Touristic Places in Istanbul

08 Ağustos 2024

Topkapi Palace

About Topkapi Palace

Topkapı Palace is the residence of the Ottoman Sultans and the administrative and educational center of the state. Sultan II, the conqueror of Istanbul. Ottoman sultans and palace people resided in the palace, which was built by Mehmed II between 1460 and 1478 and some additions were made over time, until the mid-19th century. Topkapı Palace was converted into a museum by the order of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on April 3, 1924, after the Ottoman monarchy was abolished in 1922.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Topkapi Palace

After the conquest, Fatih Sultan Mehmed had a palace built in Beyazıt, where today's Istanbul University is located, which would later be known as the "Old Palace". After this first palace, Fatih built first the Tiled Pavilion and then the Topkapı Palace, where he would settle when its construction was completed. Fatih gave this palace the name "Saray-ı Cedid", which means "New Palace" in Ottoman Turkish. The reason why the New Palace was called Topkapı Palace was as follows: When the large wooden coastal palace, built by Sultan Mahmud I near the Byzantine walls and called "Topkapusu Coastal Palace" because of the salute cannons in front of it, was completely destroyed in a fire, the name of this palace was given to the new palace.

Topkapi Palace Architecture

Ottoman state philosophy and Palace-subject relations played a major role in determining the plan of Topkapı Palace, which developed and grew for centuries. In addition, when Topkapı was first built, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror's father, Sultan II. It is known that Murad was inspired by the plan as well as the magnificence of the Edirne Palace, which was built by the Tunca River and only ruins of which survive today.

Topkapi Palace is a modest palace; The major expenditures of the empire were mostly made for magnificent mosques, barracks, bridges, caravanserais and accommodation facilities. Even Mimar Sinan, the famous architect of the 16th century, built only one section of this palace. But the palace's unique buildings, exquisite tiles and structure intertwined with nature, as well as its location in Sarayburnu, give it a natural beauty and magnificence.

Topkapı Palace Sections

Plan of Topkapı Palace; It consists of apartments reserved for state affairs among various courtyards and gardens, buildings and mansions that are the residence of the ruler, and buildings for the officials living in the palace. Built on the Byzantine acropolis in Sarayburnu, located at the tip of the Istanbul peninsula, between the Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, the Palace is surrounded by 1400-meter-long high walls called "Sur-ı Sultani" from the land and by Byzantine walls from the sea. The area covered by the palace is approximately 700 thousand square meters.

Alay Square, Hagia Irene, Bâb-ü's Selâm, Bâb-ı Hümâyun, Divan Square, Kubbealtı (Divan-ı Hümayun), Justice Pavilion, Foreign Treasury, Zülüflü Baltacılar Lodge, Hask Barns, Beşir Ağa Mosque and Bath, Palace Kitchens, Babüssaade. , Sukhum Castle Inscription, Enderun Courtyard, Supply Room, III. Ahmed Library (Enderun Library), Fatih Mansion (Enderun Treasury), Treasury Ward, Privy Room and Sacred Relics Department, Ağalar Mosque, Kilerli Ward, Aviary and Harem Gate, Privy Room Ward/Sultan Portraits, Fourth Courtyard, Circumcision Room, Revan Mansion , Baghdad Pavilion, Iftariye Gazebo (Moonlight), Sofa Pavilion, Sofa Mosque, Mecidiye Pavilion, Hekimbaşı Room / Baş Lala Tower, Garment Room, Harem, Cupboard Dome / Harem Treasury / Haremeyn Treasury, Sofa with Fountain, Kara Ağalar Masjid, Kara Ağalar and Kara Ağalar Stony, Cümle Kapısı, Valide Stony, Women's Apartments, Valide Sultan Apartment, Hünkâr and Valide Sultan Baths, Hünkâr Sofası, III. Murad Has Room, Ahmed I Has Room, Yemiş Room / III. Ahmed Has Room, Çifte Kasırs / Crown Prince's Office, Altınyol, Concubines and Female Masters' Stony, Favorites and Mabeyn's Stony, Cars' Gate / Girls' Gate, Watch Place and Concubines' Corridor are among the sections of this magnificent building.

Topkapı Sarayı Müzesindeki Koleksiyonlar Nelerdir?

What are the Collections in Topkapi Palace Museum?

The extraordinarily rich collections of Topkapı Palace and its history woven with extremely interesting stories make this palace one of the most worth-seeing palaces in the world. Imperial Treasury, European Porcelains and Glasses, Copper and Tombac Kitchenware, Chinese and Japanese Porcelains, Silverware, Mantle of Saadet and Sacred Relics, Istanbul Glass and Porcelains, Sultan Clothes, Sultan portraits and painting collection, Weapons are among the valuable collections exhibited in the museum. .

