ISTANBUL

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ISTANBUL

• The guide

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The Bosphorus

• The Bosphorus is the 32 km (20-mile)-long strait
  which joins the Sea of Marmara with the Black
  Sea in Istanbul, and separates the continents
  of Europe and Asia.
• It's great for a half-day cruise north toward the
  Black Sea. You can return to Istanbul by land
  along the European shore and see all the sights.
• It runs right through the heart of Istanbul, past
  theIstanbul Modern Art Museum, several Ottoman pal
  aces, at least two fortresses, forested hills,
  and shore villages with Ottoman architecture..
• Its English name comes from a Greek legend Zeus
  had an affair with a beautiful women named Io.
  When Hera, his wife, discovered his infidelity,
  she turned Io into a cow and created a horsefly
  to sting her on the rump. Io jumped clear across
  the strait. Thus bous cow, and poros
   crossing-place Bosphorus  "crossing-place of
  the cow."
• Recent marine archeological research in the
  chill, deep waters of the Black Sea has
  revealed sunken cities on the underwater slopes
  along the Turkish coast.
• Geological evidence supports the theory that in
  ancient times the northern end of
  the Bosphorus was blocked by earth and rock. The
  Black Sea had no outlet (like Lake Van today),
  and its water level was below that of the Aegean
  Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus.
• However, an earthquake destroyed the Bosphorus
  blockage, releasing a deluge of water from the
  Bosphorus into the Black Sea, raising the water
  level and flooding its coastal communities. So it
  may well be that the Bosphorus is the source
  of Noah's flood and the legend of Noah's Ark!
  (Mount Ararat is also in Turkey.)
•    32 km (20 miles) from the Black Sea to the Sea
  of Marmara...The Bosphorus has been a waterway of
  the highest importance since ancient
  times. Ulysses passed through. Byzas, who founded
  Byzantium (later Constantinople, later Istanbul)
  sailed up and down looking for the perfect place
  to found his village.
• In 1452, Mehmet the Conqueror ordered the
  construction of the mighty fortresses of Rumeli
  Hisari(Fortress of Europe) and Anadolu
  Hisari (Fortress of Anatolia) so he could control
  the strait and prevent reinforcements from
  reaching the besieged Byzantine capital of
  Constantinople.
• To the Ottomans it was mostly an obstacle each
  spring they had to ship their gigantic armies
  across the strait from Istanbul for campaigns
  in Anatolia, Syria and Persia.
• During World War I, the Bosphorus was the key to
  the Black Sea and Russia. The Sultan held the
  key. The Entente powers wanted it. What they
  failed to get in battle they got by treaty, and
  British gunboats anchored outside Dolmabahçe
  Palace.
• Today, the way to enjoy the Bosphorus is to take
  a cruise by traditional ferry ,TurYol
  boat or Dentur Avrasya boat, a self-guided tour
  of the European shore, or to relax at
  a tea-house or restaurant along its shores

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History of Instanbul

• What is now called Asian Istanbul was probably
  inhabited by people as early as 3000 BC.
  Eventually, in the 7th century, Greek colonists
  led by King Byzas established the colony of
  Byzantium, the Greek name for a city on the
  Bosphorus. Byzas chose the spot after consulting
  an oracle of Delphi who told him to settle across
  from the "land of the blind ones." Indeed, Byzas
  concluded, earlier settlers must have been
  deprived of their sight to have overlooked this
  superb location at the mouth of the Bosphorus
  strait. This proved an auspicious decision by
  Byzas, as history has shown Istanbul's location
  important far beyond what these early Greek
  settlers might possibly have conceived. Byzas
  gave his name to the city Byzantium.
• In the early 100's BC, it became part of the
  Roman Empire and in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine
  the Great made Byzantium capital of the Eastern
  Roman Empire. From that point on, the city was
  known as Constantinople.
• The mid 400's AD was a time of enormous upheaval
  in the empire. Barbarians conquered the western
  Roman Empire while the Eastern, also called the
  Byzantine Empire, kept Constantinople as its
  capital. In 532 during the reign of Justinian I,
  antigovernment riots destroyed the city. It was
  rebuilt, and outstanding structures such as Hagia
  Sophia stand as monuments to the heights
  Byzantine culture reached.
• The attribute that made the city so desirable,
  its incomparable location for trade and transport
  between three continents, was also its nemesis.
  For the next several hundred years Persians,
  Arabs, nomadic peoples, and members of the Fourth
  Crusade (who for a time governed the city)
  attacked Constantinople.
• Finally, in 1453, when Constantinople was so
  weakened by almost constant invasions and
  battles, the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet
  II were able to conquer the city. Renamed
  Istanbul, it became the third and last capital of
  the Ottoman Empire. It was the nerve center for
  military campaigns that were to enlarge the
  Ottoman Empire dramatically. By the mid 1500's,
  Istanbul, with a population of almost half a
  million, was a major cultural, political, and
  commercial center. Ottoman rule continued until
  it was defeated in WWI and Istanbul was occupied
  by the allies.
• When the Republic of Turkey was born in 1923
  after the War of Independence, Kemal Ataturk
  moved the capital to the city of Ankara. The city
  of Istanbul has continued to expand dramatically
  and today its population is over 13,6 million and
  increases at an estimated 700,000 immigrants per
  year. Industry has expanded even as tourism has
  grown. It continues to be a city that creates its
  own history at the meeting point of the two
  continents Europe and Asia.
• Some of the interesting districts of the city
  are Sultanahmet, Haydarpasa, Uskudar, Eyup,
  Galata, Pera, Ortaköy, Taksim, Eminönü, Fatih,
  Balat, and The Bosphorus. Princess Islands are a
  popular summer resort for local people.

