istanbul

Housing the oldest surviving institution of learning in Istanbul, the crowning jewel of Fener is the principle school for the small Greek population. The building was erected in 1881 but served as the Patriarchate School during the Byzantine era. After the conquest, the Patriarchate was granted special rights and the school was allowed to reopen.

Under the sultanate, Greeks called the school the Megali Scholio (Great School), and some of the more prominent names of the Byzantine Empire were educated here, including Palaeologus, Cantacuzejnus, and Cantemir. The soaring dome sits on a thick drum whose upper floor houses an observatory for instruction in astronomy. The best view of the school is from down below (or halfway down the steeply sloping Sancaktar Yokusu); you can’t get in unless you’re up for some aerobics, so just admire it from the base of the hill.

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/istanbul/A42189.html#ixzz0fPPlO5Jp

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The Valens Aqueduct (Turkish: Bozdoğan Kemeri, meaning “Aqueduct of the grey falcon”; Greek: Άγωγός του ὔδατος, Agōgós tou hýdatos, meaning simply “aqueduct“) was the major water-providing system of medieval Constantinople (modern Istanbul, in Turkey). Restored by several Ottoman Sultans, it is one of the most important landmarks of the city.

Location

The aqueduct stands in Istanbul, in the quarter of Fatih, and spans the valley between the hills occupied today by the Istanbul University and the Fatih Mosque. The surviving section is 921 meters long, about 50 meters less than the original length.^[1] The Atatürk Bulvarı boulevard passes under its arches.

Today it is usually called the Aqueduct of Valens, since it was finished in 368, during Valens’s reign, but there is reason to assume that it was already planned and begun in Constantine’s time.39 As mentioned above, the aqueduct runs parallel to one of the streets in the old part of Byzantium. Also, its southeastern
prolongation would exactly meet the main entrance of the courtyard in the Great Palace that is now the Mosaic Museum. It is obvious that the aqueduct  was planned in a clear relationship to the street system of the old town of Byzantium. Arches 26/27 and 52 are wider than the others in the aqueduct and were certainly
intended to serve as passages for streets.40 At other points where we would expect similar wider arches, the original construction is lost, for example, at the northwestern end close to the church of the Holy Apostles, where the aqueduct was completely rebuilt in Ottoman times.

History

Roman period

The construction of a water supply system for the city (then still called Byzantium) had begun already under the Roman emperor Hadrian.^[2] Under Constantine I, when the city was rebuilt and increased in size, the system needed to be greatly expanded to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population.^[3]

The Valens aqueduct, which originally got its water from the slopes of the hills between Kağıthane and the Sea of Marmara,^[4] was merely one of the terminal points of this new wide system of aqueducts and canals – which eventually reached over 250 kilometers in total length, the longest such system of Antiquity – that stretched throughout the hill-country of Thrace and provided the capital with water. Once in the city, the water was stored in three open reservoirs and over a hundred underground cisterns, such as the Basilica Cistern, with a total capacity of over 1 million cubic meters.^[5]

“Aqueduct of Valens (in the City)” (Istanbul) engraved by J.C.Bentley after a picture by W.H.Bartlett, published in The Beauties of the Bosphorus, 1838. Steel engraved print with recent hand colour. Good condition. Size 18 x 14.5 cms including title, plus margins. Ref G3331

The exact date that construction on the aqueduct began is uncertain, but it was completed in the year 368 during the reign of Roman Emperor Valens, whose name it bears. It lay along the valley between the third and fourth hills of Constantinople, occupied respectively at that time by the Capitolium and the Church of the Holy Apostles.^[6] According to tradition, the aqueduct was built using the stones of the walls of Chalcedon, pulled down as punishment in 366 after the revolt of Procopius.^[6] The structure was inaugurated in the year 373 by the urban prefect Klearchos, who commissioned a Nymphaeum Maius in the Forum of Theodosius, that was supplied with water from the aqueduct.^[6]a[›]

After a severe drought in 382, Theodosius I built a new line (the Aquaeductus Theodosiacus), which took water from the northeastern region known today as the “Belgrade Forest”.^[3]

East Roman (Byzantine) period

Other works were executed under Theodosius II, who decided to distribute the water of the aqueduct exclusively to the Nymphaeum, the Baths of Zeuxippus and the Great Palace of Constantinople.^[3] The aqueduct, possibly damaged by an earthquake, was restored under Emperor Justinian I, who connected it with the Cistern of the Basilica of Illus^b[›] (identified today either with the Yerebatan or with the Binbirdirek (Turkish: Turkish): “thousand and one columns”) cistern, and was repaired in 576 by Justin II, who built a separate pipe.^[6][7]

The aqueduct was cut by the Avars during the siege of 626, and the water supply was reestablished only after the great drought of 758 by Emperor Constantine V.^[6] The Emperor had the whole water supply system repaired by a certain Patrikios, who used a large labour force coming from the whole of Greece and Anatolia.^[6]

Other maintenance works were accomplished under Emperors Basil II (in 1019) and Romanos III Argyros.^[4][8]

The last Byzantine Emperor who took care of the aqueduct was Andronikos I Komnenos.^[7] Neither during the Latin Empire nor during the Palaiologan period were any repair works executed, but by that time the population of the city had shrunk to about 40,000 – 50,000 inhabitants, so that the water supply was no longer a very important issue.^[4] Nevertheless, according to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian diplomat who traveled to Constantinople en route to an embassy to Timur in 1403, the aqueduct was still functioning.^[6]

Ottoman period

After the Fall of Constantinople (1453), Sultan Mehmet II repaired the whole water supply, which was then used to bring water to the imperial palaces of Eski Sarayi (the first palace, built on the third hill) and Topkapı Sarayi, and connected it with a new line coming from the northeast. The great earthquake of 1509 destroyed the arches near the Mosque of Şehzade, which was erected some time later. This gave rise to the popular legend that they were cut, in order to allow a better view from the nearby mosque. The repairs to the water-supplying net continued under Beyazid II, who added a new line.^[8]

Around the middle of the 16th century, Suleyman I rebuilt arches (now ogival) 47 up to 51 (counted from the west) near the Şehzade Mosque, and commissioned the Imperial Architect Sinan to add two more lines, coming from the Forest of Belgrade (Belgrad Ormanı).^[4] The increased flow allowed the distribution of water to the Kιrkçeşme (“Forty Fountains”) quarter, situated along the aqueduct on the Golden Horn side, and so called after the many fountains built there under Suleyman.^[4]

Under Sultan Mustafa II, five arches (41-45) were restored, respecting the ancient form. An inscription in situ, dated 1696/97, commemorates the event.^[8] His successor Ahmed III repaired again the distribution net.^[8]

In 1912, a 50-meter-long part of the aqueduct near the Fatih Mosque was pulled down.^[4] In the same period, a new modern Taksim (“distribution plant”, lit. ‘division’) at the east end was erected.^[4]

Description

The Aqueduct of Valens

The Aqueduct of Valens had a length of 971 meters and a maximum height of ca. 29 meters (63 meters above sea level) with a constant slope of 1:1000.^[6] Arches 1-40 and 46-51 belong to the time of Valens, arches 41-45 to Mustafa II, and those between 52 and 56 to Suleyman I.^[9] Arches 18-73 have a double order, the others a single order.^[6][9]

Originally the structure ran perfectly straight, but during the construction of the Fatih Mosque – for unknown reasons – it was bent in that section.^[10] The masonry is not regular, and uses a combination of ashlar blocks and bricks.^[6] The first row of arches is built with well-squared stone blocks, the upper row is built with four to seven courses of stones alternated with a bed of smaller material (opus caementitium) clamped with iron cramps.^[10] The width of the aqueduct varies from 7.75 meters to 8.24 meters.^[6] The pillars are 3.70 meters thick, and the arches of the lower order are four meters wide.^[10]

The water comes from two lines from the northeast and one coming from the northwest, which join together outside the walls, near the Adrianople Gate (Edirne Kapı).^[1] Near the east end of the aqueduct there is a distribution plant, and another lies near Hagia Sophia. The water feeds the zone of the imperial palace.^[10] The daily discharge in the 1950s amounted to 6,120 cubic meters.^[10] During Byzantine times, two roads important for the topography of medieval Constantinople crossed under the eastern section of the aqueduct.^[10]

CISTERN of AETIOS

This open cistern in the northwest of the city was built in 421 and filled with water from the supply line leading to the Aqueduct of Valens. In the middle byzantine time, it was probably already used as a garden.

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The oldest settlement on the Golden Horn, Balat is like a miniature Istanbul with its uniform streets, its two and three-story houses with cantilevered balconies, its staircases jutting up the steep slopes, and its places of worship at every step.

Balat is a quarter that has extended its hospitality to a large number of different communities in its time. From the Byzantine Greeks to Jews that fled the Spanish Inquisition and the Armenians that settled in Istanbul, Balat has been a place of residence for numerous disparate ethnic groups. Many a migration route has ended in the old Golden Horn quarter of Balat, which to the outsider today appears mysterious and even a little forbidding.

GATEWAY TO PALACES
The shores of the Golden Horn were once lined with defense walls punctuated by a large number of gates to the city. Arriving at the palace by sea, the Byzantine emperors used the Balat Gate, known then as ‘Vasiliki Pili’. This gate stood on the road leading to the Tekfur Saray, the only Byzantine palace still standing today and an annex of the Blachernae Palace as it was known by its old name, as well as to the notorious Anemas Dungeons. The name Balat is said to derive from the word ‘palation’, which means palace in Greek. Quiet and peaceful today, and almost deserted at nightfall, the streets of Balat once bustled at all hours of the day.