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Sultan Ahmet Mosque

Sultan Ahmet Mosque was built by Sedefkar Mehmet Ağa, one of the students of Mimar Sinan, in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmet I.

Since there are many blue Iznik tiles on the walls of the mosque, the mosque is also known as the Blue Mosque. There are 21 thousand 43 eye-catching pieces on the walls of the mosque. There are.

The wall surfaces are covered with tiles, starting from the tops of the lower row windows to the bottoms of the third row windows. Especially the tiles on the walls of the gallery are placed in a way that does not tire the eyes.

The prayer hall of the mosque measures 64x72 meters. The diameter of the central dome, which is 43 meters high, is 23.5 meters.

Together with the Sultan Ahmet Mosque complex, it is one of the largest building complexes in Istanbul.

This social complex consists of a mosque, madrasahs, sultan's mansion, arasta, shops, bath, fountain, public fountains, tomb, hospital, primary school, almshouse and rental rooms. The tomb of Sultan Ahmet I was also built adjacent to the mosque garden.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Galata Tower

Galata Tower, considered among the oldest towers in the world and one of the symbols of Istanbul, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013. Galata Tower, one of the most important buildings that form the silhouette of Istanbul, was used as a fire watchtower for a long time and was called Galata Fire Tower.

It is known that the interest in the tower gradually increased after Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi completed his flight from the Galata Tower in Üsküdar, where he performed flight experiments by tying wooden wings to his back, in the seventeenth century.

Who Built the Galata Tower?

Galata Tower was first built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianos in 507 - 508 AD. The Genoese rebuilt the current tower in 1348 - 49. The tower was raised between 1445 - 46. It was damaged by an earthquake in the 1500s and was repaired by Architect Murad bin Hayreddin. III. After the tower was repaired during the Selim period, a bay window was added to the upper floor of the tower. In 1831, the tower suffered another fire, World War II. Mahmut climbs two more floors above the tower and the top of the tower is covered with the famous cone-shaped roof cover. The tower, which was repaired in 1967, will be restored again in 2020.

Architecture of Galata Tower

Galata Tower was built in the masonry rubble stone masonry system. The exterior is stone masonry. In the inscription at the entrance, there is a 16-line eulogy written by II. Since it was built during the reign of Mahmud, it is thought to have been written in his name.

The round-arched window above the door was the soldiers' observation post. It is a nine-storey building with a high ground floor. The windows on its cylindrical body have round arches with brickwork. The development of the last two floors just below the cone roof is emphasized by the profiled moldings surrounding the cylindrical body. There is a metal-decorated mesh observation balcony that wraps around the floor below the cone roof. On the lower floor, there are round arches sitting on deep niched pillars and brickwork round arched windows.

Today, it is observed that the part of the building up to the third floor has a Genoese character, while the other floors have an Ottoman character. Today, the building is used for social and cultural activities.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Suleymaniye Mosque

Süleymaniye Mosque, described as a journeyman work by Mimar Sinan, was built between 1551 and 1558 by the order of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Süleymaniye Mosque is one of the most important examples of Classical Ottoman Architecture. The dome of the mosque, which has four minarets, two with three balconies and two with two balconies, is 53 meters high. It is rumored that the great scholar Sheikhulislam Ebussuud Efendi laid the first stone on the foundation of the temple, the construction of which started in one of the most beautiful places of Istanbul.

The temple has a main dome, two semi-domes, two quarter domes and ten small domes. The main dome has four elephant feet; The dome arches are supported by four large granite columns. The dome with 32 windows is 27.25 meters in diameter and 53 meters above the ground. In order to strengthen the echo of the sound, there are 64 cubes of 50 cm in length placed inside the dome and in the corners, with the mouth open on the inside, thus creating a sensitive acoustic. The mosque, which has an internal area of approximately 3,500 square meters, is 59 meters long and 58 meters wide and receives light from 238 windows. The sultan and muezzin's gallery, pulpit and mihrab, based on granite and marble columns, attract attention with their workmanship. The section to the right of the muezzin's gallery, surrounded by metal networks, was used as a library until 1918; The existing books were transferred to the General Library established in Suleymaniye Madrasas on the same date.

There are colored windows above the mihrab at the front of the mosque, which has five doors. The windows in question, which are the work of the well-known master of the period, İbrahim Usta, make the sunlight entering through their windows resemble Mimar Sinan Şehper-i Cibril (Wings of Gabriel). There are four very valuable large granite columns in the mosque, and they were taken from Alexandria, Baalbek, Kıztaşı and Saray-ı Amire in Istanbul and brought to the mosque. Mimar Sinan compares these four columns, each 9.02 meters high, 1.14 meters in diameter and weighing 40-50 tons, to the Four Caliphs. The temple has a large inner courtyard with three gates, the floor of which is paved with marble and surrounded by porticoes with 28 domes. The mentioned dome arches are based on 24 columns, 12 of which are granite, 10 are marble and two are porphyry marble columns.