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Topkapi Palace, (Topkapi Sarayi)

• Topkapi Palace is definitely the best looking
  palace in Turkey. Home for the Ottoman Sultans,
  is now a perfect place to be a Museum to reflect
  the glory of Ottoman Empire, Sultans and their
  way of living. The Museum is open between 900
  am- 700 pm everyday except for Tuesdays. Tickets
  are purchased in the gateway to the Second
  Court. The tickets cost 20,- TL (approx. to 13
  USD or 9 EURO) per person for 2011 season. The
  Harem section needs a separate admission fee and
  costs another 15,- TL. There is a discounted fee
  for the students. The Harem Section can be
  visited with a separate ticket in the ticket
  office near the Harem entrance. The tours to
  Harem are operated every half hour from 930 am
  to 400 pm.
• Topkapi palace has now an audio guide system
  which can be rented on the entrance for a cost of
  15,- TL. The audio guide system is much like a
  big mobile phone. All important items on the
  palace was identified with numbers and if you
  dial the code number of the item or place, you
  can get a full description of it. Currently the
  system is available on following languages,
  English, Germain, French, Spanish and Italian.
• When Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople in
  1453, he found the palaces of the Byzantine
  Emperors in such ruins as to be uninhabitable. He
  chose a large area on the broad peak of the Third
  Hill as the site of his first imperial residence.
  He constructed a great complex of buildings and
  gardens here and they came to be known as "Eski
  Saray" which means "The Old Palace". A few years
  later, he decided to have his palace on the N
  side of the First Hill which had been the
  acropolis of the ancient Byzantium. He
  constructed a massive wall surrounding the area
  along the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. This
  took place during the period 1459-65 after the
  Sultan left the former palace to women of his
  father's harem. The Harem in Topkapi Palace in
  its present state dates back to the reign of
  Murat III(1574-95), Mehmed IV(1648-87) and Osman
  III(1754-57).
• Topkapi Palace was more than just the private
  residence of the Sultan and his court. It was the
  seat of the supreme executive and judiciary
  council, the Divan and the training school, the
  Palace School. In the First Courtyard, there were
  a hospital, bakery, arsenal, a state mint, a part
  of the treasury and the Outer Service. It was
  open to public. The Second Courtyard was open to
  people who had business with the council. The
  Third Courtyard was reserved to the Sultan's
  household and palace children. The Fourth
  Courtyard was exclusively reserved for the
  Sultan's use.
• Topkapi Palace continued to be the principal
  residence for four centuries until in 1853,
  Sultan Abdul Mecid I moved into the new palace of
  Dolmabahce on the Bosphorus. The old palace was
  used as house for the women of the departed
  sultans and their servants until the Harem was
  officially disbanded in 1909. In 1924, Topkapi
  Palace was converted to a museum with the order
  of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The final step was the
  opening of the Harem to the public in 1960.

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THE BLUE MOSQUE

• The Blue Mosque is so named because of the
  beautiful blue Iznik tiles decorating the
  interior. Officially called the 'Sultan Ahmet
  Mosque' by local people, it was built by Sultan
  Ahmet in 1609 and completed 7 years later...
• The Blue Mosque in the Old City of Istanbul is so
  named because of the beautiful blue Iznik tiles
  decorating the interior. Officially called the
  'Sultan Ahmet Mosque' by local people, it was
  built by Sultan Ahmet in 1609 and completed 7
  years later...
• The architect who oversaw its design was Sedefkar
  Mehmet Aga, better known as a student of Sinan
  (the greatest architect ever seen in the Ottoman
  Empire). Not only was it built to serve as a
  mosque, but its huge surrounding complex also
  held a medrese (theological school), turbe
  (tomb), hospital, caravanserai, primary school,
  public kitchen and market, although the hospital
  and caravanserai were destroyed in the nineteenth
  century. After the public kitchens were destroyed
  in a fire in 1970, they were restored and
  incorporated into the School of Industrial Art.
  It presently serves as the Dean's Office for the
  Marmara University. The Blue Mosque is open all
  day except during prayer times.

