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The Caferağa Medresseh is a former medresseh, located in Istanbul, Turkey, next to the Hagia Sophia. It was built in 1559 by Mimar Sinan by orders of Cafer Agha, a eunuch during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566). The medresseh, listed within the independent medressehs and having had a number of restorations until today, was changed by the Turkish Cultural Service Foundation in 1989 into a touristic centre with 15 classrooms/exhibition rooms, a big salon and a garden where traditional Turkish handicrafts such as calligraphy, ceramics, jewelry and so forth are taught, made and sold.

The medresseh is located very close to the Hagia Sophia, stairs lead down to it from the small street. The structure is entered through the main gate which leads into the inner courtyard, around which the former learning rooms are located. There is a restaurant inside that offers a variety of Turkish dishes

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Once the heart of Ottoman navigation, Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district today harbors within it key monuments of the city’s maritime history.

Every year from the 16th to the mid-19th century, the Ottoman fleet set sail in spring from Istanbul’s Beşiktaş harbor. Prior to setting out on these campaigns, the enormous galleys and galleons were launched with ceremony after lying at anchor for a few days just off shore. These ceremonies, which would become a venerable tradition in Ottoman navigation, ensured Beşiktaş a privileged place in the empire’s maritime history. In the 16th century, Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha had a mosque and medrese built at the mouth of the Beşiktaş river. And following his death, he was buried in a türbe (mausoluem) built on Beşiktaş Square in the classical Ottoman style by the architect Mimar Sinan. The reverence felt for this great Turkish navigator thus ensured the forging of a heartfelt bond between seamen and Beşiktaş, with the result that Turkey’s first and only Maritime Museum, which has stood at Beşiktaş since 1961, is of great significance for Ottoman maritime history.

TURKEY’S FIRST MILITARY MUSEUM
The Maritime Museum was founded in 1897 at the behest of then Naval Minister Grand Admiral Hasan Hüsnü Pasha of Bozcaada by Lieutenant Commander Süleyman Nutki at the Tersane-i Amire (Imperial Dockyard). Originally called the Naval Museum and Library, a name that was changed to the Maritime Museum in 1934, it has the distinction of being Turkey’s first military museum as well. Original objects that had been removed from Istanbul to various locations in Anatolia during the war were put on public exhibition beginning in 1948 in the Dolmabahçe Mosque and adjoining buildings. Finally in 1961 the museum was moved to its present location on İskele Meydan in Beşiktaş next to the monument and tomb of Grand Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha. The section known as the Gallery of Caiques was opened to visitors in 1970. Exhibited here are matchless historic caiques brought from the Dolmabahçe, Topkapı, Beylerbeyi, Çırağan and Üsküdar Palaces and the Bosphorus pavilions.

THE IMPERIAL CAIQUES
This collection of historic caiques consists entirely of original pieces. Boasting 24 pairs of oars, these boats, which were used in the nearby waters by the Ottoman sultans starting from the period of Sultan Mehmed IV, were 5 meters and 70 cm in width and 40 meters long. The captain’s cabin of each galley was decorated in ivory, tortoise shell and mother-of-pearl and adorned with panels of silver and precious stones. As we are examining the caiques, we encounter Denise and Ray Marmion from Australia, and strike up a conversation with Ray, who is awed by the sheer splendor of the galleys. He sums up what he has seen here in a single word: “Magnificent!” The Australian couple explain that they have visited many cities in Turkey but that Istanbul has a special magic. Visualizing these historic caiques actually gliding over the water is a particular thrill for Denise. I immediately point out that several exact replicas have been made of one of them and are used today for touristic excursions on the Bosphorus.

THE ‘UZAKLAR’ AT THE MUSEUM
Exhibited in the museum, which gives visitors a feel for maritime history and culture through the instruments used in navigation, are ships’ models, flags, paintings by such renowned artists as Aivazovsky and Hüsnü Tenküz, original items from Atatürk’s yachts the Savarona and the Ertuğrul, as well as items from the Yavuz, one of the most important ships of the Republican period. And among the objects on display in the museum garden are one of the cannons used by Sultan Selim I in his conquest of Egypt, a dredged up section of a German UB-46 submarine, and busts of the great Ottoman seafarers. In another part of the garden is a glass enclosure made specially for the yacht ‘Uzaklar’ in which Osman and Zuhal Atasoy set sail to circumnavigate the world. Weighing anchor from Sığacık Harbor on the Aegean on 24 August 1992, the Atasoys sailed westwards. The couple, whose daughter Deniz was born on the voyage, visited over 30 countries during their four years, ten months and six days on the water. Currently on display at the museum, the ‘Uzaklar’, in its pristine state, awaits visitors to whom it can tell its story.

