Turkey-The nation of beautiful Mosques and Palaces

Bosphorous Strait, Istanbul (Turkey)
PC: EKIBA

Last year, One of our friends had a vacation for 10 days in Istanbul (Turkey). We were quite surprised and puzzled why would someone like to go to such a place which is not so safe because of frequent terrifying terrorist activities in that country.

We, as googlers, researched about the place and we found it quite beautiful and one of a kind tourist spot with the beauty of big palaces and mosques apart from the terrorized activities. Soon after me and my husband decided to visit Turkey. We booked our tickets with Turkish airlines. They have a direct flight from Mumbai to Istanbul(Turkey-Europe).

At the beginning of December, it was quite cold but not snowing so I can say, "The weather was in our favor." We planned to stay up there for 3 nights 4 days at doubletree by Hilton. 

Here is a tip for choosing your hotel:

• While booking our hotel, I personally was feeling terrified with terrorist activities which often take place in Turkey, my concern comes to safety first. So choose your hotel with a brand name like Hilton, Radisson blue, they have a better security system or at-least your identity won't be wiped off easily in case something goes really bad.
• Secondly, big names come with great services. You can book your tour with hotel cab services which is more convenient in a peculiar country.
• Thirdly, you will definitely get a good breakfast and supper as late as you could be. (Avoid coming back to the hotel just for Lunch).

The hotel located in the heart of the city, Istanbul. The area is called Sultanahmet the cosmopolitan district of Sirkeci. After reaching in Sirkeci, we decided to roam around for a bit so we could get some idea of the city. Most of the visiting points were nearby the hotel, just of 5-15 minutes' walk. It made our stay more comfortable. We didn't have to waste our time traveling within the city. Every day we used to start walking around 8-8.30 in the morning and within 5-10 min we were on our planned location. Evenings usually get a bit of chilly so mostly we embarked the train while returning back to the hotel room.

ABOUT THE CITY

 The beauty of the city will astound you. This neat and well-planned city has a clear blue sky which makes you get lots of clicks with palaces and other decisive buildings.

The Old City reflects the cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. The infrastructure of the city is beautifully influenced by the architectural style of Mongols (widely known as Mughals)  and the modern era. Mostly Palaces and monuments were built during the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Empire Tree
PC: EKIBA

Ottoman Turkey or the Turkish Empire was a great power and founded at the end of the thirteen century by Oghuz Turkish tribal leader Osman. The massive Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palaces were home to Sultans. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring 6th-century dome and Christian mosaics.

The Republic of Turkey was founded on 29 October 1923, in Ankara (second largest city) and it became the country's new capital.

 Now let's talk about places people visit in Turkey. Tourism in Turkey is mainly focused on Historical Palaces and Istanbul is brimming with such places.

Topkapi Palace or Topkapi Sarayi Muzesi: It is a historic Ottoman-era Palace, home and administrative headquarters of sultans and now it is a large museum in Istanbul.
It is a home for many sacred relics. Topkapi was originally called 'New Palace' to distinguish it from the 'Old Palace' in Beyazit Square. Name Topkapi was given in the 19th-century, the name means 'Cannon Gate'.

PC: EKIBA     'A court of Topkapi Palace'

The palace contains eye-catching areas but most popular is 'Harem', the domestic place which was reserved for women of the palace i.e. sultan's wife or wives, concubines(mistresses) and children.

CLOCK ROOM in Topkapi Palace
PC: EKIBA

This private space is traditionally serving the purpose of maintaining modesty, privilege, and protection of feminine members of the Muslim family. When you imagine yourself in the era of the sultan it gives you goosebumps with awe.

The second court welcomes with a vast area of the Imperial Kitchen. The kitchen contains big vessels of cooking and one of many rooms is storing utensils used by monarchs. When you walk across the court you will be plain to see the great collection of Arms and Armours.

The third court has private rooms of the sultan and has an impressive collection of relics of Prophet Mohammad in sacred safekeeping rooms. It is the home of the Imperial Treasury surrounded by the wall made of glittery stones and gems. When you walk around, you can't stop yourself by going into the room of manuscripts. These scripts are beautifully written in Topkapi Calligraphy.

After the end of the ottoman empire in 1923, The Government decree dated April 3,1924 transformed Topkapi Palace into a Museum. Now, Ministery of Culture and Tourism of Turkey administers the Museum. The Museum includes Ottoman clothes, utensils, weapons, armors, miniatures, religious relics, and illuminating manuscripts such as Topkapi manuscripts.