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THE GALATA TOWER 

• The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi in Turkish) is a
  medieval stone tower in the Galata district of
  Istanbul, just to the north of the Golden Horn.
  One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is
  a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the
  skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old
  Istanbul and its environs.The tower was built in
  1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in
  Constantinople and is 66.90 meters tall.In 1875,
  during a storm, the conic roof on the top of the
  building was destroyed. The tower remained
  without this conic roof for the rest of the
  Ottoman period. Many years later, in 1965-1967,
  during the Turkish Republic, the original conical
  cap was restored.

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GALATA BRIDGE

• The Galata Bridge (in Turkish Galata Köprüsü) is
  a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul.
  It was a symbolic link between the traditional
  city of Istanbul , site of the imperial palace
  and principal religious and secular institutions
  of the empire.The first recorded bridge over the
  Golden Horn in Istanbul was built during the
  reign of Justinian the Great in the 6th century,
  it was close to the area near the Theodosian Land
  Walls at the western end of the Roman city.Then
  there were built other bridges over the Golden
  Horn and one of the projects has been thought by
  Leonardo da Vinci, however, it has never been
  built.

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The Golden Horn

• The Golden Horn is an inlet of the Bosphorus
  dividing the city of Istanbul and forming a
  natural harbor. It is a scimitar-shaped estuary
  that joins the Bosphorus just at the point where
  that strait enters the Sea of Marmara, thus
  forming a peninsula the tip of which is "Old
  Istanbul" .It is a flooded prehistoric estuary
  long 7.5 kilometers and 750 meters across at its
  widest. Its maximum depth, where it flows into
  the Bosphorus, is about 35 meters. It is today
  spanned by four bridges. The Byzantine Empire
  had its naval headquarters there, and walls were
  built along the shoreline to protect the city of
  Constantinople from naval attacks. At the
  entrance to the Horn on the northern side, a
  large chain was pulled across from Constantinople
  to the old Tower of Galata to prevent unwanted
  ships from entering.

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The Grand Bazar

• The Grand Bazaar (Kapaliçarsi) in Istanbul is one
  of the largest covered markets in the world with
  60 streets and 5,000 shops, and attracts between
  250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. It is well
  known for its jewellery, hand-painted ceramics,
  carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops.
  Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by
  type of goods, with special areas for leather,
  gold jewellery and the like. The bazaar has been
  an important trading centre since 1461 and its
  labyrinthine vaults feature two bedestens (domed
  buildings), the first of which was constructed
  between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan
  Mehmed the Conqueror. The bazaar was vastly
  enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of
  Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1894
  underwent a major restoration following an
  earthquake. 
• The complex houses two mosques, four fountains,
  two hamams, and several cafés and restaurants. In
  the centre is the high domed hall of the Cevahir
  Bedesten, where the most valuable items and
  antiques were to be found in the past, and still
  are today, including furniture, copperware, amber
  prayer beads, inlaid weapons, icons,
  mother-of-pearl mirrors, water pipes, watches and
  clocks, candlesticks, old coins, and silver and
  gold jewellery set with coral and turquoise. A
  leisurely afternoon spent exploring the bazaar,
  sitting in one of the cafés and watching the
  crowds pass by, and bargaining for purchases is
  one of the best ways to recapture the romantic
  atmosphere of old Istanbul.