Holy Spring of the Virgin Mary
When I stepped into the street leading to Balat from the walls of the Ayvansaray where the tombs of the Sahabe (Companions of the Prophet Muhammed) are located, the first thing I encountered at the gate was the ‘Ayazma’ or Holy Spring of the Virgin Mary. A young priest here is telling visitors about the Golden Horn and Balat. Legend has it that there was once a rock fragment of dazzling whiteness sticking up out of the waters of the Bosphorus, the strait dividing the Asian and European continents, off the coast of Chalcedon. Startled by its brilliance, the pelamydes (the small tuna known in Turkish as ‘palamut’) took refuge at nightfall in the Golden Horn on their migration route from the Black Sea to the Aegean.  So great were their numbers that the entire estuary glowed with their phosphorescence. According to some this is the origin of the name ‘Golden Horn’, while others claim it derives from the sheer abundance of the fish. All the people of Byzantium flocked down to the shore from the gates along the Golden Horn to catch fish there with their bare hands, and behind the walls Palation (Balat) became a scene of great festivity. Although the fish migrations steadily declined, Balat remained the last stop for communities in search of a new home.

DISTRICT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES
Balat has gone down in history as a district of  ethnic minorities. Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition took refuge in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and were settled at Balat, which in those days was a final destination for Jews from all over the place. The altar of the Ahrida Synagogue on Vodina Avenue resembles a ship’s prow. According to one legend, this structure is a fragment of Noah’s ark while according to another it is said to represent the galleons that brought the Jews from Spain to Istanbul. Another of the still active synagogues, located on Düriye Street, Yanbol Synagogue was built by Jews from Bulgaria. Practically every street where Jews lived had it own synagogue in those days.When the sultan on 27 August 1839 issue a firman declaring that ‘every community has a right to build its own hospital’, a hospital was constructed on the coast road to meet the needs of the Jewish population. Due to a lack of sufficient funds to build a hospital, health care previously had been provided at home.  In 1896, today’s magnificent Or-Ahayim Hospital was erected by a well-known architect of the period, Gabriel Tedesci. Continuing along the shore, one encounters the striking Bulgarian Church of Saint Stephen, which rises on an island right in the middle of the road. Rumor has it that this church was built in one month. Since the reigning Sultan Abdulaziz granted only a single month for its construction, it was prefabricated in Vienna of cast iron and shipped by sea to Istanbul where it was then assembled. Being distinguished architecturally as the only church of its kind in the world, it also boasts a unique icon of Jesus and the Virgin Mary whose like is not found in any other church. The Armenian Church of Surp Hreshdagabed in Kamış Street attracts attention for its unusual architecture and its ‘ayazma’ or holy spring. Originally a Greek church, later it was converted into an Armenian church. The bones of Saint Artemios, which were found during a restoration, are on display in the ayazma section underneath the building. There are also numerous Greek churches in the quarter which only open their doors on holidays and other important occasions. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is located in Balat. As we proceed towards it along Vodina Avenue, we see the Greek Boys’ School at the end of the steep intersecting street known as the Sancaktar Yokuş, an imposing, eye-dazzling structure that dominates the quarter from its position on the hill. Next to it stands the Greek Girls’ School where education continues despite a gradually dwindling number of students. Immediately below the school is the house, now converted into a museum, of the Prince of Moldavia, Dimitri Kantemir, who made important contributions to classical Turkish music. When Muslims to began to make their homes here, mosques, dervish lodges, and even an entire mosque complex went up at Balat, where there had been not so much as a ‘mescid’ or small mosque in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror. The best known of these buildings is the Ferruh Kethuda Complex in the street of the same name, designed by the 16th century Ottoman architect known as Mimar Sinan and consisting of a mosque, a dervish lodge, a fountain and court buildings.

BACK TO THE OLD DAYS
Once at Balat the peal of church bells mingled with the drone of prayers rising from the synagogues and the ripple of water in the holy springs. Most of the Jews emigrated to Israel in the 1940′s and in time the other non-Muslim minorities resettled in the more upscale Istanbul districts of Galata, Pera and Şişli. Later Balat continued to offer its traditional hospitality to poor people coming from other areas, including migrants from various parts of Anatolia and even some gypsies who abandoned their nomadic lifestyle to settle here. In recent years, restoration activities have gotten under way in Balat, under the auspices of the European Union in particular, with the aim of recreating its former texture. The old two and three-story houses with their cantilevered balconies are being done up anew, and an effort is being made to restore the streets to their original appearance. But such restoration too brings change in its wake, and Balat is becoming more gentrified by the day. Whether it can return again to the old days is anybody’s guess, but it would seem it is going to continue to be a settlement of diverse communities as time goes on.

Original

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According to the historian Michael Doukas, on the morning of 29 May 1453, the small postern called Kerkoporta was left open by accident, allowing the first fifty or so Ottoman troops to enter the city. The Ottomans raised their banner atop the Inner Wall and opened fire on the Greek defenders of the peribolos below. This spread panic, and began the rout of the defenders and the fall of the city.^[88] In 1864, the remains of a postern located on the Outer Wall at the end of the Theodosian Walls, between tower 96 and the so-called Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, were discovered, and identified by A.G. Paspates with the Kerkoporta. Later scholars, like van Millingen^[89] and Steven Runciman^[90] have accepted this theory as well. However, excavations at the site have uncovered no evidence of a gate in the Inner Wall (now vanished) in that area, and it may be that Doukas’ story is either invention or derived from the earlier legend concerning the Xylokerkos Gate, which several earlier scholars also equated with the Kerkoporta. ^[91]

Theodosian Land Walls, Belgrade Gate/Second Military Gate/Xylokerkos Gate

The Kerkoporta (Greek Κερκόπορτα) was a sally-port along the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, near the bend created by the addition of the Blachernae suburb to the original city. It was through this unattended gate that the first Ottoman troops entered the city, raising their banner atop the tower and beginning the rout of the Christian defenders.

The traditional story is that the gate was inadvertently left unattended, however, recent historians have questioned this point, raising the possibility that some of the city’s population may have decided to surrender, as their situation was hopeless, and purposely let the Turkish soldiers in. This theory is based on the fact that Constantinople’s people were sharply divided over issues such as reconciliation with the Western Church at the time of the city’s fall.

wiki.phantis.com/index.php/Kerkoporta

With Giustiniani’s Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, kept fighting and managed to hold off the attackers for a while. At this point, some historians suggest that the Kerkoporta gate in the Blachernae section had been left unlocked, and the Ottomans soon discovered this mistake.^[48] The Ottomans rushed in. Around the same time, the defenders were being overwhelmed at several points in Constantine’s section. When Turkish flags were seen flying above the Kerkoporta, a panic ensued and the defense collapsed, as Janissary soldiers, led by Ulubatlı Hasan pressed forward. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple regalia, led the final charge against the oncoming Ottomans, dying in the ensuing battle in the streets like his soldiers, although his ultimate fate remains unknown.^[49]

Here, there are two more gates, memorable in history: one is most probably gone, or buried deep in the ground; another is still in place, almost intact. The former is the little GATE of KERKOPORTA, the opening of which was to seal the fate of the Empire; as a large section of walls had been brought down by the bombardment, the soldiers found it difficult to pass into the peribolos without being seen by the Turks. “There were, however, some old men who knew of an under-ground sally-port at the lower end of the Palace (of Porphyrogenitus) that many years before, had been sealed shut. The Emperor commanded that it be opened. The name of this hidden door was Kerkoporta.” ( Doukas) Walking about the vacant land between the inner wall and the palace, which is still standing, I sadly thought of the events that took place here after the opening of the sally-port; when a company of Turkish nobles saw the sally-port open “they leaped inside, climbed to the top of the walls and zealously slew anyone they met…” They then lowered the Emperor’s flag and planted the Sultan’s standard; when those fighting in the outer fortifications looked up and saw the Turkish flag flying on the towers the cry rose that “ the CITY HAS FALLEN ! ” Panic-stricken, they all fled into the city through the GATE OF ADRIANOPLE. The Emperor too fell at his post. From the Gate of Adrianople, which is the second of the gates mentioned above, and through every available breach on the walls, the Turks began to spread into the fallen City.

http://www.istanbulstrolls.com/8h.htm

In this account of  the last conflict Gibbon has omitted a highly important fact which hastened the capture of the city. This fact is not mentioned by Phrantzes; it rests on the authority of Ducas(p. 28o-5) and is confirmeb dy a short statemen ot f Critobulu (si. 6o adfin.).North of the Porta Charseaeso, uthofthe Porta Caligariain, a transverswe ail which connects the inner and outer Theodosia wnalis, thereisa smaUpostern (found by M.Paspatesw)  hichis called the Kerkoport bay Ducas(wrongly?a)n, dwas alwayks epts hut,but had been opened by Giustinianio’s rderfsor the purpose of a possiblesortie.Someof the Greekswhowerefightingin thespace betweetnheinnerandtheoutewr betweetnheinnerandtheoutewr allp, ressedbytheenemyr,etreatetdhrough theKerkoportaan, dfiftyTurksfoUowetdhem, astheyneglectetdoshutthe gate. MoreTurkssoonpressedin,andothersmountedthewalis,captured
thetowerclosetothegate,andsetup theOttomanstandards onthewalls. TheretreatoftheGreeksw, howereoutsidethe innerwall,bytheKerkoportawasnowcutoff, andseeingthe flagsof the foeonthe battlements theythrongedback throughthePortaCharseaew, hichwasthenleft undefendeds, othattheTurkscouldenterbythisgatetoo. TheTurkswho
thuspenetratedseemtohavebetakenthemselveast firstto theharbousride ofthecity,andsometimeelapsedbefore thecombatantsat theGateofSt. Romanus, wherethe fightwasragingmosthotly,learnedwhathadhappened.
Phrantze(swithouetxplainingd)escribetshe arrivaolfthe tidings (p.285). Acrywasheardon theharbourside:”The fortis taken,the standardosf thefoeareon the towersl”ThenConstantinsepurredhis horseintothe thickof the fray.]
atDucaskillshim withtwoblowsof Turkishsoldiers;Chalcondyles woundhsimin theshouldera, ndthentramplehsiminthegate. Thegrief ofPhranzacarrying himamongthe enemyescapesfromthepreciseimage

The section of the Theodosian Walls that adjoins the walls of Blachernae, with the Palace of Porphyrogenitus in the background, as they appear today in suburban Istanbul.

