İstanbul'un Önemli Yerleri (İngilizce)

DOLMABAHCE PALACE
The word "Dolmabahce" in English means "The filled garden" Because the Dolmabahce Palace is founded upon a reclaimed area by filling up the sea It's a beautiful 19th C palace right by the Bosphorus, on the waterfront It's in baroque and rococo style and very French Many people think that it is a small model of the palace of Versailles in Paris, France It can be visited with a tour guide of the palace as a group Open everyday from 9:30-17:00 except Mon and Thu
When one enters the palace area, the first thing to see is the beautiful French style gardens After having a lovely walk by the Bosphorus, one reaches the main building The palace was constructed between 1842-1853 by one of the Ottoman Sultans, Sultan Abdulmecid The architect was a famous Armenian architect, Nikogos Balyan The palace reflects the European and more "modern" side of the Ottoman Empire The Sultans moved to Dolmabahce Palace after its construction was finished and never went back to Topkapi Palace which hosted them nearly 4 centuries
Before one enters into the main palace building, should wear blue nylons over shoes due to keep the palace clean After wearing them, one faces with a huge entrance hall with beautiful French Baccarat crystal chandelliers The palace altogether is decorated with French Baccarat and Czech Bohemian crystal chandelliersThe entrance hall is the hall where the visitors were used to welcomed This part is the official part (Selamlik) of the Palace that was only open to the men The women and the children lived in a different part called "the Harem" The Sultan's bedrooms were also in the Harem Part The founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died in this palace in 1938 of sirosis disease He actually lived in Ankara, Turkey's capital, but he used to come to Istanbul quite often and Dolmabahce Palace was his residence when he visited Istanbul His room is also in the Harem Part of the Palace There are many portraits in the palace by famous artists, like Aivazosvky of Russia It's a very ornate palace with its 285 rooms, 43 large halls and 6 Turkish baths The large old carpets on the floor are Hereke Carpets which were exclusively woven for the palaces Some rooms have a great parquet floor with three different woods inlaid into each other by using no nails Many of the palace fabrics and the curtains were also coming from Hereke, a small town 50 miles,70 kms to the east of Istanbul The palace fabrics today were replaced by new ones which are very similar to the original ones

THE BLUE MOSQUE
The Blue Mosque is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul, especially when viewed from the First Hill or from the Asian shore of the Sea of Marmara It is very impressive with its beautiful domes and semidomes, nice courtyards and six slender minarets
The Blue Mosque was founded by Sultan Ahmet I He ordered Architect Mehmed Aga to begin constuction in 1609 and the whole complex was completed in 1616 The location of the mosque is just opposite of the splendid Church of Hagia Sophia as it is trying to compete with it That is actually true because Architect Mehmed wanted to construct a bigger dome then Hagia Sophia's but he could not succeed Instead, he made the mosque splendid by the perfect proportion of domes and semidomes as well as the splendid minarets There is an interesting story of the mosque; according to it, Sultan Ahmet I wanted to have a minaret made of gold which is "altin" in Turkish The architect misunderstood him as "alti" which means "six" in English However, when the architect was shivering as "am I going to be beheaded?", the Sultan Ahmed I liked the minarets so much Prior to that time, no sultan had a mosque with 6 minarets
The mosque covers a large area, there's a big courtyard where some ablution fountains are located These ablution fountains are for people who are getting prepared to pray in the mosque Before praying, one should wash his/her face, arms, neck and feet as well as mouth and nose This is a basic cleaning There are beautiful marble steps right in the middle of the courtyard, leading to the main courtyard The marble courtyard is lovely, its marble comes from the Island of Marmara (the Turkish word for marble ,"Mermer" comes from Marmara) There is a fountain in the middle which is used as decorative purposes There is a portal on the left hand side which is entrance for the local people Upon turning to the left, one comes to the main entrance of the mosque The shoes must be taken off and put into plastic bags
Upon the entrance to the mosque, one should pay attention to the gate The gate is a typical Seljuk- Turkish wooden work with a geometrical design in its center The star symbolizes the Turkish Generation and very typical of early 11-12th C Turkish Art After the gate, one meets the breathtaking interior of the mosque with its chandelliers and blue tiles The mosque is all surrounded by beautiful 17C Iznik tiles which give its name to the Blue Mosque It is all carpeted with prayer rugs because people must put their forehead on the floor and therefore the floor should be soft and clean
