006, which was only the second time a pope has visited a Muslim place of worship.
The Hippdrome
The Hippodrome of Constantine was once a horse-racing track. It was also the social center in the mid-300’s after Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople. It was able to accomodate over 100,000 viewers. Today the Hippodrome contains 3 monuments which were brought from all over the Roman empire. The first is the Obelisk of Thutmosis III. This Oselisk was brought from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor about 390 AD. The only part that still survives is the top part. It was cut into 3 parts when brought to Constantinople and the other two did not survive. The top part is over 3,500 years old.
The Serpentine Column is the next column in the Hippodrome. This column was brought from Greece. It was originally made to celebrate a Greek victory over the Persians in the 5th century BC. It was originally located at the Temple to Apollo in Delphi before being brought by Emporer Theodocius. The top was broken during the 4th Crusade.
The last monument is the Walled Obelisk. It was built in the 10 century and was also sacked during the 4th Crusade. It was originally covered in broze plaques.
Valen’s Aqueduct
Valen’s Aqueduct was one of the main aqueducts providing water to the city in medieval Constantinople. It was later restored by the Ottomans.
Ruins of the Triumphal Arch and Forum of Theodosius
The marble pieces were the remaining parts of the forum and arch that was destroyed by invasions and natural disasters. The pieces were found from 1948-61.
The Grand Bazaar
The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It has more than 58 streets and 6,000 shops. Some of the most popular goods sold here are spices, jewelry, pottery, carpets, etc. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by type of goods.
The “Million” Stone Pillar
The stone pillar is the remnants of a Byzantine triumphal arch, in the 4th century AD, from which all road distances to all the corners of the empire were once measured.
Galata Tower
The Galata Tower is located on the north of the Golden Horn and was built in 1348. It was originally used to as an early detector of fires throughout the city, but it ended up catching on fire 🙂 It was renovated in 1960 and is now used to get views over the city.
mrnational