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An image from the Vatican Codex of 1162 believed to be a representation of the Church of the Holy Apostles

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Greek: Άγιοι Απόστολοι – Agioi Apostoloi, Turkish: Havariyyun), also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian basilica built in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) among the great churches of the Eastern Empire. When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Holy Apostles briefly became the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1461, however, it was taken over by the Ottomans and demolished to make way for the Fatih Mosque.

History

The original Holy Apostles was dedicated in about 330 by Constantine the Great, who made Constantinople the capital of the Roman Empire. The church was unfinished when Constantine died in 337, and it was brought to completion by his son and successor Constantius II, who buried his father’s remains there. The church was dedicated to the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and it was the Emperor’s intention to gather relics of all the Apostles in the church. In the event, only relics of Saint Andrew, Saint Luke and Saint Timothy (the latter two not strictly apostles) were acquired, and in later centuries it came to be assumed that the church was dedicated to these three only.

Little is known of the appearance of this church except that it was cross-shaped. The historian Eusebius says that it was a tall building, with porticoes along the four sides, marble walls and a golden roof. In any event by the reign of the Emperor Justinian I the church was no longer considered grand enough, and a new Church of the Holy Apostles was built on the same site. The historian Procopius attributes the rebuilding to Justinian, while the writer known as Pseudo-Codinus attributes it to the Empress Theodora. The second Holy Apostles was consecrated on 28 June 550.

The new church was designed and built by the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus in the form of a Greek cross with five domes: one above each arm of the cross and one above the central bay where the arms intersected. The western arm of the cross extended westward forming the atrium. The relics of Constantine and the three saints were re-installed in the new church, and a mausoleum for Justinian and his family was built at the end of the northern arm.

For more than 700 years the Holy Apostles was the second-most important church in Constantinople, after the basilica of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). But whereas the Holy Wisdom was in the oldest part of the city, the Holy Apostles stood in the centre of the newer part of the much expanded imperial capital, on the great thoroughfare called Mese or Centre Street, and was the busiest church in the city. Most Emperors and many patriarchs and bishops were buried in the church and their relics were venerated by the faithful for centuries.

The most treasured possession of the church were the supposed skulls of Saints Andrew, Luke and Timothy, but the church also held relics of Saint John Chrysostom and other Church Fathers, saints and martyrs. The church also held what was believed to be part of the “Column of Flagellation”, to which Jesus had been bound and flogged. Over the years the church acquired huge amounts of gold, silver and gems donated by the faithful.

The church was renovated and probably enlarged in the 9th century by the Emperor Basil I. In the 10th century Constantine of Rhodes composed a Description of the building of the Apostles in verse, which he dedicated to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The basilica was looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The historian Nicetas Choniates records that the Crusaders plundered the imperial tombs and robbed them of gold and gems. Not even Justinian’s tomb was spared. The tomb of Emperor Heraclius was opened and his golden crown was stolen along with the late Emperor’s hairs still attached on it. Some of these treasures were taken to Venice, where they can still be seen in St Mark’s Basilica.

When Michael VIII Palaeologus recaptured the city from the Crusaders, he erected a statue of the Archangel Michael at the church to commemorate the event, and himself. The church was restored again by Andronicus II Palaeologus in the early 14th century, but thereafter fell into disrepair as the Byzantine Empire declined and Constantinople’s population fell. The Florentine Cristoforo Buondelmonti saw the dilapidated church in 1420.

In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. The Holy Wisdom was seized and turned into a mosque, and the Sultan Mehmed II ordered the Greek Patriarch Gennadius Scholarius to move to the Holy Apostles, which thus became the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church. But the area around the church was soon settled by Turks, and there was increasing hostility to such a large and centrally located building remaining in Christian hands. Gennadius therefore decided to move the Patriarchate to the Church of St Mary Pammakaristos in the main Christian part of the city, the Phanar district.

Rather than convert the Holy Apostles into a mosque, Mehmed decided to demolish it and build a mosque of comparable magnificence on the site. The result was the Fatih Cami (Mosque of the Conqueror), which still occupies the site and houses Mehmed’s tomb.

Appearance

Apart from the illustration shown above, there is no visual record of the Holy Apostles, but St Mark’s Basilica in Venice was partly modelled on it (as was the Cathedrale de Saint Front in Périgeux, although probably more loosely). The 12th century writer Nicholas Mesarites has left a description of the church, of which only parts survive.

Fatih Cami (Mosque of the Conqueror)

—————————————-

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Greek: Άγιοι Απόστολοι – Aghioi Apostoloi), also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian basilica built in Constantinople (then the capital of the Byzantine Empire) in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) among the great churches of the Eastern Empire. When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Holy Apostles briefly became the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1461, however, it was taken over by the Ottomans and demolished to make way for a mosque.

The original Holy Apostles was dedicated in about 330 by Constantine the Great, who made Contantinople the capital of the Roman Empire. The church was unfinished when Constantine died in 337, and it was brought to completion by his son and successor Constantius II, who buried his father’s remains there. The church was dedicated to the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and it was the Emperor’s intention to gather relics of all the Apostles in the church. In the event, only relics of Saint Andrew, Saint Luke and Saint Timothy were acquired, and in later centuries it came to be assumed that the church was dedicated to these three only.

Little is known of the appearance of this church except that it was cross-shaped. The historian Eusebius says that it was a tall building, with porticoes along the four sides, marble walls and a golden roof. In any event by the reign of the Emperor Justinian I the church was no longer considered grand enough, and a new Church of the Holy Apostles was built on the same site. The historian Procopius attributes the rebuilding to Justinian, while the writer known as Pseudo-Codinus attributes it to the Empress Theodora. The second Holy Apostles was consecrated on 28 June 550.

The new church was designed and built by the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus in the form of a Greek cross with five domes: one above each arm of the cross and one above the central bay where the arms intersected. The western arm of the cross extended westward forming the atrium. The relics of Constantine and the three Apostles were re-installed in the new church, and a mausoleum for Justinian and his family was built at the end of the northern arm.

For more than 700 years the Holy Apostles was the second-most important church in Constantinople, after the basilica of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). But whereas the Holy Wisdom was in the oldest part of the city, the Holy Apostles stood in the centre of the newer part of the much expanded imperial capital, on the great thoroughfare called Mese or Centre Street, and was the busiest church in the city. Most Emperors and many patriarchs and bishops were buried in the church and their relics were venerated by the faithful for centuries.

The most treasured possession of the church were the supposed skulls of Saints Andrew, Luke and Timothy, but the church also held relics of Saint John Chrysostom and other Church Fathers, saints and martyrs. The church also held what was believed to be part of the “Column of Flagellation”, to which Jesus had been bound and flogged. Over the years the church acquired huge amounts of gold, silver and gems donated by the faithful.

The church was renovated and probably enlarged in the 9th century by the Emperor Basil I. In the 10th century Constantine of Rhodes composed a Description of the building of the Apostles in verse, which he dedicated to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The basilica was looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The historian Nicetas Choniates records that the Crusaders plundered the imperial tombs and robbed them of gold and gems. Not even Justinian’s tomb was spared. Some of these treasures were carted off to Venice, where they can still be seen in St Mark’s Basilica. When Michael VIII Palaeologus recaptured the city from the Crusaders, he erected a statue of the Archangel Michael at the church to commemorate the event, and himself. The church was restored again by Andronicus II in the early 14th century, but thereafter fell into disrepair as the Byzantine Empire declined and Constantinople’s population fell. The Florentine Cristoforo Buondelmonti saw the dilapidated church in 1420.

In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. The Holy Wisdom was seized and turned into a mosque, and the Sultan Mehmed II ordered the Greek Patriarch Gennadius Scholarius to move to the Holy Apostles, which thus became the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church. But the area around the church was soon settled by Turks, and there was increasing hostility to such a large and centrally located building remaining in Christian hands. Gennadius therefore decided to move the Patriarchate to the Church of St Mary Pammakaristos in the main Christian part of the city, the Phanar district.

Rather than convert the Holy Apostles into a mosque, Mehmed decided to demolish it and build a mosque of comparable magnificence on the site. The result was the Fatih Cami (Mosque of the Conqueror), which still occupies the site and houses Mehmed’s tomb. Apart from the illustration shown above, there is no visual record of the Holy Apostles, but St Mark’s Basilica in Venice is partly modelled on it. The 12th century writer Nicholas Mesarites has left a description of the church (see external link), of which only parts survive.

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Church of the Virgin of Blachernae (Istanbul)

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The Church of Panagia Blachernae (full name in Greek: Θεοτòκος τών Βλαχερνών (pr. Theotókos tón Blachernón); Turkish name: Meryem Ana Kilisesi) is located in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Ayvansaray, along Mustafa Paşa Bostanı Sokak. It lies a few hundred meters inside the walled city, at a short distance from the shore of the Golden Horn. The building is protected by a high wall, and preceded by a garden.

History

The church is near the northern tip of the walls of Theodosius built by the Empress Pulcheria (ca. 450-453), and her husband, Emperor Marcian (450-457). They had the church built on the site of a sacred spring, which was a place of pilgrimage near the shore of the Golden Horn (known as Ayvansaray today). Inside is now the best known and most celebrated sanctuary to the Virgin Mary in Constantinople. Emperor Leo I (457-474) completed the church by adding the “Hagiasma” ^[1]. ^[2]He also built the “Hagion Lousma” ^[3].

Emperor Leo I also built the circular pareklision Hagia Soros (chapel), next to the church to contain the holy robe and girdle of the Virgin Mary, brought from Palestine in 458 (or 473). The chapel of the Virgin’s robe was covered in silver and considered a “reliquary of architectural dimensions.” Lay people were not allowed inside but could pray in the main church.^[4] This very shrine housed the miracle-working icon of the Blachernitissa.

In 625-626, Constantinople was attacked by the Avards. Emperor Heraclius (575-641) campaigned against the Persians, however, the icon was carried in a procession along the city walls and so the saving of the city was attributed to the intervention of the Theotokos. In order to protect the sanctuary, and the city from such a siege, Leo I added the famous quarter of Blachernae in 627, with its venerated church, whose image was now considered the palladium of Constantinople. The circumference of the walls were then, and still are, eleven to twelve miles. By this stage, the church of Blachernae had around 75 endowed clerics.