The mosque has four minarets and ten balconies built in a style appropriate to its majesty. Two of the minarets have three balconies each and the other two have two balconies each. The minarets, called "Mosque Minarets" and "Harem Minarets", were built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the fourth sultan, with the conquest of Istanbul; The ten cheers indicate that he is the 10th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Minarets rising towards the sky resemble a person praying with both hands raised. The writings in the mosque are the work of the famous calligrapher Ahmet Karahisarî and his student Hasan Çelebi. Later, Kazasker Mustafa Efendi also added some writings. Except for a few of the articles, the text of all of them is taken from the Holy Quran and processed masterfully. The inscription written on the door entering the mosque from the inner courtyard is divided into three parts: right, middle and left. In the first part, the qualities of Suleiman the Magnificent are listed, in the second part, his genealogy (lineage) is stated in series, and in the third part, after praying for the continuation of the sultanate and the souls of the past, the superior qualities of the temple are stated, with what intention and when it was built. The tomb in front of the mihrab belongs to Suleiman the Magnificent, who had the mosque built with his own money, and the tomb next to it belongs to his wife Hürrem Sultan.

The mosque garden, which has an area of approximately 6 thousand square meters, has 11 gates. Seven madrasahs, known as Suleymaniye Madrasahs, were established around the garden, five of which are at high school level, one is a faculty and one is a specialized department. The buildings on the right side of the mosque were the Evvel and Sani madrasahs and the Sibyan School, and were later transformed into the Suleymaniye Library, and part of them became a children's library. The medical madrasah on the corner serves as a maternity home, and the bimarhane across from it used to be a military printing house and now serves as a Quran course for girls. The buildings on the northern side of the mosque were previously an almshouse, then they were used as a museum of Turkish-Islamic Works, and were transferred to the Suleymaniye Library in 1984.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Dolmabahçe Palace

Evliya Çelebi writes that Yavuz Sultan Selim had a mansion built at the current location of Dolmabahçe Palace. During the reign of Ahmet I, the place was filled with stones and the mansion was enlarged. This is where the name of the palace and settlement comes from. In the 19th century, II. Mahmut has a new palace built in the same place. The current structure was built by Karabet Balyan in 1842 by Abdulmecit I. The palace, which was built until 1853, was not only the place where Abdülmecit lived, but also the place where he carried out official business. After Abdulmecit, his brother Abdulaziz also lived in this palace. Dolmabahçe Palace, which became Atatürk's Presidential Residence in Istanbul after the proclamation of the Republic, has a special importance in the history of the Republic as it was the place where Atatürk died on November 10, 1938.

The main structures of Dolmabahçe Palace; Harem, Mabeyn, Clock Tower and Dolmabahçe Mosque. The palace has 285 rooms and 46 living rooms, 6 baths and 68 toilets. The palace was built on an area of 110 thousand square meters and switched to electricity and heating systems in the 1910s.

The railings of the Mabeyn stairs have a magnificent appearance decorated with crystals, and the four-ton crystal chandelier with seven hundred and fifty bulbs hanging from the 36-meter dome in the Throne Hall in Mabeyn adds a European atmosphere to the hall.

This chandelier is a gift from Queen Victoria. This Throne Hall was built on 19 March 1877 by II. It also hosted the opening of the Ottoman Parliament by Abdulhamid. There is also a corridor in the Harem from which the Throne Hall can be viewed. Harem; It contains different spaces such as the Blue Hall where ceremonies are held, the Pink Hall where women have fun, the rooms where Atatürk stayed, and the Valide Sultan rooms. It is said that the thirty meter high clock tower at the entrance of the palace was completed in 1895.

The rooms around the Blue Hall and Pink Hall in the Harem section of Dolmabahçe Palace are called the Sultan's Office or Private Room. Atatürk also stayed in Room 71, located between the Blue Hall and Pink Hall in the Private Apartment, and said goodbye to his life there. The clock showing five past nine, which is still in this room, was given to him as a gift by his close friend Nuri Conker. The painting titled "Four Seasons", given as a gift by Zekai Apaydın, the Moscow Ambassador of the period, is known as Atatürk's favorite painting. Atatürk used room number 69, right next to his bedroom, as his study room. The bedroom in the other corner of the living room facing the sea is from time to time occupied by Prof., one of Atatürk's history advisors. Dr. It was used by Afet İnan. Ideas and consultation tables were usually set up in the Blue Hall, and often on the balcony in the Pink Hall during the summer months. In addition, an elevator was built for Atatürk in the bright area of the Blue Hall in June 1937, and this elevator is still in use. The bathroom, located right next to the Pink Hall and built by the Last Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi (1923), was also used by Atatürk for the same purpose. The medicines used during Atatürk's treatment are now exhibited in the glass cabinet at the entrance of the bathroom.

