ISTANBUL
Turkey is a country that bridges two continents, and which
for over ten thousand years, has been the home of the great culture and civilizations
of the world!
Turkey is land of the "Mother
Sun" which gives her name to the land ' Anatolia' the 8000-kilometres long seductive
coastline displays limitless shades of ' Turquoise' for you to enjoy.
The golden beaches, undiscovered virgin
bays, and the whisper of gentle breezes await you there.
While you are in Turkey, you
breath the same air with Homer, who created the Aegean legacy; Mevlana, the greatest
philosopher who said " Come again, whoever you are!"; Yunus Emre, the great poet
of universal love; Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra who chose the Mediterranean coasts
of Anatolia for their honeymoon: Noah who made possible "Second Life" of humanity;
the Virgin Mary and St. John, saints who found peace in this land;
The cradle of civilizations! The most appropriate words describing
Turkey
which is the monumental treasure of civilization that have enlightened the world. Here, an unlimited number of monuments
bear the reminiscence of the cultural evolution of
Anatolia
. The capital of the world ? Istanbul?
ancient cities ?Pergamum?, ?Ephesus?, ?Aphrodisias?, ?Hierapolis?, ?Didyma?, ?Miletos?,
?Priene?, ?Troya? redolent with distant legend and history, dot the landscape.
ENJOY
SUN , HISTORY & UNLIMITTED ENTERTAINMENT
Istanbul embraces two continents, one arm reaching
out to Asia, the other to
Europe
. Through the city?s heart, the Bosporus strait, course the waters of the Black
Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the
Golden Horn
.
The former capital of three successive Empires Roman,
Byzantine and Ottoman today
Istanbul
honors and preserves the legacy of its past while looking forward to its modern
future. Considered to be one of the most prominent centers of the world for culture,
arts, history, entertainment, trade and business, it is
Istanbul
?s variety that fascinates its visitors. The museums, churches, palaces, great mosques,
very attractive nightlife and entertainment, bazaars and sights of natural beauty
seem inexhaustible.
Istanbulalso
has a rich program of night entertainment. Nightclubs provide splendid entertainment
throughout dinner, ranging from a selection of Turkish songs to belly-dancing. Beside
these there are modern discos, cabarets, and jazz and rock clubs as well.
Taksim & Beyoglu are the heart
of Istanbul. Bubbling and effervescent with a rich diversity of cultural and entertainment
attractions for all. This boulevard like a stately old tree branches out into innumerable
narrow side streets and alleyways, which play host to a uniquely rich social ecosystem.
Beyoglu provides some other cultural surprises; shops, cinemas, theatres, art-houses,
culture centers, galleries, churches, mosques, synagogues, hotels, restaurants,
patisseries, cafes, teahouses and bars.
In Sultanahmet, there are numbers of restaurants
in restored Byzantine and Ottoman buildings, which offer a unique setting for an
evening out.
Kumkapi, with its many taverns, bars and fish restaurants,
is another attractive district. People have been meeting for years at Çiçek Pasaji
(Flower Lane), in the district of Beyoglu for snacks and seafood specialties. Also
in the area near Çiçek Pasaji is the narrow Nevizade Street, which is one of best
places in Istanbul for eating Turkish specialties and international cousine.
On the Bosphorus you can have very fresh fish and
sea food with beautiful views and the lights of
Bosphorus Ortaköy which is another nice place nightlife in Istanbul, with
its , jazz clubs, seafood restaurants
and bars at Bosphorus.
The Galata Tower,
Built
as an apex of the Genoese district fortifications, The Galata Tower takes us, back
to the Medieval Beyoglu, as well as to its present. It is now a tourist sight and
a night club-restaurant organizing Turkish night during evenings, once belonged
to the Genoese. The district itself was founded in the 5th century A.D. Narrow streets,
characteristic of medieval times; lead us down to the Galata Bridge through Dominican
Churches and the Genoese house.
Tunnel (Historic underground)
Just few
minutes of walk from Galata Bridge behind the tram-stop raises the Metro Han a majestic
19th century building housing one of the oldest and shortest underground systems
in the world. The line runs at a sharp incline down to Karakoy, where one exits
near the Galata Bridge and from where it is a short walk over the Golden Horn to
Eminonu. Opposite the Metro Han the Cite de Tunnel building has a gorgeous central
passageway with a delightful antique cafe open till twelve midnight with candlelight
tables in the street throughout the summer.
Hippodrome
The ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races and
the center of Byzantine civic life, stood in the open space in front of the Blue
Mosque, although there is not much left from the original building today. Of the
monuments which once decorated it only three remain: the Obelisk of Theodosius,
the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine.
Today the square forms the center of Istanbul?s historical, cultural and
tourist activities.