During the iconoclastic period, and according to tradition, the icon disappeared and was then found hidden behind a wall during renovation works in 1030.

The church was burnt down in 1070 and rebuilt by the year 1077 either by Romanos IV Diogenes (1067-78) or Michael VII (1071-87) and then destroyed again by fire in 1434. The church, at this stage, was connected to the Palace of Blachernae by a stairway. After the fire, nothing remained of the fire apart from the Sacred Spring.

In 1867, the modern church was built and further additions have since been made to the structure. It is said, that the Akathistos was first chanted at this location and a special marble plaque, inscribed with the Akathistos verse, a celebrated Byzantine hymn, to the Theotokos, has now been placed above the Hagiasma. In addition, there are four wall paintings by the famous painter Eirenarchos Covas (1964)

To this very day, the spring is reputed to have therapeutic powers. Also associated with the history of this shrine is:

• the history of the Palace of Blachernae;
• the history of the Monastery of the Hodegetria
• the icon, the Panagia Hagiosoritissa.^[5];
• a procession, originating from the time of the Patriarch Timotheos [511-18]—the “panhgur j”—which would take place every Friday from Blachernai to the Church of the Chalkoprateia, near Hagia Sophia, at the other end of the city.^[6];
• the Eastern Council of Blachernae (Constantinople) in 1285. At this council, a significant statement was produced addressing the theological issue of the ‘Filioque’. Despite the concern of Byzantine theologians to oppose the idea of the Filioque and its addition to the creed, there is no reference to it in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy ^[7];
• the original icon of Tikhvin (Hodegetria), painted by the Holy Apostle Luke and kept in the Church of Blachernae for about five hundred years. It was sent to Russia in 1383, before the fall of Constantinople. It is said that fishermen saw it surrounded in lights over the Lake of Ladoga in Russia. The icon was later found on the bank of the Tikhvin River and was placed in the local church. Recently, the icon was kept in Chicago and returned to Russia.

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http://www.meandertravel.com/istanbultours/istanbul_tours.php?details=mihrimahsultanmosque&m=2&md=sc2

Architect Sinan designed this mosque after 1557, for Mihrimah Sultan, Sultan Suleyman’s daughter. This mosque is unprecedented with its supporting system and dome (19 m.). Four arches that spring from four piers hold up the dome, which has an astonishing height (35 m.). There are very narrow, domed aisles on the east and west sides of the building. These aisles do not lend a support to the covering system.

In addition to this drawback in the supporting system, the four tympana (:walls filling the arches) are excessively fenestrated through three layers of windows (19 windows in each), which render the walls transparent curtains. The qibla wall below the southern tympanum also contains windows. On the inside, two rows of double granite columns bear the thrust of the eastern and western tympana.

They also separate aisles from the domed central area. On the other hand, the southern and northern tympana are not buttressed any way. The outcome of this constructional drawback is an elegant structure, which looks like a crystalline ball, hung to ropes fastened on sticks. This effect is more apparent on the inside, which is abundantly lit with sunlight during daytime. This mosque reminds another exceptional building, Hagia Sophia Church, which contains a huge dome placed on

a basilica. This junction is a real challenge to structural canons, which necessitate a gable roof on top of an oblong basilica. In Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, the fenestration in the walls and the heavy dome calls for a bulky buttressing system, which is absent. In both examples, architects challenged established rules and created extraordinarily lit and ample spaces below the dome.

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Taste Turkish coffee heated on coals:

Nevi Cafe is located in Ayakapı. It was used as a police station during the Ottoman Empire and was later restored to its authentic character. Attracting customers with its view of the Golden Horn and fascinating decor, the cafe is especially popular for its Turkish coffee, which is heated on coals. A visit to the past and an amazing cup of coffee await guests at the cafe.

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In recent years, many restaurants, cafes and hotels have replaced Turkish coffee with coffee made by automatic machines. International coffee shop chains appeal to young people, making espressos more popular than Turkish coffee.

A group of people who love to drink coffee and are disturbed by the diminishing popularity of Turkish coffee set up the Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Foundation last year. The chairman of the foundation is Atom Damalı, its members include people who contribute a great deal to the sector such as Ahmet Örs, Mehmet Aksel, Merve Gürsel, Osman Serim, Semir Orcan and Ali Sözmen. The mission of the foundation is to set up a standard of how to make Turkish coffee and give it the global attention it deserves. The foundation is also planning to write a book and film a comprehensive documentary on Turkish coffee.

Where did Turkish coffee come from?

Coffee, which is a crop native to Ethiopia, spread to the Arabian Peninsula, especially Yemen, after the 11th century. In 1517, Yemen Governor Özdemir Pasha fell in love with the drink when he was introduced to it and brought it to İstanbul. But the Turks changed the method of preparing coffee by using copper vessels called güğüms and coffee pots called cezves. Coffee made through this method eventually became known as Turkish coffee. Coffeehouses, the first of which opened in Tahtakale and quickly spread across the city, introduced locals to Turkish coffee. Sipping coffee and listening to poetry, literature and recitations from books at coffeehouses became a popular social activity during that time. News of the delicious coffee spread to Europe — and from there, to the rest of the world — with Ottoman messengers and merchants and travelers passing through İstanbul. Initially, Turkish coffee was made without sugar. Instead, it was customary to eat or drink something sweet before or after drinking coffee. But today, Turkish coffee is made either plain or with different amounts of sugar depending on taste.

Where to drink Turkish coffee

Coffee with an amazing view:

Located on the hills of Eyüp, with an amazing view of the Golden Horn, the Pierre Loti Cafe is a popular venue for those who want to escape the city. The cafe can be reached by walking up stairs passing through the cemetery located next to the Eyüp Sultan mosque. If you sit near the very front, you can see an amazing view of the Golden Horn before you and sip a delicious cup of coffee. The cafe gets its name from famous French author Pierre Loti, who lived between 1850 and 1923. As a naval officer, Loti came to Turkey in 1876 and stayed for a year. It was during that same year that he discovered the historical coffee on the hills of Eyüp. Ever since then, the cafe on that hill has been called Pierre Loti.

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www.timeoutistanbul.com/english/5077/provincial_foods_in_istanbul

Nicola Prentis goes on a tour of Turkey’s regional foods without leaving Istanbul.

In a country as vast as Turkey, with as long a history and, nowadays, seven borders, it is no wonder that the different regions have developed such distinct yet overlapping cuisines.  Cuisines are shaped by what each area produces, which is a result of the geographical influence on agriculture and what is easily available. For example, harsh mountainous conditions in the Black Sea make raising livestock difficult so local dishes feature predominantly fish.  Spices and dried fruits abound in South Eastern Anatolia cooking as it borders Arab countries and the Ottoman Sultans controlled the Spice Routes, while further North flavours are less complex.  Even apparent anomalies can be explained this way.  Adana, on the Mediterranean coast where fish might be expected, is famous for kebab.  The Adana kebab takes its influence from Urfa, in a less spicy incarnation, as it is further from the Syrian border and not on the Spice Road.

Finding all this out on a culinary tour of Turkey could take years, cover thousands of miles and still miss some hidden local food but luckily some of the mountains have come to Mohammed. If you think about the massive influxes of Turkish people from all the  corners of Anatolia, it’s not surprising that Istanbul has the best stocked larder with every cuisine represented and expert cooks to prepare it.  In restaurants in the dishes’ hometowns, the regional specialties are often noticeable by their absence as, typically, women cook at home and families don’t tend to dine out.  So, unless invited into people’s homes, the traveller can end up with major döner and pide fatigue wondering how Turkish cuisine earned its reputation as one of the world’s most renowned.  To try regional cuisines in Turkey, the visitor might be best served doing a gastronomic tour right here.  Here’s our guide to what to look for and where to get it.

Cibalikapı Balıkçısı
Kadir Has Caddesi (Kadir Has University)5, Cibali
0212 533 2846
A nostalgic restaurant with wooden floor, chairs and tables and old Turkish songs. Various grasses, seafood, mussel pilaki, special octopus sauce, mussels with parmesan and meatier greens from Çanakkale called kaya koruğu. Recommended: vine leaf wrapped sea bass.

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The Cinili Hamam is the most eminent hamam located on Itfaiye Street in Istanbul’s Fatih district. It was built by Mimar Sinan during the second quarter of the 16th century to generate revenue for the Hayrettin Paşa Madrasah and its tomb. The Hamam is also called “The Zeyrek Çinili Hamam” and “The Hayrettin Paşa Hamam.” It took its present name from the İznik tiles covering its walls which have not made it to the present day. After two large fires in 1782 and 1833, it was repaired and transfered to an individual owner.

The camekan of the double-bath styled Cinili Bath is not in contradiction with Classical Ottoman architecture; it is covered by a large dome.  There is a pool with a fountain in the middle of the camekan, which is thought to have been a gift by the Shar of Iran. A court surrounded by small individual changing rooms and covered by a dome has been established in the middle of the hamam. The changing rooms of the hamam are located upstairs and they passfrom the camekan into the ılıklık (lukewarm section) which is covered by an arched roof. Later, four keseliks, a type of bathing cabin used for exfoliating the skin, have been added to the ılıklık. From the ılıklık, one continues to the harare (hot section) through a passageway. While walking through the passageway, a bathroom covered by five domes draws the attention of visitors.There are four halvets (a very hot bathing cubicle within the bath), three sofas (halls), and a marble plinth (göbek taşı). There are also two verses, each written in Persian, on the doors of halvet.

Kese = coarse bath-glove for washing the body. Wash Cloth

The Cinili Hammam

For Charles White, writing in the early 1840s, the “Tchinelly Hammam” was “one of the neatest and most picturesque in the city”. Zeyrek, close to the imperial Fatih Mosque and the Valencian Aqueduct, was a fashionable quarter with handsome wooden houses and views to the Golden Horn.
Today it is a rough-and-tumble area, whose houses are home to poor immigrants from the east, and the baths are shabby, if picturesque. Gone is the portico that shaded the entrances to the men’s and women’s baths. In its place butchers hang goats’ carcases. But, inside, Sinan’s domes and geometry still work their magic.

Sinan built the baths in the 1540s for Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, known to the West as Barbarossa, a former corsair who became the first naval commander to be honoured by the Sultan with the title of Grand Admiral and Governor-General of the Islands. The navy was close to Sinan’s heart: in winter, while the Janissaries rested, it was the skilled galley slaves who did his building work – many earned their freedom when projects were completed.

In the “hot room”, a few of the tiles that gave the hammam its name can still be seen: panels of hexagonal Iznik tiles, their glaze encrusted with lime from dripping whitewash, and a row of tiles inscribed with lines of sensual Persian verse comparing the “beauties” therein to those of paradise.
The Çinili is a classic double hammam, for men and women. Leading back from the street is a sequence of domed halls, side by side: first the disrobing halls, then a wide, warm anteroom, and finally a hot room, marvellously austere but for the delicate pie-crust arches that support the dome and vaults. Nearby there was a deep well, filled in long ago, from which the water for the hammam was drawn by horses. But behind the baths you will still find the chambers of the külhanbey, the legendary league of stokers.

Çinili Hammam, Itfaiye Cad 46, Zeyrek, Fatih, Istanbul (tel: 00 90 212 631 8883)

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Tulumba Dessert (Fluted Deep Fried Flitters in Thick Syrup)

Tulumba is a type of dessert. It is made from unleavened dough lump (about 5cm long) given a small ovoid shape with ridges along it using an ‘icing’ bag with a special nozzle.

It is first deep-fried to golden color and then sugar-sweet syrup poured over it when still hot. It is eaten cold. This dessert is consumed throughout the Balkans and originates from Anatolia.

Tulumbacilar street in Alibeykoy is where you can find many stores lined up providing Tulumba’s. The neighbourhood is off the beaten path but depending on your sweet tooth it might be worth the visit.

http://www.meshurbalkantulumba.com/

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Back in 1871, when this Gothic Revival cast-iron church was constructed from pieces shipped down the Danube and across the Black Sea from Vienna on 100 barges, the idea was novel to say the least. It’s hard to say which is the more unusual: the building and its interior fittings – all made completely of cast iron – or the history of its congregation.

During the 19th century, ethnic nationalism swept through the Ottoman Empire. Each of the empire’s many ethnic groups wanted to rule its own affairs. Groups identified themselves on the basis of language, religion and racial heritage. This sometimes led to problems, as with the Bulgars.

Originally a Turkic-speaking people, the Bulgars came from the Volga in about AD 680 and overwhelmed the Slavic peoples living in what is today Bulgaria. They adopted the Slavic language and customs, and founded an empire that threatened the power of Byzantium. In the 9th century they were converted to Christianity.

The Orthodox Patriarch, head of the Eastern church in the Ottoman Empire, was an ethnic Greek; in order to retain as much power as possible, the patriarch was opposed to any ethnic divisions within the Orthodox church. He put pressure on the sultan not to allow the Bulgarians, Macedonians and Romanians to establish their own religious groups.

The pressures of nationalism became too great, however, and the sultan was finally forced to recognise some sort of religious autonomy for the Bulgars. He established not a Bulgarian patriarchate, but an ‘exarchate’, with a leader supposedly of lesser rank, yet independent of the Greek Orthodox patriarch. In this way the Bulgarians would achieve their desired ethnic recognition and would get out from under the dominance of the Greeks, but the Greek Patriarch would allegedly suffer no diminution of his glory or power. St Stephen’s functioned as the main church of the Bulgarian exarch.

Architectural historians believe that the cast-iron building, based on a design by the Ottoman architect Housep Aznavour (1853-1935), replaced an earlier timber church on the site. Its interior, which features screens, a balcony and columns all cast from iron, is extremely beautiful, with the gilded iron glinting in the hazy light that filters in through stained-glass windows.

If the church isn’t open, see if you can find the caretaker who lives on the grounds – he’s usually happy to open the gate and let you in exchange for a tip.

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http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/GoldenHorn/BulgarChurch.html

Though it looks like stone, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church of St. Stephen of the Bulgars, on the Golden Horn in Balat, is made of cast iron.

It was was cast in Vienna, floated down the Danube on 100 barges, and bolted together here in Istanbul in 1871.

This was the cathderal church of the Bulgarian Exarch, a title and position invented by the Ottoman sultan when, in the later 1800s, the sultan’s Bulgarian subjects demanded to be emancipated from the authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch.

At this time of ethnic nationalism, the Bulgarians claimed, with justification, that the patriarch favored Greeks over Bulgars even though both were orthodox Christians.

The “palace” of the Bulgarian Exarch was the building right across the street from the church. It’s hardly palatial, especially today.

The church is still used for services by Istanbul‘s small, dwindling community of Bulgarian orthodox residents.

To visit the church interior you must find the caretaker, not an easy task as there are no formal visiting hours. Sunday morning, when services are held, may be the best time

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_St._Stephen_Church

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At the point where the Theodosian land walls join the older wall of the Blachernai, in the later middle ages a palace was built across the space between the main and front wall. This building is the only remaining part of the palaces in the Blachernai region. Usually it is dated in the late 13th century and identified with the Palace of Constantine Porphyrogennetos, a son of Michael VIII Palaiologos. However, it is possible that the 13th century building uses parts of older constructions. For this reason, and because the façade with its decorative brick settings is definitely one of the best works among the few pieces of secular architecture that have survived, we decided to include it here.

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The Blakhernai Palaces, known today as Tekfur Palace, was built by the Byzantines in the 12th century and used as an imperial residence until the Conquest of Constantinople in the 15th century. The palace complex was built next to the city walls at the ancient Blakherna district, in todays Egrikapi neighborhood near Kariye (old church of St. Savior in Chora). The area was one of the seven hills of the old city. The cellars of the palace, known as Anemas Dungeons, were also built next to the walls a little bit further north, just near Ivaz Efendi Mosque.

During the Byzantine period, Tekfur palace was also known as Constantine Porphyrogenetus Palace. It was a pavilion of the Blakhernai Palace complex. The pavilion had three floors with a wooden roof and wooden floors, and was used by the emperor during his visits to the Theotokos church where the mantle of Virgin Mary was kept. The pavilion was enlarged during the reign of Manuel Komnenos I in the 12th century and became a summer residence for the Byzantine emperors.

After the Conquest of Constantinople until today, it was named as Tekfur palace and was used as a storage, stable, bottle blowing factory, ceramics atelier, and so on.

Today, one can see the façade of the Tekfur palace and the remains of four walls. It has a rectangular plan. Outer walls, arches and window frames of the palace are decorated with stones and bricks. If you follow the walls to the direction of the Golden Horn, you can reach to the Anemas Dungeons as well. At the moment these tunnels and halls are being cleaned so it’s not open to the public, it can be visited only by a special permission.

Hope to see you soon in Istanbul.

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Constantinople’s last extant Byzantine imperial palace, is just a shell, but it gives a fine idea of what the emperor’s residence might have looked like in Byzantine times.

Built into the city walls only a short walk from the Kariye Museum (Chora Church), this Palace of Constantine Porphyrogenetus (called in Turkish Tekfur Sarayi, ‘Emperor’s Palace’) probably adjoined the larger Blachernae Palace. It was constructed during the late 1200s or early 1300s for Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetus (‘Born to the Purple,’ ie, to wear the color reserved for the emperor).

After the Ottoman conquest (1453) it served as part of the sultan’s menagerie, later as a brothel, then as a pottery workshop and a poorhouse before being abandoned in the later 1700s.

It was closed for extensive restorations in 2006.

http://www.byzantium1200.com/tekfur.html

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DISTRICT HISTORY

Surrounded by Byzantine city walls from the 5th century AD to the west, the Golden Horn to the north, Fener and Balat districts are located on the historic peninsula of Istanbul. Once a focal point of the social and cultural lives of Greeks, Armenians and Jews, the Fener and Balat districts are presently inhabited by a mostly Muslim population that immigrated from other cities and rural areas.

Today, Fener and Balat districts look like dilapidated areas and face the danger of total ruin. Some buildings are already in ruins and about 20% of the construction is in poor condition. Out of the 1401 lots on the selected perimeter, there are 102 unoccupied lots (7%), 68 vacant buildings (5.4%) and 124 partially empty ones (9.7%). One of the reasons for this impoverishment is the move of naval industry from the Golden Horn to Tuzla. After then, the social and economic condition of the inhabitants worsened as well as the situation of the buildings. Due to low rents, Fener and Balat districts continue to hold a key position in the adaptation to the urban environment of a population that is poor and lacking the economic resources to carry out the necessary repair and maintenance of the architectural structure.

Many of the residents have no access to proper urban services. Sanitary equipment and health services are cruelly lacking and tuberculosis and hepatitis B are frequent among children. In winter, heavy seasonal rains and poor drainage cause flooding. The population’s standard of education is extremely low; almost a fifth of the women (1998 and 2004 socio-economic surveys) are illiterate and many children drop out of school or attend only intermittently after the age of 12.

Fener
Because of the location of the Greek Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church, Fener was dominantly a Greek neighbourhood since the Byzantine period. In the 17th century, Fener became the residence of upper classes and the bourgeoisie with its hewn stone buildings and richly ornamented house facades. During the Ottoman period, an important segment of Greeks who lived in Fener, who were well-educated and fluent in several languages, held high government positions as interpreters or diplomats. During the 18th century, the majority of new constructions were made of stone or wood; and aristocratic Greek families started to build villas around the Patriarchate.

However, the settlement structure changed in the 19th century: Prominent families of Fener left the neighbourhood and moved to villages along the Bosphorus, such as Tarabya, Kurucesme and Arnavutkoy. Only officials, artisans and small traders were left behind and they moved to the unique row houses of the district. They started to build on the plots reclaimed from the fire. Until the 1960s, Fener preserved its identity as a Greek neighbourhood. With the first wave of immigrants to the bourgeois neighbourhoods of Istanbul (the Prince’s Islands, Kadikoy and Sişli) at the end of the 19th century, the population structure started to change radically. After a second wave, when the Greeks left Istanbul in large numbers in the 1960s. The deterioration of the characteristic seashore as a result of industrialization had an impact on Fener as well. Following the 1960s, new inhabitants arriving from the Black Sea region started to settle in the area in large numbers.