The Dolmabahçe Mosque next to the palace was completed in 1853 by Nikoğos Balyan, a member of the Balyan family who left their mark on Ottoman architecture. At the back of Dolmabahçe Palace, there is a small pavilion built in the 19th century for the Sultan's birds. Many birds of different species were housed in the building at that time. Dolmabahçe Palace, which has been converted into a museum today, is affiliated with the Department of National Palaces.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Sheriff of Hagia Sophia Mosque

Sheriff of Hagia Sophia Kebir Mosque

Hagia Sophia Mosque is among the most important monuments of world architectural history that have survived until today.

Structure; It holds an important place in the art world with its architecture, magnificence, size and functionality.

This magnificent work is the largest church built by the Eastern Roman Empire in Istanbul and was built three times in the same place. When it was first built, it was called Megale Ekklesia (Great Church), and from the 5th century until the conquest of Istanbul, it was called Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). Megale Ekklesia, built by Emperor Konstantios in 360, and Emperor II. The church, which was rebuilt by Theodosis in 415, was destroyed in public uprisings.

Today's Hagia Sophia Mosque was built by Emperor Justinianos by two important architects of the period, Anthemios of Tralles (Aydın) and Isidoros of Miletos (Balat).

From the records, it is understood that a hundred architects working together with two chief architects and a hundred workers under each architect completed the construction of the building in a short period of 5 years and 10 months.

The building, which was open for worship as a church for 916 years, was converted into a mosque after Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered Istanbul in 1453.

Immediately after the conquest, the building was strengthened and preserved in the best possible way and continued its existence as a mosque with additions from the Ottoman Period.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, mihrabs, pulpit, muezzin's gatherings, sermon pulpits and maksures were added to the mosque.

Hagia Sophia Mosque, with its minarets, madrasah, primary school, muvakkithane, fountain, water fountains, sundials, board of trustees room, which were built outside the building in different periods, was transformed into a complex structure during the Ottoman Period.

Hagia Sophia Mosque was converted into a museum in 1934 and served as a museum until 2020. In 2020, it gained mosque status again.

Dome of Hagia Sophia Mosque

The most important feature of the Hagia Sophia Mosque's architecture is that its dome is larger than usual and dominates the central space.

While the mosque was being built, marble, stone and brick were used by the architects in the construction of the building; Specially produced, light and strong bricks were used to prevent the dome from collapsing easily during earthquakes.

Within the scope of the repairs carried out by the Swiss Fossati Brothers between 1847 and 1849 upon the order of Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861), Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi, one of the most important calligraphers of the period, inscribed 35 verses of the An-Nur Sura of the Holy Quran on an 11.3 meter diameter area of the main dome. The 'th verse was written.

Mosaics of Hagia Sophia Mosque

It is decorated with many mosaic decorations with and without figures from different periods. The most important examples of mosaic decoration that have survived from the time it was made are the mosaics without figures that can be seen in the nortex area.

It is thought that all the figured mosaics in the building were removed during the anti-depiction period. With the end of this period in 843, the first figured mosaic made in the building was the Apse Mosaic.

There are figured mosaics made at different dates in many parts of the building, including the gallery floor, Tympanon Wall, narthex, vestibule entrance, and priest's rooms.

Mahmud I Library

One of the most important Ottoman additions to the building is the library built by Sultan Mahmud I in 1739. The library consists of the Reading Hall, the Treasury-i Qutb (the room where the books are preserved) and the corridor between these two sections.

The Reading Room is separated from the main space of the building by a glass window carried by six columns with diamond-shaped capitals and a bronze grid covering it. The two-winged door that provides entrance to the library is covered with a bronze grid decorated with flowers and curved branches and has two handles with 'Ya Fettah' carvings. The walls of the reading room are decorated with tile inscriptions and inscription friezes. On the wall opposite the door is the porphyry monogram of Sultan Mahmud I, bordered with green tiles.

In the reading section of the library, there are wooden lecterns decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay technique in the form of low, small tables on which books can be read and written, some of which can be opened and closed, and two mother-of-pearl, ivory-coated Quran cases in which the Holy Quran is preserved.

Iznik, Kütahya and Tekfur Palace tiles from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were used together in the library. The 16th century Iznik tiles in the Treasure-i Kutub and the composition of spring blooming branches in the corridor from the same century are the most beautiful examples of Turkish tile art. After the library was completed, Sultan Mahmud I sent the books from Galata Palace to this place; He also had the valuable books in the Imperial Treasury of the Topkapı Palace sealed with his own seal and moved here. Approximately 5 thousand manuscript books in the library were moved to the Suleymaniye Library in 1969.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Grand Bazaar

The history of the Grand Bazaar, located in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, dates back to the mid-15th century, during the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror. According to the foundation system, which was one of the most important practices that kept Ottoman institutions afloat, another income-generating structure was created to meet various needs such as repair and maintenance costs of mosques.

