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According to the legend, Istanbul is thought to have been founded by the colonists from Megara led by Byzas in the 7th century BC.
Over the next thousand years, Byzantium became a trade and commerce centre. But despite great prosperity, Byzantium never distinguished itself culturally, as did so many contemporary cities in Anatolia.
In 324 AD, Constantine I defeated Licinius and became sole ruler of the Roman Empire. He also began to build a new capital at Byzantium, later named Constantinople.
In 330 AD, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire and Constantinople was dedicated as capital of the Byzantine Empire and splendidly rebuilt by Constantine the Great.
Theodosius, successor of Constantine, divided the Empire between his two sons, Homorius and Arcadius. When the Latin-speaking Western Empire fell to barbarian armies during the 5th century, the Greek-speaking Eastern Empire, thereafter known as the Byzantine Empire, survived.
The 6th century was dominated by the extraordinary genius of Justinian, who developed Constantinople into a thriving city and almost succeeded in reconquering the lost provinces of the Western Empire.
The Ottoman state was born in 1301 when Osman I declared his independence. Their first capital was Bursa. In 1362 they captured Edirne (west of Istanbul) and Byzantium was reduced to the city-state of Constantinople and a few minor outposts, isolated within Ottoman domains. In 1453 Sultan Mehmet II, known as the “Conqueror”, entered Constantinople after a 54-day siege during which his cannon had torn a huge hole in the Walls of Theodosius II. Mehmet’s first task was to rebuild the wrecked city, which would later become known as Istanbul.
Istanbul’s position has made it a vital link on the trade route between Europe and Asia Minor for more than 2,000 years. Covering the hills on both sides of the estuary of the Bosphorus with the Sea of Marmara, it was the halfway point between the cultures of Europe and the Orient. Its natural harbor, the inlet of the Golden Horn, provided a safe base for naval and commercial shipping. During the Byzantine period, wealth poured into the city from all corners of the world. All routes then led to Constantinople, and its colossal waterways were busy with the shipping necessary to serve the capital of a very vast empire.
Today contemporary Istanbul is also memorable for its vibrancy, its movement and bustle. It offers further magic by the humming activity of the Bosphorus as vehicles traverse its bridges, and ferries cross its waters. A chaotic and hypnotic atmosphere!
Very little remains of which was the heart of Constantinople. The original building of the Hippodrome was built by Septimus Severus in 203 AD. Constantine the Great reconstructed, enlarged and adorned it. According to excavations carried out, the hippodrome was 117 meters wide and 480 meters long with a capacity of 100000 spectators. What remain are the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpentine and Constantine Columns.
The Yerebatan Saray was dug and built probably after 542 by Emperor Justinian I. Throughout the Byzantine period the cistern was used to store water for the palace and after the conquest of Constantinople, to water the gardens of Topkapı Palace.
The Byzantine Church of the Holy Wisdom which was first built by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great around 326. It was reconstructed a several times until finally proclaimed the largest church of the Christian world after Justinian rebuilt it in the 6th century. It was converted in to a mosque after the fall of Constantinople and today is a museum.
Which was renovated beginning 1990’ies, is home to a vast collection of statues and sarcophagi including Alexander the Great’s. In 1993, the museum was granted the award for the best Museum in Europe by the Council of Europe.
The name “chora” means “in the country”, as the original church and monastery on this site were outside the city walls. The interior is decorated with superb mosaics and paintings that are certainly the finest surviving examples of the late Byzantine art.
The Topkapı Palace, was completed between 1465 and 1478. However, different sultans having ascended to the throne added parts to the palace which now gives the appearance of a lack of unity and style.
The palace was the residence of the Ottoman Sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The palace was much more than just the private residence of the sultan and his court, it was the seat of the supreme executive and judicial council of the empire, the Divan, and it housed the largest and most select of the training schools for the imperial civic service, the Palace school.
Today in the imperial kitchens, you may admire one of the largest china collections in the world. At the treasury are on display famous jewels of the sultans.