Facing St. Sophia near the ancient Hippodrome stands the
supremely elegant, six-minaret, imperial Sultanahmet Mosque. Built in the early
17th century by the architect Mehmet Ağa, as part
of a large complex, the building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because
its interior gleams with a magnificent paneling of some 21,000 blue and white İznik
tiles.
Ayasofya (St. Sophia)
The Ayasofya Museum (Hagia Sofia) is unquestionably one
of the finest buildings of all times. Built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed
by Justinian in the 6th century, its immense dome rises 55 metres
above the ground and its diameter spans 31 meters. One should linger here to absorb
the building?s majestic serenity and to admire the fine mosaics. Ayasofya was used
as a church for 916 years and as a mosque for 481 years. In 1934, by the order of
Atatürk, it was turned into a museum and has since been open to visitors from all
over the world.
Topkapı Palace
Topkapı Palace,
the maze of buildings at the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th
and 19th centuries. In these opulent surroundings the
sultans and their court lived and governed. A magnificent wooded garden fills the
outer court. On the right of the second court, shaded by cypress and plane trees,
stand the palace kitchens, now galleries exhibiting the imperial collections of
crystal, silver, Chinese and Japanese porcelain. To the left, the Harem, the secluded
quarters of the wives, concubines and children of the sultan, charms visitors with
echoes of the intrigue of centuries.
Today, the third court holds the Hall of Audience, the Library of Ahmet III, an
exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous
jewels of the treasury and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts.
In the centre of this innermost sanctuary, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle enshrines
the relics of the Prophet Mohammed brought to Istanbul when the Ottomans were the
caliphate of Islam.
The cascading domes and four slender minarets of Süleymaniye
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.
This grand Byzantine underground cistern with its 336
columns most of which are topped with Byzantine Corinthian capitals is located next
to St. Sophia and was used to supply
water for the city.
Kapalı Çarşı (Grand Covered Bazaar)
One could visit Istanbul for the shopping alone. The Kapalı
Çarşı, or Covered Bazaar, in the old city is the logical place to start. This labyrinth
of streets and passages houses more than 4,000 shops. Shops selling the same kind
of merchandise tend to be congregated in their streets or in hens as this
was originally the Ottoman system. With 18 entrances and more than 4,000 shops it
is one of the greatest bazaars in the world. The atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar
is very interesting for tourists and has consequently become a very popular place
not only for foreign but also for Turkish visitors. Still the commercial center
of the old city, the bazaar is the original shopping mall with something to suit
every taste and pocket.
Mısır Çarşısı (Spice Bazaar)
It was built as part of the Yeni Cami complex which is located next to it. Misir in Turkish
means Egypt and it is called the Egyptian Bazaar because the shopkeepers used to
sell spices and herbs which were brought from or through Egypt. During the Ottoman
period it was known as a place where shops sold only spices. Today there are only
a few spice and herb specialists. The rest sell dried fruit, borek, basket work,
jewellery, and etc..
Archeology Museum
Istanbul
Archeology Museums consist of three museums. Those are Archeology Museum, Old Eastern
Works Museum and Enameled Kiosk Museum.
Istanbul
Archeology Museums, which were established as Müze-i Humayun (Empire Museum) by
the famous artist and museum director Osman Hamdi Bey at the end of the 19th
century, were opened to public on June 13, 1891. Besides its importance as the ?first
Turkish museum?, it has an importance and specialty being one of the museum buildings
that are constructed as a Museum in the World. Today, it still preserves its outstanding
place in the World?s biggest museums with its works more than a million pieces belong to various cultures.
In the
museum collections, there are rich and very important works of art belong to different
civilizations from the regions from Balkans to Africa, from Anatolia and Mesopotamia
to Arab Peninsula and Afghanistan that were in the borders of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkish and Islamic
Arts Museum
Built
in 1524 by İbrahim Pasa, the Grand Vizier to Suleyman the Magnificent, this was
originally a palace and one of the grandest private residences in the Ottoman Empire
? and one of the few which still exists. Some of them, however, were destroyed and
rebuilt in original designs in 1843.
Now, it
is a museum, which is considered one of the finest collections of Islamic art in
the world, with a superb display of ceramics, metalwork, miniatures, calligraphy
and textiles, as well as some of the oldest carpets in the world. Equally impressive
is the grace of the building, with the central courtyard giving something of an
insight into the atmosphere of the residence.
Opposite
is the Great Hall, which houses a collection of Turkish carpets, with exquisite
antique carpets and kilims and one of the finest collections in the world, the oldest
exhibited dates back to 13th century.
Museum
consists of following sections:
Carpet
Section
Hand
Writings and Calligraphy Section
Section of Wooden
Works
Stone
Art Section
Section
of Ceramic and Glass
Metal
Art Section
Ethnography Section
|