The most important of these income-generating structures are the bazaars, and the foundations of the Grand Bazaar were laid in 1461 with the structures built by Mehmet the Conqueror to bring income to Hagia Sophia, and it has gradually grown with the additions made over the years. The Grand Bazaar, which became the most important commercial center of the entire region over time, hosted the richest tradesmen of Istanbul, and where jewels and precious jewelry from all over the world were traded, also served as a bank and financial center during these years.

At the same time, the fact that it is seen as one of the places that best reflects Istanbul and Eastern life in the eyes of Europeans, as well as being included in many travel books and paintings by artists, also proves the historical and cultural importance of the Grand Bazaar. Grand Bazaar, defined as not only the oldest but also one of the largest shopping malls in the world, is built on an area of 45 thousand square meters and hosts 3,600 shops. The Grand Bazaar, which was the heart of the economy in the Ottoman Period, when it had even more shops than this number and covered a larger area, is now one of the frequent destinations of those who come to Istanbul and want to shop.

Here you can find everything from carpets to bags, textile products, gold and silver jewelry, antiques, tiles and souvenirs. The Grand Bazaar, which is so large that it would not be possible to explore every part of it even if you spent the whole day just wandering, contains the new and the old, the traditional and the modern, just like the whole of Istanbul. For this reason, some of the products sold can be described as heritage from the Ottoman Period, while others can be described as the legacy of the modern world. There are many places to shop in the immediate vicinity of the Grand Bazaar. The street stretching between the Bazaar and Nur-u Osmaniye Mosque is lined with shops selling authentic materials, especially carpet sellers.

You can find handmade souvenirs in Arasta Bazaar, located behind the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. Sultanahmet and its surroundings are another place where you can see all different products, apart from handcrafted souvenirs. We recommend those who are interested in old books to visit the Sahaflar Bazaar, which is located between the Beyazıt Mosque and the Grand Bazaar.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Hagia Irene Church Museum

Hagia Irene Church is the First Church of Byzantium. While rebuilding the city, Constantine, one of the Roman Emperors, built a forum, a palace and a hippodrome in his name, as well as the Hagia Irene Church on top of the Roman temples in the 330s. The dictionary meaning of Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene is 'Holy Peace'; but also a saint who lived in the same century. The saint's real name is Penelope. He tries to spread Christianity. He is thrown into a well full of snakes by pagans, but he does not die. He is stoned, tied to horses and dragged; yet he does not die. At the end of the miracles, pagans become Christians; Irene is also a saint. Emperor Constantine named the first temple of the monotheistic religion, which he built upon this extraordinary event, Hagia Irene.

Hagia Irene is the only church with an atrium that has survived from Byzantium. Atrium is a courtyard with porticoes in the middle of ancient Roman temples. Hagia Irene has retained the characteristics of the temple it replaced until today. However, today's Hagia Irene is not the same Hagia Irene. Because the first wooden Hagia Irene was burned in 532. When Emperor Justinian strictly prohibited polytheistic belief, the people rebelled, taking refuge in Zeus and burning both Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene Church... Justinian had Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene rebuilt. However, Hagia Irene was burned once again in 564. It was repaired... After two fires, this time it was shaken by earthquakes. So the church was repaired three times. Ottoman sultan II. Mehmet enters Istanbul and starts a new era. The outer walls of Topkapi Palace, whose construction has started, pass between Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene. After a while, Hagia Irene became the internal arsenal where weapons were maintained and repaired.

Hagia Irene is the first museum of the Ottoman Empire. When the weapons in the warehouse became antiques, the first museum was opened in Hagia Irene in the 19th century. The double-winged stairs that provide access to the galleries of Hagia Irene were built at that time. The Ottoman Empire added the inscription dated 1726 on the main gate and the staircase to Hagia Irene. During those ancient earthquakes that shook Hagia Irene, icons were religiously prohibited in Byzantium, so the walls were left unadorned during repairs. Today, only one motif remains, except for the cross symbolizing Jesus in the apse semi-dome, which the Ottomans closed by hanging a flag on it, and the drawing of a few stepped rostrums under the cross, symbolizing the Calvary Hill where Jesus was crucified. Since the church was not converted into a mosque after the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, no significant changes were made to the structure. It was used as a loot and weapons depot for a long time. The works of Damat Ahmet Fethi Pasha, one of the Tophane explorers, which formed the first core of the Turkish museum, were exhibited here in 1846. In 1869, Hagia Irene was named Museum-i Hümayun (Imperial Museum). Over time, due to insufficient exhibition spaces, the works here were moved to the Tiled Kiosk in 1875. Hagia Eirene has been used as a Military Museum since 1908. Later, the building, which remained empty for a while, was repaired and became a unit affiliated with the Hagia Sophia Museum Directorate.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Aşiyan Museum

The house where poet Tevfik Fikret lived between 1906 and 1915 serves as the Aşiyan Museum. It was purchased by the Istanbul Municipality from his wife Nazime Hanım in 1940 and opened as the Literature Museum in 1945. His body, which was previously located in the Eyüp cemetery, was transferred to this garden, which he liked very much for its natural appearance, in 1961, and after this date, the museum was named "Aşiyan Museum".