Halic Boom

THE MUSEUM ‘DOCTORS’
One thing that makes this museum so moving is that all the objects on display are authentic. And the restoration experts employed by the museum subject the collection to continuous inspection. Specially trained in museology and the restoration of historical objects, these experts not only repair missing sections of maps but even touch up worn paint on the historic caiques without compromising their authenticity in any way. Due to the continuous addition of new pieces, the Maritime Museum’s current buildings are rapidly becoming inadequate, and the museum is therefore preparing for a renovation. Preparations are already in progress for implementing the prize-winning project in a competition that was held in 2005. Museum officials assure us that the new project will be translated into reality as soon as possible. Among other things, the project will include a sky simulator showing all the constellations. In addition, a three-dimensional ship handling simulator is also on the way, to appeal to young visitors in particular. Using this device, visitors will be able to command the ship of their choice.

The most outstanding testimonies to Turkey’s maritime heritage are on display at the Maritime Museum, from Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha right up to our day. It is impossible to contemplate these objects for even a moment and not be reminded of Barbaros returning triumphantly from one of his many campaigns. Listen closely and you may even catch the boom of the cannons…

The museum was opened to public m 1960. It displays the uniforms of the Turkish sailors, models of Turkish naval vessels, and paintings, engravings and maps related to Turkish maritime history. Also the materials and souvenirs from the vessels used in the first years of Ottoman Empire and the Republic, pictures of some navy disasters and martyrs, wartime weapons such as hand-bombs, torpedo, fire gun and sketches of several fleet commanders are amongst the display. Sultans‘ row-boats (Saltanat Kayigi in Turkish) are on display on its lower floor. In the courtyard of the museum, cannonballs of various sizes and a part of German Battleship which sunk in our coastline during Second World War are also displayed.

Open daily between 09:00-17:00 except Monday and Tuesdays.
Tel: (212) 261 00 04

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The building is located in the Çarşamba neighborhood within the district of Fatih inside the walled city of Istanbul. Theotokos Pammakaristos overlooks the Golden Horn. It was originally a church, built in the 13th century by one of the notables of the Byzantine state, Mikhail Glabas Tarkaniotes. It is Pammakaristos monastery church constructed in Byzantine Period. A grave chapel has been added with the end of the Latin invasion in the 13th century.

It was used as the Patriarchate in 1454 after the conquest of Constantinople. After the conquest, it remained under the control of Christians and used as a women’s monastery, in 1455 patriarchate has been moved to this building and the building has been used as patriarchate until 1586.

This church has been converted into a mosque by Murat III (1574 – 1595) and the mosque has been named as Fethiye. In 1590, to commemorate the conquest of Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Iranian wars, the church was converted to a mosque.

The northern church is still being used as a mosque. The walls of the additional church are ornamented with the beautiful mosaics of the 14th century. After being repaired between the years 1938 – 1940, it has been converted into a unit of Ayasofya Museum.

During the conversion a part of the apse was removed and a niche (mihrap) built showing the direction of Mecca. A minaret and medrese were also added. With the beginning of the Republic era the mosque became a museum and the American Byzantine Institute uncovered the frescoes and mosaics inside in 1955. The arch built by the Turks was replaced by columns as originally found. In the 1960′s the mosque was once again opened for worship. The walls of the mosque are a mix of stone and bricks. The Greek inscriptions on the exterior walls and interior mosaics are particularly eye-catching.

The Parekklesion of the Pammakaristos Church. In the background, the dome of the former church, now a mosque. Pammakaristos Church, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos (Joyous Mother of God), later known as Fethiye Mosque (Turkish: Fethiye Camii) and today partly a museum, is one of the most famous Byzantine churches in Istanbul, Turkey. The Parekklesion, besides being one of the most important examples of Constantinople’s Palaiologan architecture, has the largest amount of Byzantine mosaics after the Hagia Sophia and Chora Church in Istanbul.