If you are planning to visit the palace, you need more than half a day. Topkapi Palace is the part of historic areas of Istanbul, these group of historic sites is recognized as 'World Heritage site' in 1985 by UNESCO.

Aya Sophia or Hagia Sophia:  Aya Sophia(Turkish) or Hagia Sophia (Greek-God of Wisdom) is an affirming combination of two different cultures. It was constructed between 532-537 on the order of Byzantine emperor Justinian 1 and was serving as an Orthodox Cathedral Chruch until the rise of the Ottoman Empire. In 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror ordered to convert this biggest church into a Mosque and demolished The Bell, Relics of church and plastered the walls which had Mosaics depicting Mother Mary, Jesus, and angels. It remained a mosque until 1934 After that it was closed for another 4 years to the public. It re-opened in 1935 as Museum by the Republic of Turkey which is the second most visited museum in Turkey. It is located in the heart of Istanbul.

                                                        PC: EKIBA
Its massive dome makes you astound by its architectural beauty. By using Greek Geometer architects have done a wonderful job making this stoned monument. The magnificent scripts on the wall are in Turkish Calligraphy considered as the most beautiful scripts in the world. Ripped plaster on the wall tells you the story of its awing history.

   
                                                                   PC: EKIBA

Walking up to the second floor of the dome brings you closer to the History of Riots. This huge building shouts out its survival from two major burnings and massive earthquakes. Ministry of Tourism has restored the building from time to time. Hagia/Aya Sophia is also a part of the World Heritage Site, so, it won't be wrong to consider it as the most possessed landmark of Istanbul.

Blue Mosque: Hagia/Aya Sophia was a functional mosque up till the construction was done of Blue Mosque, locally known as Sultan Ahmet Camii. The grand mosque was built between 1609-1616 by orders of sultan Ahmed(I). The Kulliye or the complex embarrass Tomb of Ahmet, Madarsa (an educational institute for Islam), and hospice (a home to provide care of illness).

  

It is the evidence of the beautiful architectural era of the Ottoman Empire. It is standing with six minarets (same number as Mosque in Mecca) which created a fuss in the Muslim world. So, a minaret was gifted to Mecca to abstain from the uproar.

The Great Mosque does have five main domes, 9 secondary domes and 6 minarets which illuminates in blue color light every night. The interior of the lower level of the mosque has used thousands of Iznik style ceramic tiles with different tulip designs and the upper level is full of hand-painted blue tiles imprint of tulips which give it the name 'Blue Mosque'.

To enjoy the breathtaking view outside of the blue mosque, just walk around the fountain in the outer court that gives you the best shot while integrating the exterior of the Blue Mosque and blue sky with deciduous trees. The amid gardens between Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia makes the perfect place to be there forever.
Glory at the dusk combines with the echo of prayers in mosques brings on the opportunity to experience the ambiance for a lifetime.

Seats to enjoy the view of Aya Sophia and Blue Mosque
PC: EKIBA

Basilica Cistern:  The huge hall or the place was built underneath the Stoa Basilica by Emperor Justinian in 532.  The name Basilica Cistern has an interesting history with the meaning of Basilica is 'A huge oblong hall' and cistern means 'A tank for storing water'.  So, it has become 'A huge oblong hall as a tank for storing water. It could store 80,000 cubic meters of water supplied from the reservoir of the Black Sea and severed to the Great Palace and neighborhood.

This huge underground hall was made with beautifully carved 336 columns in 12 rows. Most of the columns were salvaged from ruined temples and other classical structures. It's symmetric and grandeur conception is quite breathtaking. Each column was lit with a small torch and water dripping sound creates quite an atmospheric.

It was a forgotten history and rediscovered by a scholar named Petrus Gyllius during his research about byzantine antiquities. The localists told the story about how they could obtain water from their dark basements. During Ottoman rein, this place didn't get much recognization as it deserves. It had become a dumping ground for all the junks, broken furniture and even corpses during the Ottoman Empire. In 1935, it was cleaned and renovated by the municipality of the metro and opened for the public as another heritage of Istanbul.

INFO: The pass of the museum of Istanbul is not accepted here. Tickets are available online or on the spot with the combinations.