Tevfik Fikret drew the projects of his house himself and named the word aşiyan, which means "home" in Persian, here.

Aşiyan Museum Sections

The ground floor of the Aşiyan Museum, which has 3 floors of wood in the garden, is used for administrative works today. On the first floor, the Kitap-ı Cedide Room, where the photographs, books and personal belongings of the Kitap-ı Cedide artists are exhibited, the Abdülhak Hamit Hall, where the personal belongings of Abdülhak Hamit, paintings, photographs, a desk and armchairs are located, books and photographs belonging to Nigar Hanım, one of our female poets. There is the Poet Nigar Hanım Room, where her paintings, personal archives and belongings are exhibited. On the second floor reserved for Tevfik Fikret; The poet's bedroom and study are located. In the room that the poet used as a bedroom during his years of life; Objects such as his personal belongings, the bed on which he died, and a copy of the mask taken from the poet's face by Mihri Hanım are exhibited. In the room he uses as a study; There is a desk and chair, paintings and paintings made by himself. The famous "Fog" painting, made by Şehzade Abdülmecit Efendi, inspired by Tevfik Fikret's poem "Fog", is also here.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Maiden's Tower

One of the indispensable places for the Bosphorus view is undoubtedly the Maiden's Tower. The tower, built on a tiny island off the coast of Salacak, is the subject of many legends. One of these and the most well-known is the Leandros legend, which gave its name to the tower (Leander's Tower). The story of Leondros and Hero, lovers who brave the sea between them, will end in tragedy.

On a stormy night, when Leondros sees the light on the tower, he thinks that his lover Hero is calling him and jumps into the sea. However, this time it is not Hero who turns on the light, but someone else who realizes that the lovers meet secretly every night and turns off the light. Leondros is buried in the waves of the Bosphorus; Unable to bear the pain of this, Hero ends her life by jumping from the tower. At the end of the legend, a lighthouse is built on the site of the tower in the name of the lovers. Dating back to 24 BC, the Maiden's Tower has been used as a defense castle, exile station, prison, quarantine room, radio station, tax point and lighthouse throughout its long history.

The tower, which is the symbol of Üsküdar, was opened to service as a cafe and restaurant after it was restored by a private company in 2000.

Maiden's Tower Restoration

The restoration work on the Maiden's Tower in Istanbul is carried out under the supervision of our Ministry and under the consultancy of our academics who are experts in their fields, in line with approved projects, in accordance with universal protection principles, and all data obtained during the work is evaluated with sensitivity. As a result of the data obtained within the scope of the studies, static reports were prepared by academics working at ITU and FSMVÜ to evaluate the static situation of the building, and an architectural report was prepared by the Advisory Committee to evaluate the proposed interventions from an architectural perspective.

Scope of Restoration

Istanbul Maiden's Tower Restoration, Exhibition, Arrangement and Landscaping Work, which started in 2021, was carried out by the Republic of Turkey in line with the projects approved by the conservation board. It was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and was completed on May 11, 2023, and the Maiden's Tower was opened to visitors with its new face. The studies in question are; It aimed to cleanse the structure of the annexes that were added later and do not suit the original character of the building and to restore it to its original details. Experts in the field, Prof. Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay, Prof. Dr. Feridun Çılı and Han Tümertekin provided support as consultants.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Basilica Cistern

Built by Emperor Justinian in 532, the Basilica Cistern is also known as the Basilica Cistern because it is located under the Stoa Basilica. The cistern is a giant structure that covers a rectangular area of 140 meters in length and 70 meters in width. There are 336 columns, each 9 meters high, inside the cistern, which can be accessed via a 52-step stone staircase. These columns, erected at intervals of 4.80 meters from each other, form 12 rows, 28 in each row.

These columns rising out of the water remind of a vast forest and impress the visitor as soon as they enter the cistern. The ceiling weight of the cistern was transferred to the columns through cross-shaped vaults and round arches. Most of the columns, most of which were apparently collected from older buildings and carved from granite of various types of marble, consist of a single piece, and some of them consist of two pieces on top of each other. The titles of these columns have different characteristics from place to place. While 98 of them reflect the Corinthian style, some of them reflect the Doric style. The brick-built, 4.80-meter-thick walls and brick-paved floor of the cistern were plastered with a thick layer of Khorasan mortar, making it waterproof. This cistern, which has a total area of 9 thousand 800 square meters, has a water storage capacity of approximately 100 thousand tons.

