Istanbul- Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire- Part 5

The Main entrance- Nurosmaniye gate means the light of the Ottomans The Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi) is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It has 22 entrance gate and 4400 shops selling thousand of things. It is very big and was tiring but fun to stroll around the bazaar and greeted by friendly Turks. Yes, Turks are very friendly and they likes me very much..hehe. Abi and Umi went to the Grand Bazaar two times to look for beautiful souvenirs for friends and families.

Beautiful Glass Lamps

Erm..what should I buy?
Ummi was hoping to bought one of these ceramics but...
After spending a few hours, we bought a lot of t-shirts for all the family members, some keychains and Abi got his new leather belt and also a red tarbus for hari raya hehehe

Just 15 minutes walk from the Grand Bazaar we arrived at the biggest and the most stunning mosque in Istanbul, Sulamaniye Mosque. This mosque is also the masterpiece of the well-known architect Mimar Sinan. Sulamaniye Mosque located on the Istanbul's highest hill at the Golden Horn.

Unfortunately, the mosque is currently undergoing restoration until 2010 and only limited area is open for visitors. But based on the information that I have read, it has the largest dome after Hagia Sophia... I should visit Istanbul again to see this stunning mosque :)

Sulamaniye Mosque- the biggest mosque in Istanbul

Inside
The small dome
The wall on the left was plastered due to the renovation
Interior view Abi and Luqman The well maintained mosque park Ottoman selling serbet.. the serbet is too sweet and it cost us TL2 for a small cup, but because Ummi wanted to take picture with this man, Abi had to pay for this expensive drink. Sulamaniye Mosque from a distance. Oh, almost forgot to tell everybody, the mausoleums of the Sulamaniye the Great (the greatest and richest of all Ottomans sultan) and his Russian wife, Roxalena is located behind this mosque. And just outside of the mosque walls is the tomb of Mimar Sinan.

Istanbul- Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire Part 4

There are a lot of attractions around the Old City of Istanbul or Sultanahmet and one of the first thing to see is the famous Ayasofya. Ayasofya was constructed as a church between AD 532 to 537 on the order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It is one of the greatest example of early Byzantine architecture and also traditional Roman architecture.When Ottoman conquered Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmet II ordered Hagia Sophia to be converted to Ayasofya Mosque and at that time 2 minarets designed by Mimar Sinan were added to the building. 2 more minarets were added later during the era.

When I strolled to Ayasofya from the park, I felt like I was approaching a ordinary, historical, huge Byzantine building. We have to line up (a long line) under the hot sun to buy tickets and I thought inside of this building must be packed like sardine. But, when I approach the entrance of Ayasofya, everything changes. Through the first door, we enter the second door and the third door and the great space beyond. The interior of Ayasofya is awesome and it is so big.

I can feel the cool air inside Ayasofya and I thought it was the aircond but I could not find any air conditioner, then I noticed that the pave, the pillars and all the surfaces other than the walls are from marbles, may be this give the cool atmosphere inside the building.When I looked up above, there are eight round green panels hanging in the central room written with the Names of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, the four Caliphs and Hasan and Husin ( Prophet Muhammad's grandson). Window details. The jar was made by a single marble and the lamps are the typical Ottoman oil lamps.Panels written Allah and Muhammad. At the centre is the mosaic of Virgin Mary with Jesus The minbar and mihrab were added to Ayasofya after it was converted to a mosque. This minbar also is made of marble.
The Mihrab and two candle holders. One of the mosaics displayed at the upper gallery of Ayasofya. During the Ottoman era all the mosaics were plastered over.
We had to walk up the ramp for almost 5 minutes to the upper gallery which displayed all the mosaics. It was like climbing a small hill, very tiring but worth it. The massive dome of Ayasofya. The original dome from Byzantine era had collapse several times and during the reign of Sultam Selim II, Mimar Sinan designed this dome with 40 window panels around it and the dome is decorated by handwritten calligraphy of Surah An Nur. Luqman enjoying himself. For over 500 years Ayasofya remained the principal mosque of Istanbul until 1935, when it was converted to a museum by Republik of Turkey under the order of Kamal Attarturk.

Just across the street there is another impressive monument from Byzantine Era which the Basilica Cistern or known as Yerabatan Sarnici by local people. During the Byzantine era it was used as a reservoir for water storage for the palace and other buildings.
The interior of the cistern is breathtaking. The walls of the cistern were built by thick bricks and there are 336 marble columns to support the cistern.The ceiling gravity is distributed to the columns through the arches.There are two Medusa heads used as the bases of two columns of the Cistern which are from the Roman Period. One of the Medusa's head is put upside down.Based on the history, after the Ottoman conquest Istanbul, the gardens of Topkapi Palace were watered through this cistern. But the Ottoman preferred tap water to deadwater and they installed their own water system and abandoned the cistern. The cistern went a major restoration between 1985-1987 and was open to public after that.

Istanbul-Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire-Part 3

One of the most beautiful mosques in Istanbul is the world renowed Sultanahmet Mosque located just across Hagia Sophia. The mosque is also known as Blue Mosque for the blue-green tiles of its interior walls. This mosque was contructed by Mimar Mehmed Aga during the reign of Sultan Ahmet I. Mimar Mehmed was one of Sinan's student. The Blue Mosque is the only mosque with six minarets in the world.