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The Chora Church

• The Chora Church was originally built outside the
  walls of Constantinople, to the south of the
  Golden Horn. Literally translated, the church's
  full name was the Church of the Holy Saviour in
  the Country although "The Church of the Holy
  Redeemer in the Fields" would be a more natural
  rendering of the name in English. The last part
  of that name, Chora, referring to its location
  originally outside of the walls, became the
  shortened name of the church. The original church
  on this site was built in the early 5th century,
  and stood outside of the 4th century walls of
  Constantine the Great. However, when Theodosius
  II built his formidable land walls in 413414,
  the church became incorporated within the city's
  defences, but retained the name Chora. The name
  must have carried symbolic meaning, as the
  mosaics in the narthex describe Christ as the
  Land of the Living and Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
  as the Container of the Uncontainable.The
  majority of the fabric of the current building
  dates from 10771081, when Maria Dukaina, the
  mother-in-law of Alexius I Comnenus, rebuilt the
  Chora Church as an inscribed cross or quincunx a
  popular architectural style of the time. Early in
  the 12th century, the church suffered a partial
  collapse, perhaps due to an earthquake. The
  church was rebuilt by Isaac Comnenus, Alexius's
  third son. However, it was only after the third
  phase of building, two centuries after, that the
  church as it stands today was completed. The
  powerful Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites
  endowed the church with much of its fine mosaics
  and frescos. Theodore's impressive decoration of
  the interior was carried out between 1315 and
  1321. The mosaic-work is the finest example of
  the Palaeologian Renaissance. The artists remain
  unknown. In 1328, Theodore was sent into exile by
  the usurper Andronicus III Palaeologus. However,
  he was allowed to return to the city two years
  later, and lived out the last two years of his
  life as a monk in his Chora Church.During the
  last siege of Constantinople in 1453, the Icon of
  the Theotokos Hodegetria, considered the
  protector of the City, was brought to Chora in
  order to assist the defenders against the assault
  of the Ottomans.Around fifty years after the
  fall of the city to the Ottomans, Atik Ali Pasa,
  the Grand Vizier of Sultan Bayezid II, ordered
  the Chora Church to be converted into a mosque
  Kariye Camii. Due to the prohibition against
  iconic images in Islam, the mosaics and frescoes
  were covered behind a layer of plaster. This and
  frequent earthquakes in the region have taken
  their toll on the artwork.In 1948, Thomas
  Whittemore and Paul A. Underwood, from the
  Byzantine Institute of America and the Dumbarton
  Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, sponsored a
  programme of restoration. From that time on, the
  building ceased to be a functioning mosque. In
  1958, it was opened to the public as a museum
  Kariye Müzesi.

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Dolmabahçe Palace

• Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkish Dolmabahçe Sarayi)
  located in the Besiktas district of Istanbul on
  the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait,
  served as the main administrative center of the
  Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922. The design
  contains eclectic elements from the Baroque,
  Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with
  traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new
  synthesis. The palace layout and décor reflect
  the increasing influence of European styles and
  standards on Ottoman culture and art during the
  Tanzimat period. Functionally, on the other hand,
  it retains elements of traditional Ottoman palace
  life, and also features of traditional Turkish
  homes. Dolmabahçe Palace was home to six Sultans
  from 1856, when it was first inhabited, up until
  the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924 The last
  royal to live here was Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi.
  A law that went into effect on March 3, 1924
  transferred the ownership of the palace to the
  national heritage of the new Turkish Republic.
  The palace is composed of three parts the
  Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn (the quarters reserved for the
  men), Muayede Salonu (the ceremonial hall) and
  the Harem-i Hümâyûn (the Harem, the residential
  apartments of the family of the Sultan). The
  palace has an area of 45,000 m2 (11.2 acres), and
  contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths (hamam) and
  68 toilets.

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Egyptian Bazar

• The Spice Bazaar, (Turkish 'Misir Çarsisi', or
  Egyptian Bazaar) in Istanbul, Turkey is one of
  the largest bazaars in the city. Located in
  Fatih, in the neighborhood of Eminönü, it is the
  second largest covered shopping complex after the
  Grand Bazaar. There are several documents
  suggesting the name of the bazaar was first "New
  Bazaar". The building was endowed to the
  foundation of the Yeni Mosque, and got its name
  ("Egyptian Bazaar", Turkish Misir Çarsisi)
  because it was built with the revenues from
  Egypt.The word misir has a double meaning in
  Turkish "Egypt" and "maize". This is why
  sometimes the name is wrongly translated as "Corn
  Bazaar". The bazaar was (and still is) the center
  for spice trade in Istanbul, but in the last
  years more and more shops of other type are
  replacing the spice shops. The building itself
  is part of the külliye of Yeni Mosque, and rents
  from the shops within was intended to help pay
  for the upkeep of the mosque. The structure was
  designed by the chief court architect Koca Kasim
  Aga, but completed by architect Mustafa in 1660.
  The Spice Bazaar is an L-shaped building,
  consisting of 88 vaulted rooms, almost all of
  which are now divided into an upper and lower
  story. Monumental gateways are at the ends of
  both halls, with chambers above each entrance
  way. The main entrance is in the southwest
  corner, facing the Yeni Mosque.

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Created by

• Andrea Flamini
• Sandro Marseglia
• Lorenzo Maugeri
• Francesco Mazzetti
• Massimiliano Zampano