The water of the cistern, in which 7 thousand slaves worked, was brought from the Eğrikapı water distribution center in the Belgrade forests, 19 kilometers away from the city, with the help of the 971-meter-long Valens (Bozdoğan) aqueduct built by Emperor Valens in (368) and the 115.45-meter-long Mağlova Aqueduct built by Emperor Justinian. The majority of the columns in the cistern are cylindrical, except for a few that are angular or grooved. Among these columns, the one decorated with the repetition of Peacock Eye, Drooping Branch and Tear shapes in carved and relief form attracts particular attention. This column is from IV. It is similar to the columns in the triumphal arch of the great Theodesius (379-395) from the 16th century.

The two Medusa heads used as pedestals under the two columns in the northwest corner of the cistern are masterpieces of Roman Age sculpture art. Those who visit the cistern watch in amazement IV. Although there is no definitive information as to which building these heads from the 16th century were taken here, they are thought to have been removed from an ancient building dating back to the Young Roman Period and brought here.

After the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453, the Basilica Cistern was used for a while and water was supplied to the gardens of Topkapı Palace, where the sultans lived. The cistern, which was apparently not used by the Ottomans, who preferred tap water, that is, flowing water, rather than still water, after establishing their own water facilities in the city, was rediscovered by the Dutch traveler P. Gyllius, who came to Istanbul in 1544-1550 to investigate Byzantine ruins.

The Basilika Cistern has undergone various repairs since its establishment. The cistern, which was restored twice during the Ottoman Empire, was first repaired in the 18th century by III. It was built by the architect Kayserili Mehmet Ağa during the reign of Ahmet. The second major repair in the 19th century was carried out by Sultan II. It is during the time of Abdulhamid (1876-1909). The biggest repair during the Republic period was made in 1985. It was completed on September 9, 1987, after 50 thousand tons of mud was removed and the tour platform was built, and it was reopened to visitors.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Florya Ataturk Marine Mansion

It is known that Florya, which is a residential area between Yeşilköy and Küçükçekmece on the Marmara Sea coast of the Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion, was a dull hunter's haunt in the 19th century. Florya, which gained importance with Atatürk's interest here, gradually turned into a summer recreation center.

The mansion, which was built for Ataturk by the architect Seyfi Arkan, who won the project competition opened by the Istanbul Municipality in 1935, was built on columns driven into the seabed as a summer residence and connected to the land by a bridge. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed in the mansion, which was opened for use on August 14, 1935, between June and July 1936, and used the mansion especially for political and scientific meetings, including British King Henry VIII. He hosted some important guests here, including Edward and Madam Simpson.

The mansion was last used by Atatürk on May 28, 1938, and after his death, these buildings were used as the summer residence of the President of the Republic of Turkey during the periods of İsmet İnönü, Celal Bayar, Cemal Gürsel, Cevdet Sunay, Fahri Korutürk and Kenan Evren.

This group of buildings, which was transferred to the Department of National Palaces by the Presidency on September 16, 1988, was turned into the Atatürk Museum after its restoration was completed, furnished with period furniture to match the style of the mansion built with a modern approach in its period.

Some of the Adjutant's Office and General Secretariat buildings, which were built on the land behind the Atatürk Mansion, have not survived to the present day, and the remaining ones were repaired and turned into the social facilities of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Istanbul Archaeological Museums

Istanbul Archaeological Museums are an example of the first museum studies in our country. Traces of historical artifact collection efforts in the Ottoman Empire date back to the period of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. However, the institutional emergence of museology in a systematic way occurred with the establishment of the Istanbul Archeology Museum in 1869 under the name 'Müze-i Hümayun'.

The Imperial Museum, consisting of archaeological artifacts collected in the Hagia Irene Church until that date, forms the basis of today's Istanbul Archaeological Museums. When Hagia Irene Church was insufficient, a new venue was sought. Due to lack of funds, instead of building a new building, the Tiled Pavilion was converted into a museum.

Turkish museology made significant progress with the appointment of Osman Hamdi Bey, son of Grand Vizier Edhem Pasha, as museum director in 1881. A new museum building was needed for the many artifacts obtained as a result of the excavations carried out at Mount Nemrud, Myrina, Kyme and Ailoia Necropolises and the Lagina Hekate Temple.