History
According to most scholars, the church was built between the eleventh and the twelfth centuries. Many historians and archaeologists believe that the original structure of the church can be attributed to Michael VII Ducas (1071-1078), others put its foundation in the Comnenian period. It has also been suggested by the Swiss scholar and Byzantinist Ernest Mamboury that the original building was erected in the 8th century.

A parekklesion (a side chapel) was added to the south side of the church in the early palaiologan period, and dedicated to Christos ho Logos (Greek: “Christ the Word”). The small shrine was erected by Martha Glabas in memory of her late husband, Michael Tarchaniotes Glabas, a general and protostrator of Andronikos II Palaiologos, shortly after the year 1310. An elegant dedicatory inscription to Christ, written by the poet Manuel Philes, runs along the parekklesion, both outside and inside it.

The main church was also renovated at the same time, as the study of the Templon has shown. Following the fall of Constantinople, the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate was first moved to the Church of the Holy Apostles, and in 1456 to the Pammakaristos Church, which remained as the seat of the Patriarchate until 1587.

Five years later, the Ottoman Sultan Murad III converted the church into a mosque and renamed it in honor of his Fetih (Conquest) of Georgia and Azerbaijan, hence the name Fethiye Camii. To accommodate the requirements of prayer, most of the interior walls were removed in order to create a larger inner space. The complex, which was neglected, has been restored in 1949 by the Byzantine Institute of America and Dumbarton Oaks, which brought it back to its pristine splendor. While the main building has always been a mosque, the parekklesion has since then been a museum.

Architecture And Decoration
The Comnenian building was a church with a main aisle and two deambulatoria, and had three apses, and a narthex to the west. The masonry was typical of the Comnenian period, and adopted the technique of the recessed brick. In this technique, alternate coarses of brick are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a mortar’s bed, which can still be seen in the cistern underneath and in the church.

The transformation of the church into a mosque changed the original building greatly. The arcades connecting the main aisle with the deambulatoria were removed and were replaced with broad archways to open up the nave. The three apses were removed too. In their place toward the east a great domed room was built, obliquely with respect to the orientation of the building.

On the other side, the parekklesion represents the most beautiful building of the late Byzantine period in Constantinople. It has the typical cross-in-square plan with five domes, but the proportion between vertical and horizontal dimensions is much bigger than usual (although not so big as in the contemporary Byzantine churches built in the Balkans).

Although the inner colored marble revetment largely disappeared, the shrine still contains the restored remains of a number of mosaic panels, which, while not as varied and well-preserved as those of the Chora Church, serve as another resource for understanding late Byzantine art.

A representation of the Pantocrator, surrounded by the prophets of the Old Testament (Moses, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Micah, Joel, Zechariah, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Jonah, Malachi, Ezekiel, and Isaiah) is under the main dome. On the apse, Christ Hyperagathos is shown with Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist. The Baptism of Christ survives intact to the right side of the dome.

MORE INFO
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Governorship Of Istanbul / Gallery
Wikipedia / Pammakaristos Church

These scripts and photographs are registered under Copyright 2008, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Governorship Of Istanbul / Gallery, Wikipedia / Pammakaristos Church. All Rights Reserved.

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Statue of Pope Benedict XV in the courtyard of the cathedral.

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, alternatively known as the St. Esprit Cathedral, Italian: Cattedrale di Santo Spirito, or Cattedrale dello Spirito Santo, located on Cumhuriyet Avenue, 205/B, Harbiye, between Taksim Square and Nişantaşı, is one of the main cathedrals of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey.

It is the second largest Roman Catholic church in the city after the Basilica of S. Antonio di Padova on İstiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu.

The cathedral was built in Baroque style in 1846 under the direction of the Swiss-Italian architect Giuseppe Fossati and his colleague Julien Hillereau.

St. Esprit has been a destination of several papal visits to Turkey, including those of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI.

A statue of Pope Benedict XV stands in the courtyard of the cathedral.

Giuseppe Donizetti, a musician at the court of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, is buried in the vaults of the cathedral.

