WORLD FAMOUS BLUE MOSQUE "SULTANAHMET CAMII"
by sakuratour
Sultan Ahmet I Camii (Blue Mosque)
The most famous, if not necessarily the most beautiful, mosque in the old city is the Blue Mosque, facing Aya Sofya from across Sultanahmet Square . It is a purposefully imposing structure, its interior walls clad in exquisite Iznik tiles, built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet Aga. A student of the great architect Sinan, Aga built the mosque both as a means of showing the world that he had outstripped his mater – and the architects of Aya Sofya – and as a tribute to the superiority of Islam. It still maintains that symbolism for many Muslims. The mosque, with 260 windows, associated religious school, hospital, caravansaray and soup kitchen (the kulliye or “complete social centre” in the Islamic sense) is impressive for size alone. Its six minarets nearly caused a major rift, as this was as many as the great mosque in Mecca ; the Sultan had to donate an extra minaret to Mecca to quell the row. If Turkey is your chosen destination then Sakura Tourism & Travel is the perfect choice to arrange your complete vacation, from the moment you arrive until your departure. We specialise in creating and arranging personalised itineraries to suit each guest's individual requirements. Additionally if you wish to travel as an organised group, we will quote and prepare all arrangements.
Topkapi Palace, second court
by bugulma
After the gate you go in the second court where you can see the beautiful park as well as some architecture such as Sultan kitchens. Harem, the place where Sultan wife lived, is here too (the extra fee for the entrance there). In the kitchens is museum of the porcelain that was bought by Sultan in China in the middle ages.
Elit Chocolate, a must bite for sure
by Martin_S.
If you happen to like sweet things or chocolate, then give the Elit Chocolate that we "found" on Istiklal Street a try. We saw people lining up to purchase here so we naturally went to take a look. We found small to medium sized packs of chocolate wrapped in aluminum foil without any other packaging. We tried several kinds and enjoyed them all. Just look for a small corner kiosk with foil wrapped items in the front, that will be the chocolate.
Poor neighborhood
by ptitetoile
If make a luxus trip with an airconditionned coach, you may not see that...but if you go a little bit further than the touristic areas : this an image that you could see...poor neighborhoods with very old houses, some garbage in the streets and children playing with whatever they find...impressive next to the nice palace and mosques...
Suleymaniye Library
by traveloturc
The building which houses the library of the Süleymaniye Complex was built in 1751 by Köse Mustafa Bahir Paºa. The Süleymaniye Library was founded as a modern librray in 1916. Not only is it the most comprehensive library of manuscripts, it also contains the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts in the world. The library houses 130,325 works, including 67,152 manuscripts in Ottoman Turkish,
Arabic and Persian, 48,924 printed materials in Ottoman Turkish, 11,914 volumes in modern Turkish, 997 in English, 609 in French, 438 in German and 316 in other languages. It is the first librray in Turkey to provide microfilm and photocopying services, which were begun in 1950, and also provides computer search services.
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Yeni Camii - August 2004
Kathisma restaurant
Byzantine Frieze with faded colours - Jan 2010
Istanbul - Turkey