This coastal area underwent some very important physical changes in recent decades. A large number of the 18th century stone buildings in Fener and the buildings along the Golden Horn including the Balat Dock were demolished with bulldozers as part of a wide ranging program directed by the Mayor between 1984 and 1987. This project left intact only the city walls on the coast and a few historic buildings outside these walls.

Efforts to transform these areas into parks or other public space could not be achieved. The parks on the seashore are cut from the neighbourhood by a road with heavy traffic and inhabitants still need public or green space.

Balat
Balat is known as a Jewish quarter–with a small Armenian population– dating back to the Byzantine period. Balat’s winding streets provided a meeting ground for navigators, seafarers, street vendors and porters. Following the earthquake of 1894 and a series of fires that affected not only the neighbourhood but whole city of Istanbul, the social structure of Balat underwent significant changes: The wealthiest section of the inhabitants left the district and moved to Galata, which is the current location of the Jewish institutions including the Chief Rabbinate and major synagogues. The emigration followed and one fourth of the population of Balat left for Israel after its establishment. After this time, the Jewish population was reduced to a minority in Balat, and a new wave of immigrants arrived from the towns of the Black Sea region, especially from Kastamonu. After the 1960s, the economic situation of Jewish residents of Balat improved and moved to Sişli. The result was the transformation of the urban structure of Balat due to the heavy influx of newcomers, especially a further group of working class people who were attracted by job prospects and the rather low rent.

Urban and Architectural Characteristics of the Districts
Today, Fener and Balat are squeezed between city walls dating from the Byzantine period and hills surrounding the region in the other directions. The districts are not attractive because of the low visibility of the district seen from the transit road and a lack of parking facilities.

Fener and Balat are designed according to a unique road plan where a continuing array of streets intersects one another at perpendicular angles. The urban structure of the district is rather peculiar and can be traced to the division of plots following the fires that damaged the districts. The architectural uniqueness of the districts can be traced from the religious buildings and the facades projecting a harmonious view because of the bow windows.

The height of buildings in the districts varies between one and four storeys Over half of the buildings date to the pre-1930 period and give the district its characteristic atmosphere. Following these buildings in order of importance are those built between 1930 and 1950, which continue this architectural characteristics but at the same time reflect the interesting features of the time period.

http://www.fenerbalat.org/

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After about two hours of exploring, getting lost a bit, I suddenly rounded a corner on the top of a hill and there it was—the Özel Fener Rum Lisesi (Fener Greek Private School), the monster redbrick wonder. I was speechless. It so took my breath away, I dropped my raisin cookie. This stellar example of ornate 19th century architecture is exactly the kind that satisfies my need for historical detail, colour, whimsy, and grandeur. Built in 1881, it’s still a fully operational boys’ primary school. It’s also a magical and majestic reminder of an era in which education occupied such a lofty position.

Theory of Balat’s Utopian Marvel

So now I’m back to the question: why is Fener/Balat a place that established an almost Utopian level of tolerance and inclusiveness? I believe such a mix of cultures, religions and ethnicities could live peacefully side-by-side because it had nothing to do with who they were or where they came from. It was because the architecture is on a human scale—nothing above four stories. No one could live in a penthouse, above it all, looking down. As a result, psychologically, everyone was the on same level. Equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of their neighbours. Would that it could continue like that, in Balat or anywhere.

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Fener:
Saint Stephen’s Cast Iron Bulgarian Church: no real street address, but it’s easily seen from the shore road just north of the Fener bus stop.
Irfan Pulcu’s decorator whatnot shop: intersection of Vodina Caddesi and Tahtaminare Mah. Antiques, old kaftans, beautiful hand-made pillows, bric-a-brac, a cat and her four kittens. Drop in for tea.
Özel Fener Rum Lisesi: Sancaktar Yokuşu 36. Truly a marvel to see.

Balat:
Penelope Art Gallery: Leblebciler Sokak 38. (0)212 534 93 89 Ceramic and mosaic objects d’art, old and new.
Kastamonu Sultan Köftecisi: Leblebciler Sokak 14. Simple home cookin’ and no loud music blasting. Owner is actually from Kastamonu, and the walls are covered with detailed maps of that region.

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FORTY years ago the hills descending from the Blue Mosque in Istanbul were crowded with traditional Ottoman wooden houses, picturesquely cascading down to the Sea of Marmara. Today almost all have been replaced by concrete blocks. The race is on to save the last of them.

One group survives around the mosque of Süleyman the Great. Another, still more embattled, group is clustered around the Zeyrek mosque established in the Byzantine Pantokrator church, the burial place of the last Comnenan Emperors. The importance of both areas was recognised by their inclusion in the World Heritage listing for Istanbul — though all the houses shown in the nomination dossier of a typical Zeyrek street have been demolished since the listing was published in 1985.

The appeal of Istanbul’s wooden hillside houses lies in the harmony that comes from consistent use of boarding, bay windows, shallow roofs and deep, overhanging eaves. Added to that is the typically Turkish desire to gain a view of the street, however slanted, and a prospect over rooftops down to the sea. Hence the kiosk-like top storeys of some houses. In the 1960s the travel writer Michael Pereira described the view from one house across to the Süleyman Mosque: “Grey, remote, triumphant, its crested pinnacles flashing gold in the sun. To the south the minarets of Sehzade above the arches of the aqueduct; to the north a sweep of blue water beneath the hill of Galata.”

Most of the Zeyrek houses were built between 1800 and 1840 and now many appear in the last stages of decay. Often they are occupied by migrants from southeast Turkey who lack the funds to make repairs. All is not lost, however. In December 2003 the Save Our Roofs campaign was launched by the Turkish Timber Association with an endorsement from Unesco. Initially focusing on Zeyrek, it aims to repair the roofs of 50 houses at a cost of $2,000 each. The first restoration project started last month with funds from Siemens.

A second project, funded by the World Heritage Committee, will start shortly. The Zeyrek Cultural Association has commissioned David Michelmore, a British expert on timber construction, to draw up specifications for repairs. He says: “Externally many of these houses look in a most dreadful state. Inside we have found that the main frames, which are usually oak, are often in quite good condition. In addition, many of the houses retain wooden ceilings with good mouldings and wooden panelling. Some retain bed cupboards where beds were folded away during the day.”

The tradition of timber houses stems from the great earthquake of 1509. Timber houses were quick to construct and are at less risk of collapse during earthquakes (hence their use in San Francisco). Michelmore continues: “The great danger came from fire — not that timber houses catch fire more easily than masonry ones, but because streets were narrow and houses close together.”

Ali Sirri Oren, president of the Zeyrek Cultural Association, says: “The costs of repairs and improvements are considerable but not more than building new houses. Economies can be achieved if we can secure a deal with the Ministry of Forestry to supply the oak.”

According to Michelmore, the timber was imported in the 19th century, mainly from the Balkans via the Black Sea, and numerous small ships carrying timber are still to be seen sailing down the Bosphorus.

Detailed surveys have been drawn up of most of the houses, with excellent input from Istanbul Technical University. Two thirds of residents, many of whom are owner-occupiers, would like to stay if the houses can be improved, and some owners are moving back to historic districts where the EU is helping to fund improvements.

Istanbul’s authorities are also beginning to recognise the importance of protecting the city’s traditional domestic architecture as well as its great By-zantine and Islamic monuments. It is to be hoped that central government will follow suit. If a serious start can be made next year there is hope that other groups of timber houses will be rescued, both inside and outside the walled city.

www.zeyrek.org.tr
www.ahsap.com/gallery/album13

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History of the Pantokrator Monastery – Zeyrek Djami

above: The Pantokrator from an early 20th century picture showing the three churches with their respective apses.

Many people date the beginning of the Byzantine Empire to the year of the founding of Constantinople of “New Rome” by the Emperor Constantine in the year 324 AD. The name “Byzantine Empire” is a recent creation, the inhabitants of this empire identified themselves as Romans or just Christians. Throught the years this empire grew and retreated in size as it was attacked by outside enemies east and west. In 1017 this empire suffered one of its worse setbacks when the Emperor Romanos Diogenes was defeated in battle by Turkish armies which had broken through the eastern frontiers. This setback allowed the penetration into the heartland of the Empire, Anatolia, by Islamic warriors who spearheaded the emigration of Muslim nomadic tribes.

above: Panel from Hagia Sophia showing John II and his wife Irene flanking the Virgin and Child. John and Irene, a blond Hungarian Princess, were the founders of the Pantokrator.

This crisis ended a long period of domination of Byzantium by a civil adminstration and lead to the overthrow of the current Emperor in Constantinople by Alexis Comnenos who placed his own provincial military aristrocratic family, the Comneni, in control with him as Emperor. The dynasty he created ruled the Empire from 1081-1204.

This period saw a broad economic regeneration and the recovery of a great part of Anatolia from the Muslim invaders. This recovery was not to prove lasting and the seeds of the destruction of the Empire and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Artistically and culturally the Comnenian period was marked by acceptance of outside influences – particularly from the west – and a renaissance of centuries-old traditions. Increasing prosperity and self-confidence lead the Comnenian Emperors to build new palaces, churches and other builkdings in the capital city of Constantinople

above: View looking into the apse of the south church. The Muslim minbar – pulpit – can be seen on the right had corner of the apse. This pulpit was made from the original canopied altar of the church.

One of their chief foundations was the complex of Monastery of the Pantokrator (Ruler of all), which was dedicated to Chist and stood on a hill overlooking the ancient aqueduct of Valens near the geographical center of the city. There are three interconnected churches. The first building was constructed by the Empress Irene between 1118 – 1124. This was the largest church and it was richly decorated with mosaics and rare marbles. Shortly thereafter a large church was built alongside the first one to the South and it was dedicated it to the Vigin Eleosa – “Mercy”. Finally, a wide space between the two churches was vaulted over by two domes and transformed into an Imperial mausoleum dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel.

above: Looking northward from the large south church, through the mausoleum into the Church of the Virgin of Mercy.

