FIRST VIEWS OF THE CITY:
BLUE MOSQUE:
The Blue Mosque (formally Sultan Ahmet Mosque) was built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmet I.
RAMADAN:
HAGIA SOPHIA:
Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Aya Sofya) was built as an Eastern Orthodox basillica between 532 and 537 under the jurisdiction of Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Sultan Mehmet II promptly converted it into a mosque, following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Then, in 1935, the newly founded Republic of Turkey converted the Hagia Sophia into a museum. How Western of them.
All of Paris' Notre Dame could fit inside this dome. And the Statue of Liberty could do jumping jacks here.
GRAND BAZAAR:
The Grand Bazaar contains 4,000 shops. It was built between 1455 and 1461 (shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople).
ORIENT EXPRESS:
Cafe at Sirkeci Train Station, terminus of Orient Express.STREETS:
GALATA BRIDGE:
FISH MARKET:
FISH RESTAURANT:
HARDWARE BAZAAR:
OCCIDENT:
ORIENT:
LITTLE HAGIA SOPHIA:
The Little Hagia Sophia was built in 527 as a model for the large Hagia Sophia.
SEA OF MARMARA (as seen from roof of my hotel):
BOSPHORUS CRUISE:
Bosphorus Bridge, built 1973. The first bridge to span two continents.
Rumeli Fortress. Built by Mehmet II in 1452, a year before he seized Constantinople.
Rumeli Kavagi. Fishing Village on the Bosphorus.
Anadolu Kavagi. Another fishing village on the Bosphorus.
Yoros Castle, built to protect the Bosphorus.
Mouth of the Black Sea as seen from Yoros Castle. This is where Jason and the Argonauts encountered the clashing rocks. Remember? They released a dove to guide the way.MOSQUE OF SÜLEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT:
Completed in 1557, the Süleymaniye Mosque was designed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.
View of the Bosphorus from Süleymaniye.ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM:
Tiled Kiosk.
They recently started digging a tunnel under the Bosphorus to accommodate a new subway line, and they discovered all kinds of very old artifacts. They're still sorting them out. These crates are filled with chipped up ceramics.
A segment of the chain used by the Byzantines in the 1450s to protect the entrance to the Golden Horn from Ottoman invaders. It didn't work.
Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great.SPICE MARKET:
ISTANBUL AT NIGHT:
