WHAT IS REALLY WORTH TO SEE IN ISTANBUL?
Located in the center of the Old World, Istanbul is
one of the world's great cities famous for its historical monuments and
magnificent scenic beauties. It is the only city in the world which spreads
over two continents: it lies at a point where Asia and Europe are separated by
a narrow strait - the Bosphorus. Istanbul has a history of over 2,500 years,
and ever since its establishment on this strategic junction of lands and seas,
the city has been a crucial trade center.
The historic city of Istanbul is situated on a
peninsula flanked on three sides by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the
Golden Horn. It has been the capital of three great empires, the Roman,
Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and for more than 1,600 years over 120 emperors
and sultans ruled the world from here. No other city in the world can claim
such a distinction.
BASILICA CISTERN
The city's most unexpectedly romantic attraction, the
Basilica Cistern, offers an insight into the complicated system that once
brought drinking water into Istanbul from Thrace (an area of the south-east
Balkans now constituting Turkish land n the European mainland, and a chunk of
Bulgaria). Constructed in the sixth century and then forgotten for centuries,
the cistern that once stored the water has been fitted with lights and music.
Fish flitter around the bases of the 336 columns that support the ceiling.
Don't miss the upside-down head of Medusa that forms the bottom of one column,
proof that Byzantine builders saw Roman relics as little more than reusable
rubble.
AYA SOFIA
After decades in which scaffolding cluttered the
interior of Emperor Justinian's sixth-century Byzantine masterpiece, the thrill
of being able to experience the extraordinary spaciousness of this famous
church-turned-mosque-turned museum is hard to overstate. Downstairs the
building is largely empty; the best of the glittering mosaics lurk in the galleries
upstairs. Newly opened are the tombs of several early Ottoman sultans and their
slaughtered sons – before primogeniture new sultans immediately had all
potential rivals killed. Before the end of the year, the city's finest carpets
will go on display in the soup kitchen added after the church was turned into a
mosque.
TOPKAPI PALACE
If there is one absolute must-see in Istanbul, it has
to be the Topkapi Palace, home to generations of sultans and their wives, who
were closeted in the famous harem. A collection of lush green courtyards and
delicate kiosks, the Topkapi boasts a treasury to put the crown jewels in the
shade, as well as views to die for over the Sea of Marmara, Bosphorus and
Golden Horn. The secretive harem – really just the family quarters – is a
warren of lushly-tiled rooms wrapped round a gem of a Turkish bath. Try to
visit on a day when no cruise ship is in town to avoid the worst of the crowds.
BLUE MOSQUE
Facing Aya Sofya across a small park and mirroring its
domed silhouette, the early 17th-century Blue Mosque is one of only a handful
of mosques in the world to boast six minarets. Is it really blue? Well, not
noticeably, although all the walls are papered with fine İznik tiles. To view
it as the architect, Sedefkar Mehmed Aga, originally intended, enter via what
looks like the side entrance from the Hippodrome. Afterwards, pop your head
into a building the size of a small mosque on the corner of the complex. This
houses the tomb of Sultan Ahmed I, the man who gave his name to both the mosque
and the neighbourhood.
GRAND BAZAAR
This colourful and chaotic bazaar is the heart of the Old City and has
been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse) built
by order of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461, it grew to cover a vast area as
laneways between the bedesten , neighbouring shops and hans (caravanserais)
were roofied and the market assumed the sprawling, labyrinthine form that it
retains today.
CAMLICA HILL
Camlica Hill rises up from Anatolian Istanbul in all
its brilliance, offering a unique perspective on the city. Popular with Sunday
strollers, lovers and those needing some fresh air, Camlica Hill is a dearly
loved refuge from the stresses of everyday life. Located about 4km from
Uskudar. Camlica is split into two hills: Küçük Çamlica (‘Little Pine Hill’)
and Büyük Çamlica (‘Big Pine Hill’). Büyük Çamlica is the highest point in
Istanbul at 267m above sea level.
PRINCESS ISLANDS
Most İstanbullus refer to the Princes' Islands as 'The
Islands' (Adalar), as they are the only islands around the city. They lie about
20km southeast of the city in the Sea of Marmara, and make a great destination
for a day escape from the city. There are nine islands in the Princes' Islands
group and the ferry stops at four of these. Year-round there are 15,000
permanent residents scattered across the six islands that are populated, but
numbers swell to 100,000 or so during summer when İstanbullus - many of whom
have holiday homes on the islands - escape the city heat.
