The cultural capital of modern Turkey has been called Constantinople for centuries, and only in 1930 it was officially decided to rename the city to Istanbul. Great and majestic, it has no equal in the world in terms of the number of historical monuments from different eras. Such a great contrast is associated with many significant events that have occurred in the entire history of this ancient city, which can be conditionally divided into two eras - the era of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Instructions
Step 1
From the Byzantine era, several dozen architectural monuments remained in Istanbul, the main of which was and remains the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia. This majestic temple is a masterpiece of architectural art. Huge, with an area of more than 7500 square meters, the cathedral amazes the imagination with its size, extraordinary external beauty and interior decoration. Marble, jasper, gold, silver, pearls and precious stones were used to build and decorate the temple in immeasurable quantities. In 1204, the cathedral, like all of Constantinople, was savagely plundered by the crusaders, but even in this form, it continues to evoke admiration and awe.
Step 2
The Church of the Almighty or Pantokrator was built in 1124 by order of Empress Irina. It is made in the form of a cross, decorated with several domes, high columns that form arches, and the floor is lined with porphyry and marble. It was one of the main temples of the city during the Byzantine Empire. Many emperors and members of their families were buried here.
Step 3
The Church of St. Irene was built by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. It was almost completely destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 532 under the Emperor Justinian. The fairly spacious courtyard is decorated with numerous columns of white marble, the main dome of the church is supported by a huge "drum" with twenty windows. Today this temple is located on the territory of the Topkapi Palace - an old sultan's complex.
Step 4
By order of Sultan Mehmed II, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, a magnificent palace was built, which for a long time remained the residence of the Turkish sultans. Topkapi Palace - a huge citadel that combined all the functions of a small town. There was a Sultan's palace, a mosque, a large courtyard, and all this was surrounded by a high fortress wall. It was a real densely populated city in a city that was guarded by a whole army.
Step 5
Dolmabahce Palace, which means "Bulk Garden", is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Styles and eras of all times and peoples are mixed in this beautiful historical monument. The walls and ceilings of the palace are painted by French and Italian artists. There are expensive ancient Chinese vases, Indian sculptures, amazing fireplaces, luxurious mirrors, and in the throne room there is a four-ton crystal chandelier, presented by the Russian tsar to the sultan, hanging from the ceiling.
Step 6
Almost all mosques in Istanbul are old Christian churches, looted, destroyed, rebuilt and converted into Islamic temples. Of the "new", built from scratch, mosques can be distinguished by several particularly outstanding. One of these is the 1566 Sultan Suleiman Mosque. This architectural masterpiece is decorated with four minarets with ten balconies. The courtyard is surrounded by a delightful colonnade of 24 columns, twelve of which are made of pink granite, ten are made of white marble, and two at the entrance are made of porphyry. The inside of the mosque is decorated with ornaments and sayings from the Koran.
Step 7
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque, was built in 1617 opposite the Hagia Sophia. It is one of the most visited architectural monuments of Istanbul. Huge and graceful, light and graceful, surrounded by six minarets, it is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful mosques in the world. The spacious courtyard is bordered by forty columns, the walls are covered with quotes from the Koran, there are beautiful patterns everywhere on the walls and ceilings, pointed arches, and the mihrab, made of carved marble, is a work of art.
Step 8
There are two other attractions of Istanbul that cannot be ignored. First of all, the remains of the fortress walls of Constantinople, which for centuries protected the city from raids. Now these majestic ruins keep the memory of the time of the storming of "New Rome" and the fall of Byzantium. The second ancient monument is the Valens underground aqueducts. Its construction began in the 2nd century A. D. and is one of the oldest buildings in ancient Constantinople.