The building is nearly a square and covered with a dome of 235 m(77 feet) in diameter and 43m(140 feet) high There are four colossal standing colums of 5m in diameter(163 feet) which give the basic support to the building The mosque has 260 windows which let the sunlight diffuse into the building quite nicely They were filled with stained-glass in early 17C but they were restored later The pulpit and nave is worth seeing, made of marble and original The Imam(priest) goes on the pulpit every Friday on the sacred day of the Muslims but he never climbs to the very top as a respect to Prophet Muhammed Everybody should turn their face to the south when praying, because Mecca( Saudi Arabia) is located in South
When visiting the Blue Mosque, one should remember the prayer times, five times a day First one in the very early in morning, second at noon time, third in afternon, fourth in evening and last fifth before going to bed The mosque is closed at prayer times for 1-15 hours One should prefer to visit the mosque in the morning or before 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon because the prayer times rotate according to the sun's positions

HAGİA SOPHİA CHURCH
Hagia Sophia Museum is open everyday except Mon between 9:30 am to 5 pm The admission fee is 15,000,000 TL which is approximately 10 EUR or 12 USD in 2003-2004 season
Hagia Sophia Church is one of the most extraordinary buildings in the history of architecture and from the Golden Age of Byzantium It played such an important role in Byzantine Empire as well as in Ottoman Empire as a mosque
The word "Hagia" in Greek means "Divine" and "Sophia" means "Wisdom" "Divine Wisdom" is one of the attributes of Jesus Christ and this church is devoted to his divine wisdom The Church of Hagia Irene was another church which was also devoted to "peace" attribute of Jesus Christ The church was first completed in 360 during the reign of Constantinus It was called as "Megala Ekklessia", the Great Church This church was burnt in 404 during a revolt A new church was built in the same place, by emperor Theodosius on Oct,405 It was also destroyed in a fire The third and the last church was completed in 537 by Emperor Justinian I It was completed only in 5 years Emperor Justinian I was a very strong believer of Christianity and he wanted to use the church as a means for enlarging the scope of Christianity This church served as the heart of the empire, all coronation and major baptism ceremonies took place here When Turks conquered Istanbul in 1453, the first thing Mehmed "the Conqueror" did was to order the conversion of the church into a mosque Because he believed that this was written in Holy Koran that Istanbul should be conquered and turned to be an Islamic Land From then on, the Church served as a great mosque, with four minarets added in different periods The mosaics on the walls were covered with plaster because they were forbidden in Islam Actually this helped the preservation of the mosaics and frescoes The mosque was carpeted and the pulpit was put on the southern part of the church Hagia Sophia served as a mosque until Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ordered the conversion of the mosque into a museum He believed that it was a world heritage and people could come and see it Therefore, in 1929, the plasters started to be removed and in 1940s, it was reopened as a museum
While approaching the church from Blue Mosque, one gets impressed by the red big building with a splendid dome The building is huge and vast When entered through the main gate, one passes through two different narthexes (entrance) In the second entry hall (endonarthex), there's a big bronze gate which is from the reign of Justinian I This was the main imperial gate to the church which was only reserved for the emperor's passage Right above the gate, there's a mosaic which is from 9th C Jesus Christ is in the middle, on the right hand side is Angel Gabriel and on left is Blessed Virgin The depiction of Emperor Leo VI is also in the mosaic The ceiling is reveted with floral mosaics On the left end of the endonarthex, there's the ramp leading to the galleries on the second floor