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St. Esprit Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Harbiye. Just off a busy Istanbul street is located a humble, 19th century cathedral, hidden behind the walls of the French Notre Dame de Sion high school. Mass is held at 4 pm on weekdays and at 9 am and 11:15 am (in French) and at 10 am (in English) on Sundays. The cathedral is open to visitors during Mass.
While walking from Taksim toward Harbiye, some of you may have noticed a door with metal bars leading to the school’s courtyard, beyond which is a statue. Past the door stands the St. Esprit Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
St. Esprit, second in size only to St. Anthony of Padua Cathedral on famous 0 stiklal Street, is one of the main Roman Catholic cathedrals in Istanbul. It was built by famous architect Gaspare Fossati under the direction of his colleague Julien Hillereau, another Italian architect. The site where the cathedral stands was chosen because the Vatican had decided to establish its “unofficial” office in Istanbul on the same street. This office today serves in an official capacity as Turkey and the Vatican agreed to establish mutual diplomatic representative offices in 1960.
Construction took one year, and the cathedral was completed in 1846. Financial difficulties led to poorer quality construction materials and, following an earthquake in 1865, the cathedral was badly damaged. Restoration began in June of the same year and the church was reopened for service a few months later, in December.
Architect Pierre Vitalis, with the help of another architect, was supposed to rebuild St. Esprit following the earthquake, but nothing came of this as Vitalis went into retirement. As a result, the cathedral’s rebuilding was led by Father Antoine Giorgiovitch, church sources say. According to historical sources, the church was designated a cathedral in 1876. It has undergone several restorations so far, receiving three new bells hammered in Fermo, Italy, in 1922 and having all its paintings restored by the late Bishop Antoine Marovitch in 1980.
Following the construction of the cathedral, the Christian community began settling nearby, according to historical sources. In other words, St. Esprit played a leading role in the Christian community moving beyond the Beyo lu (formerly known as Pera) and Galata areas, predominantly non-Muslim at the time. The cathedral’s administrative rights were given to Italian monks in 1989.
The architecture of the cathedral, which has a basilica plan with three naves, represents the Baroque style. Some art historians define the cathedral’s architecture as the revival of the early Christian basilica type. The main apse and the side apses have a square shape. The gallery rests upon columns separating the naves that line the two sides of the cathedral in rows.
The interior of the cathedral is beautifully decorated with frescoes. The richly decorated ceiling runs until the altar, situated just across the main door. The bell tower, at one of St. Esprit’s corners, overlooks Ölçek Sokak, which also goes by the name Papa Rocalli Street.
The rear of the cathedral has a second door, opening up to Papa Rocalli Street No: 82. This door leads to a staircase that takes you to various rooms in the cathedral as well as the main hall. Access through this door may be restricted, though there is a sign by the main outer door that reads “If you need to enter the cathedral, contact attendant at Ölçek Sokak, No: 82.” If you find yourself walking by St. Esprit, take some time to step inside this humble cathedral – even if you’re there outside of service times. Don’t forget to ring the bell, as the back door is normally closed.
St. Esprit’s courtyard houses a bronze statue of Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922), built by the Turkish state in 1922 in remembrance of his support for Turkish soldiers. The statue rests upon a stone pedestal with a plaque that reads: “Benefactor of all people, regardless of nationality or religion.” Pope Benedict XV presided over the Catholic Church between 1914 and 1922 and is known for his efforts to stop World War I.
Statue of Pope Benedict XV in the courtyard of the cathedral.The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, alternatively known as the St. Esprit Cathedral, Italian: Cattedrale di Santo Spirito, or Cattedrale dello Spirito Santo is one of the main cathedrals of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul. St. Esprit has been a destination of several papal visits to Turkey, including those of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI. A statue of Pope Benedict XV stands in the courtyard of the cathedral. Giuseppe Donizetti, a musician at the court of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, is buried in the vaults of the cathedral.
He also contributed to the establishment of a hospital on the Turkish-Syrian border where wounded Turkish soldiers were treated. The statue was cleaned by the İstanbul Greater Municipality in 2006 shortly before Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to İstanbul. Sultan Mehmet VI is believed to have contributed to the fund collected for the erection of the statue.
The cathedral’s burial vaults are said to be very imposing, although I did not have a chance to see them as they are not open to visitors. These vaults, designed with the construction of the cathedral and reached via corridors, house the remains of various members of the Catholic community of İstanbul, including nuns from Notre Dame de Sion and architect Hillereau himself.
Giuseppe Donizetti, the royal musician during the reign of Sultan Mahmut II, who invited him to İstanbul in the first place, is also buried in the vaults beneath the cathedral. He is known for the two military marches he composed for Sultans Mahmut II and Abdülmecit I: the “Mahmudiye March” and the “Mecidiye March.” Today, what remains of the Donizetti family’s archives, discovered in the 1970s, is preserved at the Topkapı Palace Museum library. Burials in the vaults of St. Esprit continued until the 1920s.
Who is Gaspare Fossati?
Gaspare Fossati was a Swiss-Italian architect working in İstanbul in the 19th century. He is known as the second European architect to come to Istanbul to work when Western-style buildings began to be popular and thus widespread across the city. He built many famous 19th century buildings, including the Russian Embassy, the Consulate of the Netherlands and St. Paolo di Pietro Church, located in Galata. Fossati also worked on the restoration of Ayasofya along with his brother Giuseppe Fossati.
MORE INFO
Todays Zaman / St. Esprit Cathedral
Governorship Of Istanbul / Gallery
Wikipedia / St. Esprit Cathedral
Istanbul Photographs / St. Esprit Cathedral
These scripts and photographs are registered under Copyright 2009, Todays Zaman / St. Esprit Cathedral, Governorship Of Istanbul / Gallery, Wikipedia / St. Esprit Cathedral, Istanbul Photographs / St. Esprit Cathedral. All Rights Reserved.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Spirit

