Change of Plans

I previously wrote that yesterday I planned to walk north along the Bosphorus from my hostel... only to subsequently remember May 29 was the anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by the Turks in 1453.  In honor of the holiday, I decided instead to go to the old city and see the Hagia Sophia and some sites related to the conquest.

This gate is literally the "Sublime Porte", the entrance to Topkapi Palace from which the Sultans and their Viziers governed the empire.



I didn't go in the palace, but instead walked around Gulhane park.  This was once the palace's rose garden and is now wooded and open to the public.  I walked up to a high point and had Turkish tea overlooking the place where the Golden horn and Bosphorus meet.

The Hagia Sophia is a place I've always dreamed of visiting.  Built by the great Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 537, its age alone makes it remarkable.  Even now, its grand scale is stunning. Combined with its colorful and intricately detailed interior, it did not fail to live up to my expectations.  No descriptions can really do it justice, it is a place everyone should see for themselves, even sokak kedis.

I next took the metro up to the old city walls, which had held off invaders for 1000 years until Mehmet the Conqueror.  I even found a plaque at one of the old gates commemorating the conquest.  I walked through the gate and followed the street down to the Fatih Mosque where Mehmet himself is buried.  I found a large crowd gathered in the grounds of the mosque.  Most Ottoman sultans and their families were buried in large sarcophagi, which are then covered in cloth and placed in the center of round mausoleums.  Inside Mehmet's tomb there were a dozen or more people praying for the sultan. It was quite interesting to witness, commoners sitting next to an emperor, praying for his soul. 

On my way from Fatih Mosque to the nearest tram stop I ran across a few more interesting sites. The Valens Aqueduct which was built in the 4th century supplied the city with its water supply until the late 19th century.  You can see in the photo that it crosses a major road, necessitating cars to drive under it. 

 

The column of Marcian was built in the 5th century and derives its name from a statue of the Byzantine Emperor Marcian that used to stand on top.

The Prince's mosque was built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in honor of a favorite son who died of disease at the age of 21. 

Istanbul is so packed full of significant, old and/or beautiful things even with a month here I'm sure I won't be able to even start to take it all in!  I will update on today later this evening.