Istanbul’s most popular historical walking tours include the Sultanahmet region. Because Sultanahmet has been the center of the Empires throughout history and the most important constructions were built in and around Sultanahmet. The Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors and the Topkapi Palace of the Ottoman sultans are located in this area.
Now let briefly tell you about these important buildings.
Hagia Sophia Museum, Sultanahmet
This magnificent architectural monument, built in 532 and completed in 537, was built by two important architects who lived in Anatolia from the Byzantine emperor Justinian.
The architects of Tralles (Aydın) Anthemios and Miletus (Miletus) Isidoros uncovered the greatest structure of human history built up to that date and enchanted both the emperor and the city.
The curiosity and enthusiasm that Hagia Sophia aroused in the history of mankind lasted for centuries, and the building was the world’s greatest religious structure until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican) in the 16th century.
Topkapi Palace Museum, Sultanahmet
The Byzantine Empire (East Rome) separated from Western Rome and began its history in 395 for over a thousand years and has been in a process of decline since the 13th century.
It is reported that the Ottoman Sultan confronted Fatih Sultan Mehmet with a great disappointment when the city first entered the city. Because the buildings of the city are in the process of demolition in the last years of Byzantium; neither is it a repair, nor has it seen nor is it ruined. When the siege and the burden of war were added on top of it, the once civilized and developed city of Constantinople turned into a town.
The great palace of the Roman and Byzantine emperors and the Sultan of the Hippodrome and the Sultan Mehmed who has been in ruins, decided to build the Topkapi Palace. For this, Milatan first chooses Saragburnu (Seraglio Point), which is the hill that was built on the first settlement in the city. Topped with the most spectacular view of the city, this magnificent palace overlooking the Bosphorus has been the living area of 25 Sultan for nearly 400 years.
Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque)
The Blue Mosque is known as the Blue Mosque by tourists visiting the city. This reputation is borrowed from the invaluable Iznik tribes in it.
The mosque built by Sedefkar Mehmet Ağa, the student of the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, was completed in only 7 years between 1609 and 1616.
Yerebatan Cistern (Basilica Cistern)
During the Byzantine period there were more than a hundred cisterns in Istanbul. For the historical peninsula of Istanbul is a place where water scarcity is taken; water was transported through the aqueducts and the city was kept underground in cisterns.
The city was surrounded by the sea from three sides and it was very obligatory to surround it, so it was obligatory to store water. Because Concentinopolis has been besieged several times before Fatih Sultan Mehmet, but has succeeded to survive thanks to its strong walls and organized city defense.
It is estimated that there are more than a hundred cisterns on the peninsula of historical Istanbul. The largest of these is the Basilica Cistern, also known as the Yerebatan Cistern. The cistern was built in the 540s during the time of Justinianus, the most famous emperor of Byzantium.
Hippodrome (Atmeydanı)
The hippodrome is the place where the oldest historical monuments of Istanbul are found. The 3500-year-old Obelisk (Egyptian Obelisk), the 2500-year-old Serpentine Column, is present in today’s Sultanahmet Square.
Built by the Emperor Constantine, the Hippodrome was the main entertainment center of Istanbul during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The war vehicles of four horsemen competed in this stadium. The emperor would follow the royal courtesy of about 40,000 people.
Little Hagia Sophia Mosque
This structure was built by Theodora, the wife of the famous Byzantine emperor Justinianus. The 1500-year-old structure serving as a mosque today is actually a church dedicated to the two saints of Christianity. His real name is Secgius and Bacchus Church.
Its architectural style and structure is also called Small Hagia Sophia because it is very similar to Hagia Sophia. It was built five years before Hagia Sophia in 527 and completed in 536. According to some sources, a rehearsal of the giant dome of Hagia Sophia, which was a tarihe signature, was built in this small church.
Istanbul Archeology Museum
The elegant main building of the archeological museum is a Neo-Classical style building built between 1897 and 1901 by the French architect named Alexandre Vallaury. Architect Vallaury is a building that has added beauty to the silhouette of the city with its beautiful works built in historical Istanbul and along the Bosphorus.
This late Ottoman structure is considered to be one of the largest archeological collections in the world, with works such as the Kadesh Tablet, İskender Lahti, and Ancient Greek Sculptures signed between the Hittites and the Ancient Egyptians, the first known written treaty of the world in the museum collection.
When the Ottoman Empire was thought to have spread over the three continents, it is possible to estimate how large the collection of historical works collected in the Topkapı Palace in the second half of the 19th century and subsequently transferred to this museum.
In addition, one of the buildings of the museum complex is the Chinese Pavilion of 1471, which can be counted from the first Ottoman buildings in the city.
In the making of the museum and the collection of historical works, the famous Ottoman painter Osman Hamdi Bey also has great retirement. Osman Hamdi Bey is famous for the Tortoise Treadmill table.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, is the first owner of the splendid Ottoman structure right next to the Hippodrome.
Grand Vizier, who was married to Suleiman the Magnificent’s sister Hatice Sultan at the time and was called as Makbul İbrahim Paşa during this period, became a shareholder in Ottoman administration with wide authority for many years.
Ibrahim Pasha, a close relative and friend of the Sultan through marriage, has been taken for a long time and has been executed for a long time.
The magnificent palace built for itself serves as the Museum of Turkish Islamic Works today. In the museum collection, Hz. After the death of Muhammad, Islamic works from the time of the Caliphate can be seen. The large and impressive collection contains important works from the Seljuk State and the Ottoman period.