During the Byzantine period the area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade centre. After the Ottoman conquest, two bedestens were built between 1455-1461 by Mehmet the Conqueror. The two bedestens formed the essence of today’s Grand Bazaar.
Turkish & Islamic Art Museum, 16th century residence of Ibrahim Pasha, Grand Vezier of Soliman the Magnificient. The museum houses a great collection of old Turkish carpets, beautiful examples of Ottoman calligraphy and other precious artifacts.
The Mosque of Sultan Ahmet, built between 1609-1616 by the architect Mehmet, is also known as the Blue Mosque for the colour of its Iznik tiles. The Blue Mosque is the only mosque in the world to have six minarets instead of the usual two or four.
The Süleymaniye Mosque one of the most important Ottoman buildings in the city. Built in the 16th century by Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect. The mosque crowns one of the city’s seven hills dominating the Golden Horn and provides a magnificient landmark for the entire city. Its four minarets are said to signify that Süleyman was the fourth sultan to rule Istanbul, while the ten şerefes (balconies) denote that he was the tenth monarch of the imperial Ottoman line.
“ Mısır Çarşısı” – The Egyptian Bazaar – and known as the Spice Market. It was built in the early 17th century as an extension of the New Mosque complex. Its revenues once helped maintain the mosque’s philantrophic institutions. The reason why it is called the Egyptian Bazaar is because it was built with money paid on Egyptian imports. Stalls in the Bazaar stock all sorts of spices, herbs and other foods such as honey, nuts, dried fruit, sweets and other Turkish specialities.
This museum is privately owned and is composed of two restored historical buildings housing an impressive collection of ethnographical artifacts that give a clear idea of how people lived in Istanbul in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also houses an extensive collection of antiquities found in Anatolia.
Inaugurated on 8 June 2005, Pera Museum is a private museum founded by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation. The aim of offering an outstanding range of diverse high quality culture and art services is as important today as when the Museum first opened its doors to the public.
Turkey’s first museum of modern art, was founded in 2004 and occupies an 8,000 square meter site on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Istanbul Modern embraces a global vision to collect, preserve, exhibit and document works of modern and contemporary art and make them accessible to art lovers.
As part of its commitment to sharing Turkey’s artistic creativity with wide audiences and promoting its cultural identity in the international art world, Istanbul Modern hosts a broad array of interdisciplinary activities.
The Dolmabahçe Palace, last residence of the Ottoman Sultans. The palace was built by Sultan Abdülmecit as the outcome of his Westernization influences between the years 1844 and 1853. The architect Garabet Balyan managed to combine the Oriental and Western styles. The lifestyle and needs were Oriental but the plan was taken from European Palaces.
The builidng was constructed to be seen from the sea and it is this feature which is new and unique in Ottoman architecture.
Due to its position at the junction of the two rivers, Maritsa and Tunca, Edirne has been a settlement since prehistoric times. It fell to the Romans in the second century BC and a visit by the Emperor Hadrian led to its being named Adrianapolis, in 123-124 AD. Adrianapolis became a provincial capital and its importance was enhanced when Constantinople became capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Adrianapolis was often threatened by invaders, the Goths, the Bulgars and Crusaders.
In 1361 the Ottomans captured the town and made it their capital from 1416 to 1453.
Edirne is a veritable museum of Ottoman architecture; the Eski Camii built between 1403 and 1415, the Bedesten (1418), the Selimiye (1569-1574), Bath of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha (16th century), etc.
Bursa stands at the foot of the 2543 meters Uludag mountain, the mythological Mt. Olympus of Mysia.
Taking its name from Prusias 1, King of Bythinia, Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire (14th century) and has the first examples of the Ottoman culture. Today surrounded by lush gardens, it is an industrialand commercial centre. On the one hand silk-weaving, towel-making and fruit-growing have much advanced, and on the other its hot springs have become famous.