The large south church is one of the largest churches built during the middle ages in Constantinople with a nave 52 feet square and a dome 23 feet across. The survivial of so many huge cathedrals in the capital, like Hagia Sophia and Holy Apostles, made the further construction of big churches unnecessary. The pietism of the time and the preference for smaller, community monastic churches also dictated a more intimate size.

above: Northwestern view from the Masoleum into the Church of the Vigin of Mercy

The splendid interiors of all three churches were must remarked upon in the Middle Ages. The Comnenian Emperors and their wives lavished money and gifts on the monastery, which was covered in golden mosaic, rich marble veneer, precious metals and semi-precious stones. Even the floor was inlaid with a fantastic opus sectile rinceau carpet of carved, colored marbles depicting mythological scenes, hunters and animals. Fragments of stained glass set in lead found in the church indicate the windows of the apse were set with figures of Christ, the Virgin and possibly other saints.

above: Plan of the three churches, The Church of the Virgin is on the left, the Mausoleum of St. Michael and the Pantokrator Church is on the right.

The mausoleum church contained many relics, including the stone upon which, it was claimed, Christ had been annointed after his crucifixion. This mausoleum was filled with the marble tombs of Emperors and Empresses and it’s iconostasis was said to have been encrusted with gold enamels and gems.

The church was founded as a hospital and their were many beds along with nurses and doctors attached to the monastery. It was also a center of learning and art. The founding document for the monastery – its Typicon – survives and outlines all its social functions in detail.

In 1204 the city of Constantinople fell to the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade after a series of vast and horrible fires set by the Crusaders. These conflagrations leveled large swaths of the city and consumed art treasures and books created and gathered over 900 years by the Byzantines. This included some of the greatest works of antiquity and a vast part of Western civilization went up in flames. Catholic looters spread throughout the city to snatch what was left and the booty was thought to be the greatest ever seen.

The soldiers from France, Italy, and all across Europe did not spare the churches of their brother Christians, they stripped them bare of their valuables. The Pantokrator was attacked and looted. The tombs of the Emperoros and Empresses were opened and their bodies were stripped. Monks and nuns were murdered and raped. Tens of thousands perished.

above: The Pala d’Oro from St. Mark’s in Venice. Many of the enamels and gems from the huge altarpiece are siad to come from the Pantokrator Monastery.

The Venetians claimed the Pantokrator as part of their booty and occupied the complex until the latins were ousted from the city by the Byzantines in 1261. Towards the end – when it became apparent they could not hold on to Constantinople it is said the Venetians removed the enameled panels from the iconostasis of the Pantokrator and shipped them to Venice, where they became the centerpiece of the famous Pala d’Oro.

After the recovery of the city of Constantinople by the Byzantines the monastery of the Pantokrator was restored and once again became a spiritual and cultural center. In 1453 the advancing Muslim Turks stormed the walls of Christian capital of the East. The city was looted, its citizens slaughtered and enslaved. The Pantokrator was looted once more and converted into a mosque – and renamed the Zeyrek Djami.

above: View of the apse of the south church. During Ottoman times the backwall of the apse was flattened and the mosaics were scraped off. The arch is a mithrab – it indicates the direction of Mecca for Muslim prayer. This view shows what remains of the magnificent marble paneling of the church.

Like many Byzantine churches that were converted into mosques the altar, iconstasis and portable ikons were removed, which the mosaics and wall paintings were curiously left exposed. This may have continued until the 18th century when the walls were scraped of their mosaics, leaving just a few fragments. At some point the valuable large columns of the north and south churches were removed and replaced with piers. The marble veneer of the walls was also stripped – leaving only the plackage of the apse to attest to the former glory of the Imperial church.

Today the church is undergoing restoration.

Bob Atchison

The Zeyrek Church Mosque, formerly the Church of the Monastery of Pantocractor, was built by Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus (1118-1143) and his wife, Empress Irene. Built on the forth hill of the city overlooking the Golden Horn, the famous Middle Byzantine foundation had a triple-church, a hostel, a hospital, a hospice for the elderly, a medical school and a library. Copies of the Typikon, or the monastery calendar describing services and ceremonies, provide details of the monastery’s social and religious functions. The imperial founders endowed the monastery with numerous properties, including other monasteries in the Marmara region, Thrace, Macedonia, Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands. Only the church, used as a mosque since the Ottoman conquest, and the cisterns of the monastery have remained.

The church consists of three joint churches built successively in the 12th century. The church to the south was built first and dedicated to Christ the Pantocrator, or “He who reigns over all, the Almighty”; hence the name of the monastery. A smaller church, built ten meters north of the earlier structure was consecrated to Panagia Eleousa or Merciful Mary. The two churches were subsequently united with a funerary chapel fitted in between, honoring St. Michael the Archangel. Converted to a mosque after temporary use as a madrasa after the Ottoman takeover, the church was named “Zeyrek” after Molla Zeyrek Mehmed Efendi, a resident of the neighborhood who taught at the madrasa. The mosque, repaired after a fire in mid 18th century, fell into disrepair by the 1950s. The library of the monastery burnt in 1934.

Archaeological studies by the Byzantine Institute of America in the mid 1950s have revealed floor mosaics of the period. The central church was re-opened for Islamic prayer during this time and the Directorate of Religious Endowments restored the northern church in 1966. The current restoration work, begun in 1997 by Professors Robert Ousterhout, Zeynep Ahunbay and Metin Ahunbay, is funded by the Kress Foundation/World Monuments Fund, University of Illinois Research Fund, Istanbul Technical University and Dumbarton Oaks Project Grants. The Zeyrek Church Mosque was included in the annual list of the World Monuments Watch “100 Most Endangered Sites” in 2002.

The triple-church is entered from the west, through the outer narthex of the southern church, which opens into an inner narthex that spans the entire length of the church and gives access into the three naves. The outer narthex, composed of five cross-vaulted bays, has ablution spigots at its north end. Five brick archways, with a rose marble frame set inside each arch, lead into the inner narthex. The central archway between the narthexes is distinguished with its taller frame crowned by a triple arch, across from the entry into the southern church, embellished similarly with marble frames. The inner narthex also has an upper level. Unlike the dim atmosphere of the lower level, the upper level is brightly lit with clerestory windows and windows pierced into the central bay’s dome.

The southern church, oldest among the three, has a cross-dome plan. It consists of a domed nave at the center, flanked by vaulted aisles on three sides, and a deep apsidal sanctuary to the east. The aisles and sanctuary, in other words, form the four arms of the Greek cross in plan. The aisles here are separated from the nave with four columns symmetrically placed around the nave, which support the weight of the roof along with piers embedded in side walls. The side aisles terminate in narrow miniature chapels with apses, linked with the central sanctuary. The space is lit with sixteen windows on the dome, windows inside the four barrel-vaults, and sanctuary windows placed at two levels. The southern church also has windows to the upper level of the inner narthex, which projects into the space with an ornate bay window. The capitals of the four central columns, the bay window, the mihrab and painted decoration of the interior date from renovations performed at the height of Ottoman baroque. The fine mosaic floor of the southern church, discovered underneath its wooden floor by the Byzantine Institute, provides clues to the original decoration of the interior. Archaeological studies by the Institute have recovered fragments of colored glass, believed to belong to original windows. The marble revetments of the sanctuary have remained intact, while marble parts of the iconostas were used in the minbar.

A wall, placed midway between the southern and northern churches, partitions the inner narthex into two sections. The funerary chapel joining the two churches is entered from either section, as well as from the individual churches, although the connecting archways are boarded up. Narrow and deep, the funeral chapel consists of a nave, covered by two oval domes, and a semi-domed apsidal sanctuary. It is dimly lit with windows on its two domes. The crypt underneath the chapel was used for years as the burial ground of the Palaeologan family, including the imperial founders Comnenus I and Irene. Also used as a mosque, the chapel has a mihrab, a minbar and a preacher’s lodge today. The church to the north, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is smaller than but identical to the southern church. It also lacks an exterior narthex, but has a separate side entrance in addition to two doors on the inner narthex and archways that link it to the funerary chapel to its south. The northern church and its narthex were restored by the Ministry of Religious Endowments in 1966-67.

On the exterior, the ensemble is animated by the undulating cornice line, which follows the profile of the barrel vaults. Beside the outer narthex, capped at a lower level with a sloping roof, the three churches have a continuous roof cover from which the five domes rise to varying heights reflective of their size and importance. A minaret, added during the conversion, is located at the northwest corner of the exterior narthex, to the right of the main entrance. The stone foundations remain to the south, where a building as large as the northern church was attached to the narthexes. A wooden takiyya (tekke), built on these foundations during Ottoman times, is seen in older photographs along with housing that was built along the southern wall of the churches.

Dünden Bugüne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi. 1993. Istanbul: Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfi, vol. 7, 555-557 and vol.6, 218.

Ahunbay, Metin and Zeynep Ahunbay. 2001. “Restoration Work at the Zeyrek Camii, 1997-1998.” Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments, Topography, and Everyday Life (ed. N. Necipoglu). Brill: Leiden, Boston, 117-32.

Mathews, Thomas. 1976. The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 71-102.

Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang. 2001. [Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls.Turkish]. Istanbul’un Tarihsel Topografyasi: 17. yüzyil baslarina kadar Byzantion-Konstantinopolis-Istanbul. (translated by Ülker Sayin). Istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlari.

Ousterhout, Robert, Zeynep Ahunbay and Metin Ahunbay. 2000. Study and restoration of the Zeyrek Camii in Istanbul: First report 1997-1998. Dumberton Oaks Papers 54, 265-270. http://www.doaks.org/DOP54/DP54ch15.pdf>. [Accessed May 31, 2006]

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An enormous, rough and tumble market selling clothing, household gadgets, seasonal fruit, vegetables, eggs and nuts. This  market is so huge that it the council employs 16 garbage trucks to clean up afterwards. Almost completely free of tourists, this is great opportunity to enjoy the feel of a bustling, weekly Istanbul market. The surrounding streets are filled with delis and butchers selling cured salamis, pastşrma, cheese, yoghurts and honey. Ignore the vendors claiming ‘indirim yok’ (no discounts) and haggle away.
Along Fatih Caddesi just behind the Fatih Mosque on Wednesdays from 5am to 9pm.

