Cistern Basilica
The city walls that used to surround the old city of Istanbul (Sultanhament)
Pictures in Guhane Park
The boys on Atiturks Knee!
The city walls that used to surround the old city of Istanbul (Sultanhament)
Pictures in Guhane Park
The boys on Atiturks Knee!
All the pictures below are from the Hippodrome
The Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelms
Rough Stone Obelisk
Obelisk of Theodosius
Inside the Blue Mosque
Kissing by the Tulip in the gardens
Kissing by the Tulip in the gardens
These pictures are all of the outside of the Blue Mosque
This is the courtyard to the mosque, behind me is a fountain for washing before prayer.
Aya Sofya - above is an example of one of the Mosaics, this one was above the alter that is pictured below.
This morning we met up with Steve and Larissa and Mayank and went around the sight sin Sultanahment (Old Istanbul), it is a designated world heritage sight now. We started with the Aya Sofya. The Aya Sofya was built 522 - 565 as part of restoring the Roman Empire. In the conquest in 1453 Melmet converted it into a mosque, as Christianity was being removed from Turkey. In 1935 Ataturk made it into a museum and some of the christian mosaics can be seen once again.
We then went around the Blue Mosque (called such due to the blue mosaics inside). It was build to surpass the Aya Sofya and to be the biggest of all Ottoman Mosques.
Behind the Blue Mosque is the Hippodrome, this was the centre of life in both Byzantine an Ottoman eras, for all events. At one end it contains the Kaiser Wilhelms Fountain 1901. It also has the 'Obelisk of Theodosius', this was carved in Egypt in 1450BC. The Byzantine emperor Theodosius brought it to Constantinople (is now Istanbul) in AD390.
The 'Rough Stone Obelisk' used to have bronze plates, but these where ripped off in the 3rd Crusade.
After a nice lunch we walked through Guhane Park and around the waterfront, it was pretty hazy today. After an afternoon beer we went to the Cistern Basilicia, it was built in AD 532, it's 63m wide, 143m long and the roof is supported by 336 columns. it once held 80 000 cubis meters of water. It was used to supply water to the palace during Byzantine times but was used as a dumping ground during the Ottoman period. It has been restored numerous times since.
We had some great pastries afterwords and ate at a 'Traditional Turkish' restaurant.
This is the courtyard to the mosque, behind me is a fountain for washing before prayer.
Aya Sofya - above is an example of one of the Mosaics, this one was above the alter that is pictured below.
This morning we met up with Steve and Larissa and Mayank and went around the sight sin Sultanahment (Old Istanbul), it is a designated world heritage sight now. We started with the Aya Sofya. The Aya Sofya was built 522 - 565 as part of restoring the Roman Empire. In the conquest in 1453 Melmet converted it into a mosque, as Christianity was being removed from Turkey. In 1935 Ataturk made it into a museum and some of the christian mosaics can be seen once again.
We then went around the Blue Mosque (called such due to the blue mosaics inside). It was build to surpass the Aya Sofya and to be the biggest of all Ottoman Mosques.
Behind the Blue Mosque is the Hippodrome, this was the centre of life in both Byzantine an Ottoman eras, for all events. At one end it contains the Kaiser Wilhelms Fountain 1901. It also has the 'Obelisk of Theodosius', this was carved in Egypt in 1450BC. The Byzantine emperor Theodosius brought it to Constantinople (is now Istanbul) in AD390.
The 'Rough Stone Obelisk' used to have bronze plates, but these where ripped off in the 3rd Crusade.
After a nice lunch we walked through Guhane Park and around the waterfront, it was pretty hazy today. After an afternoon beer we went to the Cistern Basilicia, it was built in AD 532, it's 63m wide, 143m long and the roof is supported by 336 columns. it once held 80 000 cubis meters of water. It was used to supply water to the palace during Byzantine times but was used as a dumping ground during the Ottoman period. It has been restored numerous times since.
We had some great pastries afterwords and ate at a 'Traditional Turkish' restaurant. 