Istanbul Archeology Museums building is one of the rare buildings in the world built as a museum building. The Archaeological Museum, which was opened to visitors in 1891 and is one of the most beautiful and magnificent examples of Neo-Classical architecture in Istanbul, has a very remarkable architecture with the magnificence of its façade. It looks like a temple with its two entrances, four columns each, and pediments, reached by wide stairs on the long façade. The Ottoman text in Kufic style on the pediment reads 'Asar-ı Atika Museum' (Museum of Ancient Works). The Tuğra on this article is the Ottoman Sultan II, who had the classical building built. It belongs to Abdulhamid.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Dolmabahçe Clock Tower

Dolmabahçe Clock Tower was built by the palace architect Sarkis Balyan in Neobaroque and Empire style. The tower has four floors on a 12x12 meter platform with a fountain pool at each corner and gradually narrows. The tower sits on a square plan of 8.5 x 8.5 meters with chamfered corners. All facades of the tower are identical. Only one of the openings on the ground floor was used as a door.

There are four columns in total on each facade, some of which are chamfered, with composite capitals on both sides of the openings. On the first floor, which is separated by a flood molding, there are vases and various floral decorations at the level of the lower floor columns. This floor is more heavily decorated, with semicircular jambs placed on columns, and two columns on each side of the windows. Garlands are placed on the window. II. Abdulhamid coats of arms are located on sea and land sides. On the upper floor, moldings were used instead of free columns, and architraves carried on consoles were placed over the rectangular windows. On the top floor, there is a railing surrounding this floor. On each facade, there is a small window under the clock dials with a curtain motif. This floor is terminated with eaves molding, and with the "c" curved cut pediments at the top, a transition to the crown with a wind vane is provided.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

Beylerbeyi Palace

Beylerbeyi Palace was planned as a summer resort for the Ottoman sultans and a state guesthouse where foreign heads of state or rulers would be hosted, and it was built upon the request of the sultan of the time, Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876). The construction of the palace started on August 6, 1863, and it was officially opened for use with a ceremony on Friday, April 21, 1865. The construction organization of the palace was carried out by Ebniye-i Şâhâne Serkalfası (Palace Head) Serkiz Bey (Balyan). Mehmed Efendi, Mahmud Efendi and Rıfat Efendi carried out the duty of building stewardship, which can also be called the responsibility of financial and administrative affairs of Beylerbeyi Palace. It is determined that the palace cost approximately 500 thousand Ottoman liras.

Beylerbeyi Palace, the main structure of the building complex, is a two-storey masonry building on a high basement. The building, built on an area of approximately 2,500 square meters, sits on a rectangular floor area. The southern part of the palace was organized as Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn, and the northern part was organized as Valide Sultan's Office. There are a total of 6 living rooms, 24 rooms, 1 bath and 1 bathroom on both floors. Beylerbeyi Palace, built by mixing Western and Eastern styles, has the characteristics of a Turkish house plan with its Harem and Mabeyn sections. The roof of the building is hidden from above with a parapet that hides all the edges of the facade. The plan of the palace has a plan composition based on the central hall motif with iwan. The scheme in Beylerbeyi Palace consists of three parts. These sections; Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn, Bedroom (Sultan's Office) and Valide Sultan's Office. The main Harem section, which belongs to the ladies and women, which was built parallel to the sea, right after the Valide Sultan Office, was built separately from the main building; This structure has not survived to the present day. The entrance facade of Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn shows an arrangement in which the Neo-baroque emphasis is more evident. The interior arrangements of the palace, such as its masses and facades, were also shaped with a selective approach.

Due to the passion of Sultan Abdülaziz, who built Beylerbeyi Palace, for the sea, sea and ship themes were engraved in some of the frames and cartouches on the ceilings of the palace; Sultan Abdülaziz even drew patterns with sea and ship themes to give ideas to painters.

BEYLERBEYI PALACE IN HISTORY

Beylerbeyi Palace was used as a summer palace by its founder, Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876). Palace, Sultan Abdulaziz and II. During Abdulhamid's reign, it began to be allocated to foreign rulers or heads of state during their official visits, and it gained the function of a state guesthouse. The first important guest hosted at Beylerbeyi Palace was Empress Eugénie of France. This trip of the Empress was taking place in the office of the repatriation of Sultan Abdülaziz's 1867 trip to France. Other foreign guests hosted at Beylerbeyi Palace during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz were the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph (1869), the Crown Prince of Prussia Frédéric Guillaume Nicola Charles (1869), the Crown Prince of Italy (1869), and the Shah of Iran Nasir al-Din (18 August 1873).

Sultan II. During the 33-year reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1909), Beylerbeyi Palace also functioned as a museum visited especially by foreign state protocols. During this period, Dolmabahçe Palace and Topkapı Palace Treasury-i Hümâyûn, along with Beylerbeyi Palace, were used as sultanate museums that could be visited with the permission of the sultan. Sultan II. Immediately after Abdulhamid was dethroned, he was subject to compulsory residence in the Alatini Mansion in Thessaloniki, but about 3 years later he was transferred to Istanbul due to the outbreak of the Balkan War. II. The new compulsory residence chosen for Abdulhamid was Beylerbeyi Palace. Former Hakan spent the last 6 years of his life in this palace and passed away in this palace on February 10, 1918.

Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul

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