The interior of the church is vast The building is covered with a big central dome which is 56 m, 150 feet high, 33 m,72 feet in diameter The dome was decorated with Arabic calligraphic writings during the Ottoman Era The building is strengthened with columns in green and purple color Purple (porphyry) was the sacred color of the Byzantium The emperors were born to purple color fabrics, used this color in their costumes and buried in purple color fabrics Upon walking into the church, one sees a square which was "Coronation Square" of the Byzantium Emperors All of the Byzantine Emperors were coroneted in Hagia Sophia Church On the right wing of the church, there's the "Library of Mahmud I", which is an Ottoman Era addition(1739) The nave of the church is beautiful, it was facing east when it was an orthodox church After the conversion of the church into a mosque, the nave was decorated with big candlesticks and stain-colored glass There is a pulpit on the left of the nave This pulpit is no way comparable to the ones in original mosques but it was a later addition as well Above ,on the left of the nave there's the "Lodge of the sultan" which was designed as a secret lodge for prayer ceremonies of the Ottoman Sultans This is a work of Italian Fossati Brothers who came to restore the Church in the 19th century and built many additions to the church The mosaic on the apse is splendidIt's the depiction of Blessed Virgin and Jesus Christ and this mosaic is from the 9th C It's completely original
To reach the galleries on the second floor, one climbs a ramp which is very impressive There are three splendid mosaics here on this section The first one is located in the southeast of the main church It depicts the judgment day of the world, "the Deesis", Jesus Christ is in the middle, on the left is John the Baptist, on the right is Blessed Virgin This mosaic is spectacular because the pieces used for the mosaic is quite little and this made the mosaic look like a picture Even the cheek color or the wrinkles of John the Baptist is easily recognized The other two mosaics are located in the eastern end of the Church The one on the left depicts Emperor Monomachos IX with his wife, Zoe Jesus Christ is in the middle The one on the right depicts Empress Irene and Emperor Komnenos II with Blessed Virgin and Jesus Christ on her nap As one walks to the very left end of the church, can come close to the beautiful mosaic on the apse which Blessed Virgin and child Jesus Christ

SULEİMAN'S MOSQUE
The Suleiman's Mosque (Suleymaniye in Turkish and Arabic) is the second largest but finest and most magnificent of the imperial mosque complexes in the city It's as magnificent as its founder Suleiman the Magnificent and a masterwork of the greatest Ottoman architect, the incomparable Sinan Suleiman the Magnificent is the 10th Sultan of Ottoman Empire who expanded the boundaries of the Empire far to Vienna's City Walls Conquering Vienna was his ultimate aim but he could not succeed
The construction of the Suleiman's Mosque began in 1550 and the mosque itself was completed in 1557 The mosque is actually a complex building with the tombs of Suleiman and his wife, Hurrem Sultan(Roxelana) The other buildings were finished some years later The mosque is preceded by a courtyard with columns of the richest porphyry, marble and granite At the four corners of the courtyard rise the four great minarets The four minarets are said to signify that Suleiman was the fourth sultan to rule in Istanbul and the 10 balconies denote that he was the 10th Sultan of the Ottoman Dynasty
Entering the mosque, there is a vast room, almost square in plan surmounted by a huge dome The dome is 47 m, 150 feet and its diameter is 275 m, 87 feet The stain coloured windows are lovely, the sunlight diffuses inside very nicely The mihrab where the imam(priest) stands and the pulpit are Proconassian marble There is also a marvellous woodwork inlaid with mother of pearl and ivory of the doors, window shutters and the preacher's chair There are also impressive calligraphic inscriptions by the most famous calligrapher of Ottoman Empire, Ahmet Karahisari and his pupil Hasan Celebi The mosque is all carpeted with red prayer rugs all pointing South where Mecca is located Next to the mosque are the turbes, the tombs of Suleiman and his wife, Hurrem(Roxelana) The tomb of Suleiman is revetted with beautiful Iznik tiles and quite impressive There is also the tomb of great architect, Sinan in the same complex According to the story, Sinan was the only architect who had the honour of opening an Imperial Mosque because Suleiman gave the key to Sinan which was given to him to open the mosque Another saying says Sinan trusts the quality of the mosque so much that if there is any big earthquake happens, this mosque will never collapse, it will fall into the waters of Golden Horn as one piece, not in small pieces
GALATA TOWER
The Galata Tower is one of the most prominent landmarks in the city on the European Side, located in Old Pera(Beyoglu) district It is open everyday from 900 to 1800 to climb up to the observation deck There is a restaurant on the top of the tower where you can enjoy a traditional Turkish Night There is an elevator and two floors to walk up