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The Press Museum features information and materials on Turkish press from İbrahim Müteferrika, the founder of Turkish publication history, to date.

The museum is also known as the original building of Darülfünun (University) which was opened in 1871. The restored building was turned into Press Museum in 1988. The museum features information and materials on Turkish press from İbrahim Müteferrika, founder of Turkish publication history, to date.

Address: Divanyolu Road, No:84, Çemberlitaş
Ph: +90 212 513 84 77

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In northern Şişli, a short bus ride from Taksim Square, is a candy-pink Ottoman house in which Mustafa Kemal once stayed. It now contains three floors of memorabilia of the great Atatürk, from his astrakhan hat to his silk underwear. There’s even a wine-stained tablecloth on which he bashed out the new Turkish alphabet over a picnic lunch in 1928. The top floor holds a large collection of propaganda paintings from the war of indepedence, depicting scenes of Greek brutality, with the flag of the perfidious British occasionally fluttering in the background. It’s a wonder the Greek soldiers were ever taken seriously, as they advanced into battle in pleated mini skirts and scarlet slippers adorned with fluffy pom-poms.

Istanbul Atatürk Museum is located in Sisli district of Istanbul (20-30 minutes drive from Taksim square), now serves as the Ataturk Museum and displays his personal effects. A beautiful three storied building was residence for Ataturk and his mother after his return from the Syrian front.
Earlier years in this museum this Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and friends held the secret meetings and conferences before he left Istanbul for Samsun, where he started the war of Independence.
The Museum contains Ataturks some of personal belongings, plus historical pictures
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Atatürk Museum details

Address Halaskargazi Caddesi 250,
Şişli

Transport Bus 46H. Metro Osmanbey .

Telephone 0212 233 4723

http://www.timeout.com/istanbul/museums/venue/16869/ataturk-museum

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http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/Sultanahmet/TurkIslamArtMuseum.html

Istanbul‘s Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art (Türk-Islam Eserleri Müzesi), on the Hippodrome across from the Blue Mosque (map), is a treasure-house of beautiful objects from the Ottoman (14th to 20th centuries), Seljuk (11th to 13th centuries), and earlier periods beginning in the 8th century.

The best art was religious art during the Ottoman Empire, just as it was in medieval Europe.

Turkish carpets, illuminated Kur’ans, calligraphy (at which the Ottomans excelled), carved and inlaid wood, glass, porcelain and stone are well displayed.

Turkish ethnographic exhibits—a fully-furnished nomads’ tent, a 19th-century Ottoman parlor, and others—extend the collection beyond mere beautiful objects shown out of context.

The museum is housed in the restored Palace of Ibrahim Pasha, a sumptuous residence built by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent‘s Grand Vezir (and intimate friend) Ibrahim Pasha (served 1523-1536). What you see is only part of the original structure, whose foundations date from about 1500.

Ibrahim Pasha was such a close friend and confidant of Süleyman’s, and had such influence over the monarch, that the sultan’s wife, Roxelana (Hürrem) was worried. When Ibrahim supported the candidacy of Prince Mustafa to be successor to the throne, rather than that of Roxelana’s son Selim, Roxelana acted.

She denounced Ibrahim to the sultan as a traitor, and on the night of March 14, 1536, after dining with the sultan in Topkapi Palace, Ibrahim was strangled, and all his wealth seized by the imperial government.

