Accommodation in Sultanahmet or Beyoglu?
by Elena_blue
To the question most first time travellers to Istanbul have of whether they should stay at a hotel in Sultanahmet or in Beyoglu, I answer Sultanahmet.
It is really nice to start your day in the morning walking somewhere between Aya Sophia and Blue Mosque and it is magical to be there at the end of the day when the crowds of tourists and locals have left. It is a very imposing and atmospheric landscape which at the same time is very safe to wander around. Bars and restaurants close by midnight, so you can enjoy a quiet sleep.
About Beyoglu, it has a far more interesting nightlife but I don't like it for staying there. Taxis are not expensive, so you return easily to sultanhmet, even in the middle of the night.
Sultanehmet is connected with the Beyoglu side with tram which passes also from Eminonu sq. and port which is a very central and pivotal location.
Ayasofya, history
by bugulma
First church was built in 324-337, then it was burned, rebuit in 415, destroyed again and only third attempt was lucky :-). In the middle of V century the cathedral was built and we see it nowadays. It is 55 meters high and cupola's width is 31 meters. In 1453 the cathedral was changed to the mosque after capture the city by Ottomans.
Teaching Patience
by manuelEB
I have heard some stupid travellers talking about the dirty fish of the Golden Horn. Here I show the way those dirty fish can be caught from the Galata Bridge. Fathers teaching kids how to fish is a very common ocurrence. They learn patience.They will need it to listen to the stupid travellers. My father did not teach me how to fish. I have not patience with the stupids...
Walking the Walls - 1
by mightywease
Between 408 and 450 Theodosius II constructed a wall arching round the city of Constantinople and providing a land defence running 4 miles (6.5 km) from the Sea of Mamara to the Golden Horn. The walls served the city well protecting it from invading forces for nearly 1000 years until, in 1453, Mehmet the Conqueror breached the walls and entered the city.
The walls consisted of a main inner wall, 16 feet (5 m) think and 40 feet (12 m) high, a terrace, then an outer wall 7 feet (2m) thick) and about 30 feet (8.5 m) high, this outer wall overlooking a moat. The double walls also included a total of 192 towers plus 11 fortified gateways which gave access to the city. It was an amazing feat of engineering and must have been an incredible site to those approaching the city, especially if contemplating how to overcome this almost impenetrable barrier.
Now the ravages of time and neglect have meant that many areas of the wall have fallen into disrepair, though they are, as ruins so often can be, still very impressive their shapes making jagged shapes, like broken teeth, against the sky. Other sections have been restored and these give a good indication of how the walls used to look.
We decided to walk along the walls from Yedikule Fortress to Eridinekap and the Kariye Camii Museum – a distance of about 3 miles. Walking ‘along’ the walls is a bit of a misnomer as though some guide books say it is possible to climb onto the walls access is not easy and the walls themselves, often in a state of collapse, don’t always look safe enough to climb on. This did mean that for the first part of our journey following the route of the walls we were walking next to a busy main road and exhaust fumes are not the most pleasant accompaniment. However, next to the walls in, I assume, the old moat are a string of allotments and the exhaust fumes were mitigated by the smell of growing vegetables and plants drifting across from them.
continued below ..
Iskele or Mihirimah Sultan Mosque
by Kuznetsov_Sergey
It is one of the two complexes in Istanbul which were built on the instructions of Süleyman the Magnificient in 1548 in memory of his daughter Mihrimah Sultan, and has an attribute of carrying the same name in Edirnekapi District. The historical complex was located over against the port side of Uskudar in 1548.
The diameter of the dome of the mosque is 10 m. There are two huge minarets having one balcony (sherefe) each.
You can watch my 2 min 21 sec HQ Video Istanbul Bosporus Uskudar Mosques Part IV out of my Youtube channel with Turkish pop music by Kasap Havasi - Music from Istanbul.
You may watch my high resolution photo of Istanbul on the Google Earth according to the following coordinates 41° 1' 36.43" N 29° 0' 53.83" E or on my Google Earth Panoramio Mihirimah Sultan Cami.
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Great Atmosphere at Amedros Restaurant
Sirkeci frontage
The Parekklesion - Jan 2010
Istanbul VT Meeting
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