The tower was the focus of the Genoese fortifications of Medieval Galata Originally known as the "Tower of Christ", it was built in 1348 in connection with the first expansion of the Genoese Colony The first fortified area, walled in as early as 1304, was a long, narrow rectangle along the Golden Horn between today's two bridges over the Golden Horn On the 17th C, an Ottoman citizen, Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi attempted to fly from Galata Tower to Asian Shore of Uskudar and he worked on his project for years With the wings he invented, he succeded to fly to his target and this was a great success of that time It was used as an observation tower and constituted an important part of their defense system It was used as a fire observation tower till 1960s, and later restored and converted to a touristic attraction
The observation deck is spectacular, it gives one the opportunity of a 360 degrees of vision It is 61 meters, 183 ft tall From the deck, one can observe the Asian Side, the highest point of Istanbul, the Bosphorus, the Bophorus Bridge, the harbour for the cruise ships, the Golden Horn, the old Galata settlement with rather poor neighborhoods, the Suleiman's Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace, the Spice Market, the New Mosque, the Halic (Golden Horn) settlements, the new part of the town, Beyoglu(old Pera) and so onIn order to see Istanbul's four different sides, one must go and visit the tower It is being restored but still open to visit

THE UNDERGROUND CİSTERN
The Underground Cistern is one of the most extraordinary and impressive buildings in Istanbul It is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm
The structure was known in Byzantium as "Basilica Cistern" because it lay beneath the Stoa Basilica, the great public square on the First Hill The Basilica Cistern was built by Justinian I after the bloody Nika Revolt in 532, probably as an enlargement of an earlier cistern which was constructed by Constantine the Great During the Byzantium Period, it was used as a reservoir for water storage for the Great Palace and other buildings in the First Hill During the Ottoman Period, the water was used for Topkapi Palace and watering the gardens of it However the cistern had its brighest days during the Byzantium Period
The interior of Underground Cistern is breathtaking It is 138 m, 452 ft long by 65m, 213 ft wide There are 336 columns in the cistern Most of the column capitals are either in Corinthian or Doric Style At the far end of the Cistern, there are two heads of Medusa which are put upside down or horizontal The Medusa Heads are taken from an ancient Pagan site but they complement the pillars very beautifully and add a different taste to the building
Because of its magic atmosphere and great acoustics, this cistern is now hosting many Classical Music Concerts There is also a little café which one can sip his or her coffee and enjoy this unique building On the way to the exit, there are two small bookshops which is full of postcards and informative books as well as some silver jewelry

BEYLERBEYİ PALACE
Beylerbeyi Palace is the largest and most elegant Ottoman Palace on the Asian Shore of the Bosphorus The palace is open everyday except Mon and Thu from 9 am to 1230 pm, 130 pm to 600pm
The palace and the neighbourhood was named for a beylerbey, a title which means "lord of the lords", this was Mehmet Pasha, Governer of Rumelia(Turkish territory in European Side) The first sultan who resided here was Mahmud II It was constructed in 1861-65 by Sarkis Balyan, a famous Armenian architect 5000 people from all over Anatolia including the best masters worked for the construction They were all paid by the Sultan It was mainly used as a summer residence, first famous visitor was French Impress Eugenie in 1869, later visitors were Franz Joseph of Austria, King Edward of England The palace is now used as a museum
The palace is divided into two sections as the other Ottoman Palaces, selamlik and harem Selamlik was the section which was open to men and where the meetings, receptions took place The building is a 3- storey one, the first one was for service departments, the upper two was for state rroms and imperial apartments, a total of 26 elegantly designed chambers, 6 grand halls It is very elegant in general, with Hereke Carpets, Czech Bohemian Crystal Chandeliers, French Clocks, Chinese, Japanese and French Vases, furniture from Damascus and France, paintings from Russian Aivazovsky
Unlike the other palaces, there is no heating system in this palace, because it was only used for summer-time purposes There is a marble pool with a fountain which operates as a natural air conditioning Another point about the palace is its very European atmosphere The gardens and the design of the rooms show this The kitchens of the palace are located in the adjacent building, because the smell of the food disturbed the sultan and there was the risk of fire
Right by the Bosphorus Bridge and the waterfront, the palace is lovely and worth visiting The tours are conducted in Turkish and English and one should join the tour group which will be leaded by the Palace Guide