One of Ibrahim’s mistakes was in living in a palace and a style that rivaled that of his sovereign. Rüstem Pasha, his successor, did not make the same mistake. More…

The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art is open from 9 to 5 (closed Monday). Admission costs TL10.

You may also want to visit the Istanbul Archeological Museums, a 10- to 15-minute walk northward past Ayasofya toward Topkapi Palace.

Türk Islam Eserleri Müzesi
At Meydani 46 (map)
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: +90 (212) 518 1805
Fax: +90 (212) 518 1807

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http://muze.sabanciuniv.edu/exhibition/exhibition.php?lngExhibitionID=85&bytLanguageID=2

http://www.mymerhaba.com/Sakip-Sabanci-Museum-in-Turkey-332.html

Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi
Sakıp Sabancı Caddesi 42, Emirgan
Tel: (212) 277 22 00, Fax: (212) 229 49 14

Visiting hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – 10:00 – 18:00.  Wednesday 10:00 to 22:00. Closed on Monday.
Entrance fee is 10 TL, for teachers, students and 60+ is 3.00 TL.

Sabanci University Sakip Sabanci Museum (shortly Sabanci Museum) was opened early 2002 summer and since it is located at Emirgan the museum has the easiest access. If you are not going to drive you can take a bus from Beşiktaş en route to Sarıyer and take off at Çınaraltı stop after a short but joyous Bosphorus trip and when you cross the road you reach the entrance of the museum. Meanwhile the museum has a large parking lot. You can review the history of this site, known as Atlı Köşk (Equestrian Villa) among Istanbulites, given as the subtitle.

You enter a stately and well-kept garden, get your ticket and begin to walk uphill by following the signs. Statues, sarcophaguses and embroidered stones are scattered on the roadside. There are also banks on this quite steep slope, which are ideal to sit for a while and enjoy the beautiful Bosphorus panorama.

When you reach the top, the Kiosk, which is the museum building, and a section in which the bronze statutes of Sabancı family are exhibited meet you. The living and dining rooms once the Sabancı family used are located at the entrance of the museum. These rooms are preserved, as is with their original furniture and the family’s collection of 18th and 19th century China porcelains, polychrome vases, decorative plates, Ayvazovski and Zonaro’s paintings, Sévres vases and 19th century French and German china meet you.

This floor also hosts a boutique at which silk scarves, neckties, t-shirts created for this museum by worldwide famous Turkish designer Atıl Kutoğlu who is inspired by Sabancı Calligraphy Collection, books, and CDs. Then you go upstairs and find several closed doors, however the signs will lead you the right room. Wait for a few seconds to adapt the dimness of the room and examine your surroundings. The silver divit (ink holder) collection consisting of samples of instruments used in writing such as pens, pen cases, pen knives, reed-nibblers and polishers displayed on the center of the first salon and the walls are full of the most exquisite examples of calligraphy art. The Ottoman calligraphy works have previously been on show at the famous international New York Metropolitan Museum and Paris Louvre Museum. After touring these three halls, which are leading one another, you are going to reach “Panorama Room”, take a deep breath and absorb the magnificent Bosphorus view. The other three halls on the same floor again host rare examples of calligraphy work such as hand written Korans and imperial decrees.

Then you go downstairs and tour the “Memory Room” at which the memories and photos of Sakıp Sabancı as well as his plates are exhibited. After this tour “Winter Garden” meets you with its very pretty café.

Passing from the winter garden you reach “The Gallery” which was built afterwards. This two-story building house the paintings of Turkish Artists owned by Sakıp Sabancı. Since painting and sculpture is not welcomed by Muslim beliefs, Turkish painting has begun to creep only in early 20th century. You can follow the improvements of Turkish paintings while admiring the works exhibited. However the goal of the museum is to host international exhibitions in coming days.

After the museum tour you can either order an excellent breakfast at Sütiş or an ice cream at Çınaraltı Çay Bahçesi with special tastes; or drink a cup of famous Emirgan tea.

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This Alexander the Great Sarcophagus and ancient Babylonian bull are just two of the many wonders at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in Istanbul, Turkey (photos © Dick Osseman).

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-archaeological-museum.htm

The Istanbul Archaeology Museum is housed in three buildings just inside the first court of Topkapi Palace and includes the Museum of the Ancient Orient. The museum has an excellent collection of Greek and Roman artifacts, including finds from Ephesus and Troy.

