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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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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)

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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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Gate of Charisius

The restored Gate of Charisius or Adrianople Gate, where Sultan Mehmed II entered the city.

The siege of Constantinople in 1453 on a 15th century French miniature.

The Gate of Char[i]sius (Χαρ[ι]σίου πύλη/πόρτα), named after the nearby early Byzantine monastery founded by a vir illustris of that name, was, after the Golden gate, the second-most important gate.^[79] In Turkish it is known as Edirnekapı (“Adrianople Gate“), and it is here where Mehmed II made his triumphal entry into the conquered city.^[81] This gate stands on top of the sixth hill, and was the highest point of the old city at 77 meters. It has also been suggested that the gate is to be identified with the Gate of Polyandrion or Myriandrion (Πύλη τοῦ Πολυανδρίου), because it led to a cemetery outside the Walls.^[24][82] The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, established his command here in 1453.^[83]

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Construction on the Nuruosmaniye Complex began in 1749 during the rule of Mahmud I (1730-1754) and was completed by his brother and successor Osman III (1754-1757) in 1755. It is located to the east of the covered bazaar and was built to replace the Mascid of Fatma Hatun, which burnt in a fire. In style, the complex is distinguished from its precedents with its adoption of baroque design elements and embodies the westernizing vision of Mahmud I. While there is little known about its architect, Simeon Kalfa, its construction is documented in detail by construction manager Ahmed Efendi in a booklet entitled “Tarih-i Cami-i Serif-i Nur-i Osmani”. The name Nuruosmaniye, or the Light of Osman, is thought to refer to Osman III and to a verse from the Sura of Al-Nur, “God is the light of the heavens and the earth”, which is inscribed inside the dome.

The Nuruosmaniye Mosque (Turkish: Nuruosmaniye Camii) is an Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is considered one of the finest examples of mosques in Ottoman Baroque style. It was built by architects Mustafa Ağa and Simon Kalfa from the order of Sultan Mahmut I and completed by his brother and successor Sultan Osman III. The architects adopted Baroque architectural elements, the mosque is also distinctive with the absence of an ablution fountain (Turkish: şadırvan). Nuruosmaniye Mosque is located near the entrance to the Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar), Column of Constantine and the historical Atik Ali Paşa Mosque.

The mosque was constructed in Istanbul in Nuruosmaniye region, it was began in 1748 during reign of Mahmoud I, and, ended in the reign of Osman II in 1755, the architect of the mosque is Mustafa Aga.

The foundation of the structure was supported by belts because it was constructed on a spring. It has an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard. There are three doors in the inner courtyard, one in the middle, two on each sides. Inner courtyard is covered by nine domes, one in the middle and four on each side.

Beneath the gallery of minarets (Serefeler) there are horizontal tapes. Minaret spirals are made out of stone. It has five floors with 174 windows. The belts of these windows are arch shaped. On the dome, there are 32 windows. On each left and right sides of the altar there are a pulpit (mimber) made out of marble. Inner walls of landing (Sahan) is divided into three by two rowed thick and projecting cornices. All through the landing of the pulpit is “The Fatiha Sura” (a prayer of Koran) is carved in marbl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuruosmaniye_Mosque

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http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/istanbulmosaic/

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phone:
0212/518-1205

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

Cost:
Admission $2

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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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Byzas (seventh century B.C): Greek colonist who founded a namesake city on the Bosphorus: Byzantium.

Constantine the Great (r. 306-337): Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and moved the capital of his vast empire from Rome to Byzantium (which became known as Constantinople).

Justinian (r. 527-565): Byzantine emperor who expanded the empire to its greatest extent, codified law, and built Hagia Sophia.

Rumi, a.k.a. Mevlana (1207-1273): Great Selçuk philosopher and mystic who inspired the order of Whirling Dervishes.

Osman I (1258-1326): Founder of a small Anatolian principality that eventually grew into a 600-year-long empire, which bore a modified version of his name—”Ottoman.”

Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror (r. 1451-1481): Successfully laid siege to Constantinople, putting the Ottoman Empire on the map as a world power.

Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566): With his wife Roxelana, vastly expanded Ottoman territory and financed many fine buildings.

Mimar Sinan (1489-1588): Süleyman’s magnificent architect, whose grand but tastefully restrained buildings and monuments still rank among Istanbul’s best.

Kösem (1590-1651): “Favorite” of Sultan Ahmet I, who ran the empire through her sultan sons as the most significant figure in a 150-year-long “reign of the ladies.”

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938): The “Grand Turk” who liberated his people from Western invasion at the end of World War I, founded the modern Turkish Republic, and enacted sweeping reforms that made Turkey more European than Asian.

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Grand Palace Mosaics Museum is located in the south of Sultanahmet Mosque, within the complex of buildings of the mosque. The museum was built in a way to accommodate the mosaics which is partially intact in the northeastern part of the courtyard of the Grand Palace. While Grand Palace Mosaics, dating back to 450-550 A.D. were masterfully woven, no religious themes can be seen in the mosaics. The themes are from daily life and nature, and there are scented depicting gryphon eating a lizard, fight of an elephant and a lion, breeding of a mare, children feeding a geese, man milking a goat, child feeding his donkey, young girl carrying a jug, bears eating apples and fight between a hunter and a tiger.

This museum, opened to the public in 1953 behind Sultanahmet Mosque, consists of the remains of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Empire built by Constantine the Great (324-337). These remains consists of mosaics, columns and other architectural pieces which had once been part of the Great Palace. They show scenes with human figures, daily life in Byzantium, hunting incidents, landscapes and animal figures.

Open daily between 09:00-16:30 except Mondays
Tel: (212) 518 12 05

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