22 Aralık 2012 Cumartesi

THE MAIDENS TOWER

THE MAIDENS TOWER

The Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (Tower of Leandros) since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower lying on a small islet located at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait 200 m.

İSTİKLAL AVENUE

                                                     İSTİKLAL AVENUE

     İstiklal Avenue or Istiklal Street (Turkish: İstiklâl Caddesi, French: Grande Rue de Péra, English: Independence Avenue) is one of the most famous avenues in Istanbul, Turkey, visited by nearly 3 million people in a single day over the course of weekends. Located in the historic Beyoğlu (Pera) district, it is an elegant pedestrian street, approximately three kilometers long, which houses exquisite boutiques, music stores, bookstores, art galleries, cinemas, theatres, libraries, cafés, pubs, night clubs with live music, historical patisseries, chocolateries and restaurants.

     Galatasaray Square is located at approximately the center of the avenue and is home to one of the finest educational institutions established in Turkey at the time of the Ottoman Empire; originally known as the Galata Sarayı Enderun-u Hümayunu and today known as Galatasaray High School.

THE GALATA TOWER

                                                 THE GALATA TOWER
         This tower at the slopes of Galata is visible every where in the city, and is 61 m. tall.The tower is at the hill which over looks both to the Bospherus and the Golden Horn and the sea of Marmara.

         One day,an scientist named Hazerfen Ahmet Çelebi jumped down the tower and flew to the opposite side of the Bosphorus strait by using the wings which he had invented ( 17th century )

THE TAKSIM SQUARE

                                                        THE TAKSIM SQUARE
       The large square at the end of the Istıklal street is the Taksim square, which is one of the most   active centers of İstanbul.The square is the most important for Istanbul.There are a lot of different counturies people.There are a lot of big department store this place is really beatiful.

19 Aralık 2012 Çarşamba

Hagia Sophia

HAGİA SOPHİA

The prophet of God in Muslim religion, Muhammad, had prophesied that the first Muslim to pray in Hagia Sophia would go to paradise. Since then, it was a great ambition for Muslim leaders to get Hagia Sophia.

   On 29 May 1453, The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet II, conquered Constantinople after a 54 day siege. He directly went to the ancient Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia. When he saw a man hacking the stones of the church and saying that this was a temple for infidels, Mehmet II ordered the looting to be stopped and the church to be converted into a mosque.

   With the following years, Sultans added something to the building. Sultan Bayezid ordered a new minaret changing the previous one of his fathers’. In the 16th century, Suleiman the Magnificent brought two colossal candles from Hungary to be placed on both sides of the mihrab. To the end of the 16th century during the reign of Selim II, famous architect Sinan strengthened the building by adding structural supports to its exterior. He also built two minarets on the western end of the building and the mausoleum of Selim II to the southeast of the building. In 1600s, two mausoleums were added next to Selim II’s: Murad III and Mehmed III.

   Two restorations were done in Hagia Sophia at the following years. In 1739, during the reign of Mahmud I, a medrese, a kitchen to distribute poor, and a library, and in 1740 a fountain for ritual ablutions were built.

The second and the major restoration was carried out during the reign of Abdulmecid. Swiss-Italian architect brothers Gaspere and Giuseppe Fossati started in 1847 and completed the restoration in two years with more than eight hundred workers. They repaired the cracks in the domes, and placed an iron chain around its base to support and strengthen. The mosaics that had been covered during the reign of Mehmed II were uncovered and repaired by the order of sultan, as he was deeply impressed by their beauty. He preferred hiding them instead of destroying. The Fossati brothers removed the Sultan’s lodge from the apse, and they built a new one against the pier to the north apse, with a gilded grille to cover the Sultan so he could be unseen, and to protect him against assassins. The sultan’s lodge was designed by Gaspare Fossati. He made the carved marble grille as Turkish rococo style, and the columns Byzantine. The brothers also renewed the mihrab and the minber.

Calligraphy, the art of writing, was one of the most important arts of Islam, and calligraphists were more popular than architects and miniature painters. The Fossati brothers take that into consideration, and ordered Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi -the most famous calligraphist of its age- gigantic circular wooden frames to hang in columns in Hagia Sophia. Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi painted and finished eight huge frames. As in many mosques, the frames inscribed the names of Allah, the prophet Muhammad, the first four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the two grandchildren of Mohammed: Hassan and Hussain.
Fossati brothers’ restoration were finalized by a new Suntan’s gallery in Neo-Byzantine style connected to a royal pavilion behind the mosque, a medrese and a time-keepers building were built and the minarets were altered so that they became equal in height. The mosque was inaugurated on 13 July 1849.