Collections of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum

The Istanbul Archaeological Museum houses over one million objects, the most extraordinary of which are the sarcophagi that date back as far as the 4th century BC. The museum excels, however, in its rich chronological collection of locally found artifacts that shed light on the origins and history of the city.

Near the entrance is a statue of a lion representing the only piece saved from the clutches of British archaeologists from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

On the upper floor of the building there are small stone works, pots and pans, small terracotta statues, 800,000 Ottoman coins, seals, decorations, and medals, and a library with 70,000 books.

In the halls to the left is a collection of sarcophagi found at Sidon (ancient Syria) representing various architectural styles influenced by outside cultures including Egypt, Phoenicia, and Lycia. The most famous is the Alexander Sarcophagus, covered with astonishingly advanced carvings of battles and the life of Alexander the Great, discovered in 1887 and once believed to have been that of the emperor himself (it was actually Sidonian King Abdalonymos).

Found in the same necropolis at Sidon is the stunningly preserved Sarcophagus of the Crying Women, with 18 intricately carved panels showing figures of women in extreme states of mourning.

On the mezzanine level is the exhibit “Istanbul Through the Ages,” a rich and well-presented exhibit that won the museum the Council of Europe Museum Award in 1993. To put the exhibit into perspective, the curators have provided maps, plans, and drawings to illustrate the archaeological findings, displayed thematically, which range from prehistoric artifacts found west of Istanbul to 15th-century Byzantine works of art.

The recovered snake’s head from the Serpentine Column in the Hippodrome is on display, as is the 14th-century bell from the Galata Tower. The upper two levels house the Troy exhibit and displays on the evolution of Anatolia over the centuries, as well as sculptures from Cyprus, Syria, and Palestine.

The newly renovated and reopened Museum of the Ancient Orient is an exceptionally rich collection of artifacts from the earliest civilizations of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Arab continent. The tour begins with pre-Islamic divinities and idols taken from the courtyard of the Al-Ula temple, along with artifacts showing ancient Aramaic inscriptions and a small collection of Egyptian antiquities.

Uncovered in the region of Mesopotamia and on display is an obelisk of Adad-Nirari III inscribed with cuneiform characters. Of particular significance is a series of colored mosaic panels showing animal reliefs of bulls and dragons with serpents’ heads from the monumental Gate of Ishtar, built by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia.

A pictorial representation on a Sumerian devotional basin of girls carrying pitchers of water whose contents are filling an underground source relates to the ancient Mesopotamian belief that the world was surrounded by water, a belief that has provoked questions over the origins of the biblical Great Flood.

With nothing dating more recent than the 1st century AD, pretty much everything here has enormous significance. But two of the highlights are easily the fragments of the 13-century BC sphinx from the Yarkapi Gate at Hattusas and one of the three known tablets of the Treaty of Kadesh, the oldest recorded peace treaty signed between Ramses II and the Hittites in the 13th-century BC inscribed in Akkadian, the international language of the era. (Another tablet is in the Staatliche Museum in Berlin.)

Visitor Information for the Istanbul Archaeology Museum

Location:
Topkapi Palace (to the right of and behind St. Irene), Gülhane Park, Istanbul, Turkey

Phone:
0212/520-7740

Hours:
Tues-Sun 9am-5pm (but can vary – check ahead of time)

Cost:
$3.50; includes the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Çinili Kösk

More Information on the Istanbul Archaeology Museum

• Istanbul Archaeology Museum – Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism

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Above: view of the Istanbul Mosaic Museum (© Tim Spalding) and mosaic detail.

In 1933 excavators discovered a series of mosaics below what is now the Arasta Bazaar, identified as the floor of a peristyle courtyard (open court with porticos) of Constantine’s Great Palace.

After more mosaics were unearthed in the 1950s, only then did the city fully grasp the scope of the find, and much to the chagrin of the owners of 16 of the shops, a museum was built to enclose the site.

Although the collection is not as momentous as that of the Chora, this museum is worth an hour of your time, representing an earlier artistic era absent of religious motifs, showing instead hunting scenes and scenes from mythology.

Location:
Entrance at Torun Sok. Across from the entrance to the Sultanahmet Palace Hotel; accessible through Arasta Bazaar to the southeast of Blue Mosque.

Phone:
0212/518-1205

Hours:
Tues-Sun 9am-4:30pm

Cost:
Admission $2

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