Byzantine | Ottoman Relics Tour

Byzantine & Ottoman Relics Tour By Luxury Istanbul

Blue Mosque 
Blue Mosque Was built by Sultan Ahmet I during 1609-1616 in the square carrying his name in Istanbul. It is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. The central dome is 43 m in height and is 33.4 m in diameter. 260 windows surround the mosque. Due to its beautiful blue, green and white tilings it has been named the "Blue Mosque" by Europeans. 

Roman Hippodrome and Obelisk 
The ancient Hippodrome, scene of chariot races and the centre of Byzantine civic life, stands in the area that is now in front of the Blue Mosque, and now part of Sultanahmet. Of the ornaments which once decorated it, only three remain: The Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. Remains of the curved end of the Hippodrome wall can be seen on the southwest side of the three.

Hagia Sophia Basilica 
The primary church in Constantinople, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), is inaugurated after being rebuilt by Emperor Justinian I (527-565). After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 Hagia Sophia became a mosque and is now a museum. The church of Hagia Sophia was the most important church of the Christian East. It was also structurally the first of its design, with the biggest dome ever constructed for a church, which created a light, well illuminated interior. The same year Justinian ordered to build a new basilica, the one we can see today, and only five years later, 537 AD, it was opened to the public. In 1453, with the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted the church into a mosque. Hagia Sophia Museum, the legacy of both Christian and Muslim culture, was opened for visits according to the order of Ataturk and decision of the Turkish Assembly of Ministers on the 1st of February, 1935.

Grand Covered Bazaar 
This bazaar was first built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and was expanded during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), and reached its present form in 1701. Its extends over 65 streets, covering an area of 30.702 square meters. It contains a mosque, 21 inns, two vaulted bazaars, seven fountains, a well and 3300 shops. It possesses 18 gates, eight of them large, ten of then smaller. It has survived five fires, and has been restored and repaired and has reached our present times.

Topkapi Palace
Imperial residence of Ottoman Sultans, the maze of buildings that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centruies. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed. A magnificent wooded garden fills the outer, or first, court. In the second court, on the right, shaded by cyprees and plane trees,stand the palace kitchens, which now serve as galleries exhibiting the imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. Today the third court holds the Hall of Audience, the Library of Ahmet III, an exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts. In the center of this innermost sanctuary, the Prophet Muhammed (S.A.V) brought to Istanbul when the Ottomans assumed the caliphaten of Islam.

Rustem Pasha Mosque
The Rüstem Pasha Mosque was designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for Grand Vizier Damat Rüstem Pasha (husband of one of the daughters of Suleiman the Magnificent, Princess Mihrimah).The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is famous for its large quantities of exquisite İznik tiles, set in a very wide variety of beautiful floral and geometric designs, which cover not only the façade of the porch but also the mihrab, minbar, walls, columns and on the façade of the porch outside.
 

CLOSED
Hagia Sophia on Monday - Replaced with Kariye (St. Savior in Chora) Museum
Topkapi Palace on Tuesday - Replaced with Dolmabahce Palace or Chora Church
Grand Covered Bazaar on Sunday