Blue Mosque combines the best of two architectural styles, the traditional Islamic architecture with Byzantine elements taken from adjacent Hagia Sophia (as Abi would eloquently recall...)
Lights inside the mosque is provided by more than 200 stained glass windows and chandeliers. Ummi able to capture all this beauty in just one photo...don't you think. Fascinating view of the interior The interior walls decorate by more than 20,000 handmade Iznik ceramic tiles, in more than 50 floral designs such as lilies and tulips. The central dome is 43m high and diameter of 23.5 m, and is supported by semi domes.Interior view- a very nice picture by Abi Interoir details-the domes This mosque is sooooo big. I'm at awe with my surrounding Allahuakbar Blue Mosque at night

The inner courtyard which is located in front of the mosque is entered through three gates with marble steps. Everynight they would showcase light and sound show within this courtyard but we are unlucky as it was put on hold couple of months back. Otherwise you can just imagine what a spectacular show it will be.

The outer courtyard of the mosque.

Nice shot from Abi.

It was my Abi's dream for us to visit Istanbul.....no wonder he is so excited.
Me and Ummi at the park on the way to the Blue Mosque
This is a very nice park with fountain. Me? I like the green green grass...
On our last day in Istanbul

Istanbul-Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire...Part-Deux

The most famous tourist attraction in Istanbul is Topkapi Palace or Topkapi Sarayi in Turkish. It is the most extensive monuments in the Ottoman Empire which covers hundred of acres of prime land located on the foothill overlooking the 3 continents. It was constructed during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II and had been the residence of the sultans for almost 400 years (1459-1839) until Sultan AbdulMecid decided to move to Dolmabache Palace. During the Ottoman era, approximately 4000 people lived in this palace. Well, that is like a small city!! The palace included four grand courts and the Harem section. After the fall of Ottoman empire, upon the order of Ataturk, the palace started to serve as a museum on 3 April 1924.

Miniature of Topkapi Palace. The palace covered 700,000 meter square and is a building complex of court, pavillions, mosques and fountains.Entrance to Topkapi Palace through Gate of Salutation to the 2nd courtyard
The Gate of Felicity. Beyond this gate is the 3rd courtyard, which is the heart of the palace where the Sultan spent his days outside the Harem. Most of the ceremony were held in front of this gate, such as new Sultan's accessions to the throne.
Ottoman Period of Topkapi Palace. Look at those headgears, are they awesome or what. The most interesting place in the 2nd courtyard of the Palace is Harem section. It is said that the Sultan's wife and the concubines lived in Harem. I don't know what concubine means, my guess this must somehow related to porcupines la kut, with ...hehe. It was a private area of sultans and his sons, hence forbidden for all other males except for black eunuchs to guard the area. There are 400 rooms in Harem but only a few are open for public . By the way, dont ask me what a eunuch is, your guess is as good as mine, if not better :)
The Courtyard of Sultans Favourite. Women were sent to sultan as gift and among them, the ones the sultans liked were called concubines who will given the name favourite.

Next to this courtyard is Princes Chamber.

Princes Chamber from outside. This is where the crown prince and other princes were trained in the discipline of the Ottoman Harem until they reach adulthood. Their education was seen as a very important aspect of the training to Sultanhood hence they had teachers from all over the world under various discipline to impart the necessary knowledge.
The Imperial Antechamber, built by Mimar Sinan was the hall where sultans would receive their guest and spend their day. Here sultans were entertains by the Harem. For your information, the word Mimar means Architect in Turkish and the most famous Mimar in Ottoman Empire was Sinan who spent 50 years of his life serving Ottoman's sultans. My Abi also is a great mimar, he is Mimar Abdul Halim.Interior in Pavillion of Murad III. There is the Ayatul Kursi, all around the tiled covered walls. Dome in Harem The window shutter in the hall of Queen Mother is made of mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell.
Stained glass of Princes Chamber. The wall decorated by Ayatul Quran. Entrance to Sacred Relic Chamber where items such as the swords belonging to Prophet Muhammad and his foot print during his ascension are displayed. All these sacred relics were brought to Topkapi Palace from Caliphs in Egypt after Sultan Salim conquest Egypt in 1517.
Nabi Muhammad SAW swords displayed at Sacred Relics Section The Circumcision Chamber for the princes. The wall is decorated by Iznik tiles. More than 200 princes were circumsized in this chamber during Ottoman Era. Thats 200 'ouchhhh' that lasted hundred of years....
View of Marmara Sea from Topkapi Palace Pavillion Fountain in front of Sultan Ahmet Library in 3rd Courtyard Entrance to Imperial Council Hall, where the meeting between Grand Vizier, viziers and officials of Ottoman states were held. This hall was built by Mimar Aladdien during the reign of Sultan Sulaymaniye the Magnificent. This is me looking very tired after a long outing at the Topkapi Palace. Remember friends, don't miss the visit to Topkapi Palace if you ever got the chance to visit Istanbul as it is worth all the treasures in the whole wide world!