The biggest Bazaar in Istanbul; Fatih pazarı is held on Wednesdays on seven avenues and seventeen streets. The number of vendors is 1297 and there are 4811 stands. Moreover, about 2500 peddlers sell their goods at this market. It is very crowded and you can find anything from vegetables to clothing, from flowers to porcelain. The market hosts customers who come from neighboring cities. Products from Bolu, Kastamonu and Thrace are also on display. Some vendors accept credit cards. Most stands selling clothing have changing booths. There are four mosques around the market whose WCs you can use. However, parking is a problem. It is open from 05:00 to 21:00. Sixteen big garbage trucks are in service to clean the market area afterwards.

Fatih Çarsamba Street market is one of the biggest district street markets in Istanbul. Families with low incomes generally prefer to buy their shopping from these street markets. They can buy not only food but also cheaper clothes from these markets and prices are generally cheaper than the shops in the city.

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Eyup is regarded as one of the main Muslim pilgrimage ranking only after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. It is the resting place of Eyup Ensari, the “alamdar” or the standard bearer of the Prophet Muhammad. Eyup Ensari was buried outside the city walls following his death during the siege of Constantinople by Arabs in 678 A.D. Meanwhile, a mosque was built around the tomb of Eyup Ensari by Sultan Mehmet II after he conquered Istanbul. Being a sacred place, it is often visited by Muslims for performing prayers and seeking blessings.

Eyüp Sultan Mosque stands in Eyüp on the northern end of the Golden Horn. The mosque is named in memory of Eyüp El-Ensari who was the flag man of Holy Mohammed. The complex which includes the mosque comprises a madrasah, an alms house, a soupkitchen and a bath. The grave of Eyüp El-Ensari which has been converted into a tomb is situated here as well. The mosque was built in the year 1458 during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Between 1798 and 1800 a mosque under barock influence was erected onto the remains of the mosque which was demolished during the earthquake in 1766 during the reign of Sultan Selim IIII . The mosque has a dom with a diameter of 17.50 meters and two rather long minarets. In the year 1822 the minaret on the sea side was damaged by lightning upon which the minarets were reconstructed up to the their balconies. The mosque from its layout point of view is considered an eighth rank mosque. The building has been embellished with tiles from the 16th century onwards. The main altar has been decorated with gold gild. Another important fact about this mosque is that the french author Piere Loti who was in love with İstanbul came here to see over the beautiful scenery of the Golden Horn and that a cafe called Pier Loti was established here in his memory.

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The Byzantine church dedicated to the Virgin “Pammakaristos” (The Most Happy) was built in 1261. After the Conquest, it was used as a nunnery and it became the see of Christian Orthodox Patriarchate between 1455-1587, then converted into a mosque in the 16th century changing its name to Fethiye. Its parekleison (burial corridor) was opened as a museum recently where you can see beuatiful Byzantine mosaics and some frescoes.

Open daily between 09:30-16:30 except Wednesdays.

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This private museum is located inside the Kadir Has University in the Golden Horn, inside an old building which also contains some relics of a Byzantine cistern and Ottoman hamam. The museum displays paintings and documents belonging to important persons who draw the Golden Horn in the past centuries, objects from Anatolia, and so on.

Open daily between 09:00-18:00
Tel: (212) 533 65 32 and 534 10 34

http://www.rhm.org.tr/en/

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The building used to be an electric power plant built by Hungarians in 1914 at the tip of the Golden Horn, and known as Silahtaraga Electric Plant. It produced energy for Istanbul from Ottoman period until 1983 then it was shut down because it wasn’t effective anymore to compete with modern technology. The grounds were taken by Istanbul Bilgi University in 2004 and converted into a university campus, restoring the power plant as well. Santralistanbul was opened as an electric museum displaying industrial power machines and for modern art exhibitions in September 2007. Entrance is free of charge and there are local student guides to direct you inside the museum.

Open daily between 10:00-22:00 except Mondays.
Tel: (212) 444 04 28

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Kariye Muzesi

KARIYE MUZESI (CHORA MUSEUM)

Kariye Museum originally formed the center of a Byzantine monastery complex. Only the church section, which was dedicated to Jesus Christ the Savior, has survived. After the arrival of the Turks in Istanbul, this building, like the Hagia Sophia, was converted into a mosque. In 1948 it was made a museum leaving no Islamic element in the building except the 19C minaret outside in the corner.

“Kariye” is the Turkish adaptation of an ancient Greek word “Chora” which refers to countryside. Considering the perimeter of the walls of Constantine (4C AD) the building was located out of the city. If this theory is correct Chora Monastery should have been from the 4C. But unfortunately according to sources, the existence of Chora Monastery before the 8C is not certain.

Chora 3D Image from Byzantium1200

Chora went through many restorations the last most significant instigated by Theodorus Metochitus, prime minister and first lord of the treasury, in the beginning of the 14C. The three most important features of the church, mosaics, frescoes and the funerary chapel (Paracclesion) are from that period. Theodorus Metochitus built the Paracclesion for himself and he was buried in the entrance of the church; his grave bears a marble stone. The art of painting in frescoes and mosaics were the indications of a new Byzantine art movement which was parallel to Italian Renaissance started by Giotto (1266-1337).

The building consists of the nave, the inner narthex, outer narthex and the paracclesion. The domes of the inner narthex and the paracclesion are lower than the main dome and are only seen from the rear of the church. The drum is supported on four huge pilasters in the corners and four great arches spring from these. The transition is supplied by pendentives. The drum has 16 flutes, each pierced by a window. Entrance to the nave is through both inner and outer narthexes. The niches in the paracclesion were built to keep sarcophagi, as this section was the funerary chapel.

In the mosaics, the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary are depicted. Background elements and architectural motifs are highlighted to give depth. The scenes are realistic as if they were taken from daily life with figures correctly proportioned. Jesus has a humanitarian look upon his face.

Mosaics can be divided into 7 cycles: the nave panels; the six large dedicatory panels in the inner and outer narthexes; the ancestry of Jesus in the two domes of the inner narthex; life of the Virgin Mary in the first three bays of the inner narthex; the infancy of Jesus in the lunettes of the outer narthex; the ministry of Jesus on the vaults of the outer narthex and the fourth bay in the inner narthex; and finally the portraits of the saints on the arches and pilasters of the inner narthex.

Mosaics of major importance are as follows:

Nave; (1) Koimesis, the Dormition of the Virgin. Before ascending to Heaven, her last sleep. Jesus is holding an infant, symbol of Mary\’s soul; (2) Jesus Christ; (3) The Virgin Mary.

Inner Narthex; (4) The Enthroned Christ with the Donor, Theodorus Metochitus offering a model of his church; (5) St. Peter; (6) St. Paul; (7) Deesis, Christ and the Virgin Mary (without St. John the Baptist) with two donors below; (8) Genealogy of Christ; (9) Religious and noble ancestors of Christ.

The mosaics in the first three bays of the inner narthex give an account of the Virgin\’s birth and life. Some of them are as follows: (10) Rejection of Joachim\’s offerings; (11) Annunciation of St. Anne, the angel of the Lord announcing to Anne that her prayer for a child has been heard; (12) Meeting of Joachim and Anne; (13) Birth of the Blessed the Virgin; (14) First seven steps of the Virgin; (15) The Virgin caressed by her parents; (16) The Virgin blessed by the priests; (17) Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple; (18) The Virgin receiving bread from an Angel; (19) The Virgin receiving the skein of purple wool, as the priests decided to have the attendant maidens weave a veil for the Temple; (20) Zacharias praying, when it was the time to marry for the Virgin, High Priest Zacharias called all the widowers together and placed their rods on the altar, praying for a sign showing to whom she should be given; (21) The Virgin entrusted to Joseph; (22) Joseph taking the Virgin to his house; (23) Annunciation to the Virgin at the well; (24) Joseph leaving the Virgin, Joseph had to leave for six months on business and when he returned the Virgin was pregnant and he became angry.

Here it continues not chronologically: (42-44) Miracles.

Outer Narthex; (25) Joseph\’s dream and Journey to Bethlehem; (26) Enrollment for taxation; (27) Nativity, birth of Christ; (28) Journey of the Magi; (29) Inquiry of Herod; (30) Flight into Egypt; (31-32) Massacres ordered by Herod; (33) Mothers mourning for their children; (34) Flight of Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist; (35) Joseph dreaming, Return of the holy family from Egypt to Nazareth; (36) Christ taken to Jerusalem for the Passover; (37) St. John the Baptist bearing witness to Christ; (38) Miracle; (39-41) Miracles.

(45) Jesus Christ; (46) The Virgin and Angels praying.

Paracclesion; The pictures here are frescoes. This chapel was designed to be a burial place. Among the major frescoes in the paracclesion are as follows: (47) Anastasis, the Resurrection. Christ, who had just broken down the gates of Hell, is standing in the middle and trying to pull Adam and the Virgin Mary out of their tombs. Behind Adam stand St. John the Baptist, David and Solomon. Others are righteous kings; (48) The Second coming of Christ, the last judgment. Jesus is enthroned and on both sides the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist (this trio is also called the Deesis); (49) The Virgin and Child; (50) Heavenly Court of Angels; (51-52) Moses.

Kariye Muzesi, (Chora Museum), Istanbul

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Balat’s Ahrida Synagogue, founded in the 15th century before the Ottoman conquest, is Istanbul’s oldest Synogogue. Although it was founded by Macedonians from the town of Ohrid (of which ‘Ahrida’ is a corruption), its congregation was later formed from the Sephardic community that was booted out of Spain during the inquisitions. The wooden dome, restored in 17th-century baroque style, remains exquisitely beautiful. The place is still in use by the Sephardic community, many of whom speak the medieval Spanish dialect Ladino.
Entrance is only by appointment with the Chief Rabbinate

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