istanbul 2014

 
 

Byzantine Constantinople: the visit must start with the great basilica of Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya), the church of the Holy Wisdom of God, built by Justinian in the early sixth century. Mehmet the Conqueror, on capturing the city, turned the great church into the city’s imperial mosque, but with the inception of the secular republic the building became a museum. Some of Constantinople’s greatest engineering was concerned with its water supply. The Yerebatan Sarayı, a cavernous and palatial Byzantine underground water cistern, supplied the imperial palaces, until they fell into ruin and it was forgotten. Now, we can walk wooden walkways above the water, and admire the remarkable architecture.


After lunch, we stroll in what was the central spina of the Hippodrome. Its soaring seating accommodated tens of thousands of spectators, or, on occasions, citizens taking noisy part in political meetings. The modern road around the central park area follows the line of the horseracing track, and some of the trophies that ornamented the central spina, most famously a granite obelisk from Egypt, have survived through the centuries. We cannot leave this part of the city without visiting the mosque of Sultan Ahmet, with its high dome and semi-domes, multiple minarets, and beautiful interior richly blue with the finest tiles from imperial tile-makers of Iznik. Restaurant dinner.

Day 2 photos

December 23, 2014