Grand and Arasta Bazaar
Istanbul is a great place for handy crafts and arts. If you love to collect souvenirs than Arasta Bazaar and Grand Bazar are the best place for buying quality souvenirs and many local products. Arasta Bazaar is about 3 mins walk from Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar is about 12 min by walking or 9 min by bus.

                                                       PC: EKIBA

Grand Bazaar was built in mid of the 14th century and one of the largest covered bazaars in the world. This bazaar is unrolled up to 61covered streets with 4000 shops in it and contains almost everything you can think of, whether it is Artifacts or handicrafts, purses or bags, shawls, carpet, locally grown spices(masalas), dry fruits, local sweets or any decorative items. It is really hard to skip any of them or I should say, you would like to buy everything. Don't forget to bargain, you will really get things at a good price.

Arasta Bazaar is a tidy street market in the heart of Istanbul and mostly famous for the high quality of artifacts and other souvenirs. The shops in the market offer you from jewelry, wooden artifacts, carpets, ceramic artifacts and, more. The outstanding Mosaic Museum is in this Bazaar.

Bosphorous or Bosporus Strait: This strait or waterway is also known as Strait of Istanbul or Istanbul Bogazi. The strait is located in northwestern Turkey and has an internationally epic identity as it separates two major continents Asia and Europe. The strait connects the Black Sea to Sea of Marmara and by extension to Aegean and The Mediterranean sea.

                              PC: EKIBA

Don't miss this opportunity to experience world-class eternal moments. If you don't have time for a long trip with dinner on the cruise, take a 1.5 hrs cruise trip which gives you a round trip of the strait. After boarding on the cruise, the beauty of the strait won't let you sit for a minute. The splendid grandeur of two bridges connecting Asia and Europe, the view palaces from water and homes adjoined to the shore of the strait is invincible. Excitement and merriment of being in the water of two big continents is something never fads away.

Istanbul's Archeological Museum: The museum comprises three museums i.e
Archeological Museum (in the main building)
Museum of the Ancient Orient
Museum of the Islamic Art

The sultan Abdulaziz, who visited the archeological museum in Paris, London, and Vienna, got very impressed with those museums and ordered to construct an exact museum in Istanbul. Osman Hamdi Bey was the first curator and founder of the archeological museums in Istanbul. Many governors of the provinces were asked to send found artifacts to the capital in the process of saving valuable historic and cultural goods by order of Sultan Abdulaziz. Today museums consist of amass of a great collection.

Galata Tower: This Genoese tower was built in the mid 13th century with medieval stones. The high capped cone is a skyscraper that allows getting a panoramic view of Istanbul. This nine floored tower was the tallest building of Istanbul City.

In the present day, the upper floors have a cafe and restaurant which has a view of Istanbul and Bosphorus. There is a night club too on upper floors which host Turkish Shows. The tower owns two elevators to take visitors up and down.
Find a fine day and make your plan as early as possible otherwise, be ready to be in the queue.

Pera Museum: Most beautiful paintings of the Ottoman era and present-day are exhibited in this hotel turned museum. It invites paintings of big-name artists around the world and holding a permanent collection of ceramic, tiles, Anatolian weights and measures.

Faith Mosque: The Faith mosque was the religious and social complex that was constructed on the site of a church 'Holy Apostle'. It was built between 1463-1470 on the order of Sultan Mehmet II commonly known as 'Mehmet the Conquerer'. It is the first Istanbul's grand imperial Mosque with the dome in middle supported by semi-domes and marble pillars(columns) which was destructed by a strong earthquake in 1766. It was re-built with an emulation of Hagia Sophia's Turkish designs, however, it was a great example of the Islamic Turkish Architectural span.

Nonetheless, It is the home of the tombs of Sultan Mehmet II and his wife 'Gulbahar Hatun'. The original complex was well-planned as it contained a library, 8 madersa, hospital, market, Hamam, caravansarai, primary school, and public kitchen. Caravansarai was built for travelers who can rest in that and Hamam is for public bath or Turkish bath.

There are more sub-important places to explore according to your time limit. Whichever street you go to, you will find something interesting to visit. And, I bet you won't get bored for sure.

All the major tourist places are within a 5-10 km circumference of downtown Istanbul. So, plan your stay within the city to save your time and enjoy the locality and local food.

That would be amazing to experience the History of Mughals and Turkey. A glimpse of the fascinating place will always stay within you and your memory. You might crave going back and stay longer.