Blue Mosque

BLUE MOSQUE(SULTANAHMET MOSQUE)

The Blue Mosque (Called Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish) is an historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design.Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 years, during the rule of Ahmed I. just like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasa and a hospice.Besides still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction in Istanbul.

Besides being tourist attraction, it's also a active mosque, so it's closed to non worshippers for a half hour or so during the five daily prayers.

Best way to see great architecture of the Blue Mosque is to approach it from the Hippodrome. (West side of the mosque) As if you are non-Muslim visitor, you also have to use same direction to enter the Mosque.

14 Aralık 2012 Cuma

THE GREAT ARCHITECT SINAN

Sinan is considered the greatest Ottoman architect of the Ottoman Empire's Architectural heritage. It is generally assumed that Sinan was born in the year 1490. It is also assumed that he spent his youth in the village of Agirnas near Kayseri until conscription (devsirme) to the "masters of carpenters". At age 22, Sinan is then recruited into the Corps of Ottoman Standing Troops (Janissary). During this military tour he travels widely throughout the empire, as far as Baghdad, Damascus, Persia and Egypt. In his own words he informs us about his observations:
"I saw the monuments, the great ancient remains. From every ruin I learned, from every building I absorbed something."
By mid-life Sinan acquires a reputation as a valued military engineer and is brought to the attention of Sultan Suleyman (1520-66) who in 1537 appoints Sinan (aged fifty) as head of the office of royal architects. The sultan, upon the death of his favorite son Prince Mehmet, orders Sinan to design and construct a royal mosque. Challenged by the works of his predecessors and the majesty of Hagia Sophia, Sinan creates the Sehzade Mosque, one of his first masterpieces and is considered one of the most remarkable of buildings to this day.
Due to Sinan's rising reputation, a flood of royal as well as individual clients produces an unprecedented building boom that changes the Istanbul landscape to what today the Turks and people from all over the world consider the hallmark of this great city's image. Under Sultan Suleyman, Sinan is elevated to the position of State Architect, which he holds for a decade.
The legendary stature of Suleyman is realized in what is commonly called the "crown on the hill". Dominating the Bosporus and the Golden Horn, the silhouette of the Suleymaniye, with its slender minarets and lofty dome, is one of the defining features of Istanbul. Almost 10 years in the making, Sinan master plans, designs and builds the "Suleymaniye Kulliye" (a complex of charitable buildings) commissioned by the Sultan on a site overlooking the Golden Horn and Pera. The Kulliye covers almost 25 acres and includes in addition to the large mosque (basilica plan), four schools (medreses), a hospice, public baths (hamam), a hospital & dispensary, bookshops, a library, the Sultans' tomb (turbe) and the worlds first teaching asylum (bimarhane).

One of the truly unique urban Mosque and charitable building project is commissioned by the Grand Vizier and called after his name, the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque Complex (1571-72) in the Kadirga Liman quarter, location of the former gate (Kumkapi), which protected the harbor. The approach to this neighborhood complex is through descending narrow crooked lanes. The irregular site drops over 56 feet and presents a serious urban planning challenge. Sinan's indigenous talent for taking advantage of the lay of the land is evident from the respect for scale and the ingenuity and delightful changes in views one experiences accessing any one of the number of entries to this complex.
During the construction of the Sokollu Sinan receives a great deal of pressure from Sultan Selim II, son and successor to Sultan Suleyman, to progress what is to be Sinan's monumental masterpiece, The Selimiye Complex in Edirne (1568-74). As described …"tall minarets announce the city of Edirne from its endless landscape and from as far as the eye can see. The mosque dominates and crowns the highest elevation, looking down on a city articulated by domes and minarets of other massive buildings."
It is said that in Istanbul monuments grow from the city but the Selimiye grows from the land. The dome is of the same diameter as Hagia Sophia but is higher. The pencil-shaped minarets, grooved to express verticality, are some of the tallest ever built (230 feet from ground to finial). Sinan used these minarets as buttressing piers. The mosque plan, like the Sehzade Mosque, comprises two equal parts, one open (the spacious court) and one covered (the mosque). "The superb quality of the exterior does not adequately prepare one for the breathtaking spaciousness and sheer poetry of space and light within". Edirne has suffered through many earthquakes but none have harmed this monument. Sinan's crowning glory is summed up in this project through its graceful synthesis of the exterior with and ideal spatial interior.
The few prominent projects presented here represent only a small part of this great architect's voluminous design and construction accomplishments throughout the Empire. It is believed that Sinan's total works encompass over 360 structures which included 84 major mosques, 51 small mosques (mescit), 57 religious schools (medreses), 7 seminaries, 22 mausoleums (turbe) 17 care facility, 3 asylums, 7 aqueducts, 46 inns, 35 palaces and mansions and 42 public baths.
Sinan died in 1588 and was buried in a modest tomb, which he designed for himself at the rear of his garden near the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul

OLD TURKISH BRIDGES

Examples of Ottoman and Seljuk structures such as stone bridges are spread over three continents, representing many centuries long Turkish heritage and culture over vast areas of these empires. Some of them still survive today despite mindless cultural barbarism exercised in many countries from Former Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Greece to Arabic countries such as Saudi Arabia.

THE COVERED BAZAAR

The Kapali Carsi or Covered Bazaar or Grand Bazaar is one of Istanbul's most intriguing sights. This labyrinth of vaulted roofed winding streets and domed buildings evolved over a period of 250 years. In the 15th century Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481) built two stone bedestens, or exchanges as a source of income for Ayasofya Mosque (today Haghia Sophia Museum). Here merchants could store and sell their valuable merchandise. Known as the Cevahir and Sandal Bedestens respectively, these became the hub of Istanbul's commerce, and numerous stalls and shops were built around them. In time the lanes lined by these shops were roofed over for the convenience of shoppers, creating the bazaar as we know it today. This ancient shopping centre has suffered serious damage from earthquakes and fires over the three centuries since it attained its final form around 1700.
Fires in 1701 and 1750 were followed by the earthquake of 1766, and further fires in 1791 and 1826. Then came the great earthquake of 1894, and most recently the fire of 1954, after which restoration work continued for five years. For those unfamiliar with the Kapaliçarsi and without a map it is easy to become lost or wander in circles. It covers an area of 30.7 hectares (75.8 acres), and consists of over 3000 shops and 61 streets, not to mention ten wells, four fountains, two mosques, and several cafés and restaurants. Around 25,000 people are permanently employed in the bazaar, and an indeterminate number of street vendors ply their wares in and around it. The heart of Turkey's gold market and unofficial foreign exchange market beat here.
Over the centuries travelers to Istanbul have found the exotic atmosphere of this great bazaar, a miniature city within a city, irresistible. In the past the bazaar was lit only by high windows beneath the vaults, since the shopkeepers opened at first light and closed at dusk. In the centre of the complex is the high domed hall of the Cevahir Bedesten, also known as the Eski or iç Bedesten. Here the most valuable items and antiques were to be found in the past, and still are today, including copperware, amber prayer beads, inlaid weapons, icons, mother-of-pearl mirrors, water pipes, walking sticks, watches and clocks, candlesticks, old coins, and silver and gold jewelry set with coral and turquoise.
The other 15th century hall, the Sandal Bedesten (also known as the Yeni or Küçük Bedesten) is roofed by 20 domes and lies at the northeast corner. The wayward, seemingly random plan of the other parts of the bazaar is part of its fascination. Surrounding the bazaar itself are numerous commercial buildings known as hans, each a warren of small workshops on several floors, often named after trades, such as Varakçi (Gold Leaf Maker) Han, today long superseded. Until the end of the 19th century a family could go on a shopping expedition to the Kapaliçarsi and purchase new outfits from top to toe, all the furnishings and household linen they required, have seal rings carved to order, and even equip the master of the household with a variety of weapons; all under this one roof.

Today souvenirs and gifts seem to dominate, with rugs and jewelry a close second. The various tradesmen still tend to be grouped together along particular streets, whose names often recall items that have long since disappeared. There are the streets of Helmet Makers, Fez Makers, Napkin Makers, Quilt Makers, Calligraphers and Book Dealers, to name but a few. The book dealers have since moved out of the main bazaar into a small open-air bazaar known as Sahaflar Çarsisi next to Beyazit Gate. A leisurely afternoon spent exploring the bazaar, sitting in one of the cafés and watching the crowds pass by, and bargaining for purchases is one of the best ways to recapture the romantic atmosphere of old Istanbul.