Istanbul september 2011 studytrip 1 welcome to Istanbul Istanbul is an extreme busy city with a well of culture and history. The architecture of Istanbul describes a large mixture of structures which reflect the many influences that have made an indelible mark in all districts of the city. The city is somewhat surrounded by the Walls of Constantinople, constructed by the emperor Constantine I to protect the city from invasion. The architecture inside the city proper contains buildings, statues, and functional constructions which came from ancient ancient Greek, Byzantine, Genoese, Ottoman, and modern Turkish sources. Throughout its long history, Istanbul has acquired a reputation for being a cultural and ethnic melting pot. 2 about istanbul arriving 06 hotel 07 how to get there program 09 timescedule 10 map Istanbul 12 - 26 historical buildings 27- 38 modern architecture content 39 Kadiköy area 40 Boat trip - Bosphorus general information 42 getting around 44 tickets 45 contact information 3 With 15 million the population of Istanbul and its emerging city region is one of the largest in South-East Europe. Geographically situated on two narrow peninsulas separated by the Bospo- rus, the northern shores of either landmass are covered by ecologically sensitive forests, water catchments and reservoirs vital to the future of the city. Playing host to several civilizations and empires, Istanbul’s silhouette is defined by minarets, spires, columns and more and more tall build- about Istanbul ings. The historical peninsula sits at the inter- section of the Marmara Sea, the Bosporus and the Golden Horn. Istanbul is a city as beautiful as Venice or San Francisco, and, once you are away from the water, as brutal and ugly as any metropolis undergoing the trauma of warp speed urbaniza- tion. It is a place in which to sit under the shade of ancient pines and palm trees for a leisurely afternoon watching sun on water, looking out over the Bosporus. But also, in some parts, to 4 tread very carefully. Istanbul has as many layers of history beneath the foundations of its build- ings as any city in Europe. In 2010, it will be- come the European Cultural Capital. Depending on how you count, Istanbul has been the capital city of three, or perhaps four, empires. It is still shaped by the surviving frag- ments of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman civilizations. It has Orthodox Christian churches, Sunni mosques, and Sep- hardic synagogues. It has vast classical cis- terns, ring upon ring of ancient fortifications, souks and palaces. It also has desolate con- crete suburbs of extraordinary bleakness, urban terrorism, and a rootless, dispossessed under- class struggling to come to terms with city life. 5 Great location in Sultanahmet in walking distance of all Ast Hotel Istanbul major historical, and touristic attractions like Hagia So- Adress: Küçük Ayasofya Mah. phia, Topkapi Palace, the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and the Kadirga Liman Caddesi No:137/A Golden Horn. Küçükayasofya, Istanbul Telephone: +90 (212) 638 61 62 Breakfast is included E-mail: [email protected] wifi connection airconditioning bathroom in every room satellite tv, minibar and hairdryer 6 Maps Istanbul, Turkey My Notes from airport It is possible to book an airport transfer to the hotel by contacting the hotel. From Ataturk airport: 1-3 persons 25 €, 4-8 persons 40 €. Be aware of traffic and delays!! Maps Taxi Suburban train My Notes (banliyö treni) easy to find outside the quick alternative airport which brings you to Sirkeci station yellow coloured and from there take a taxi to the about 35 dollars to Sul- tanmhet area. The meter hotel (ca. 2,5 km). getting there and around is opened with 2.5 TRY and 1.40 per KM around 25 min around 45 min around The most convenient and extensive way to get around is by tram. Just 10 minutes walk away from the hotels door there is a station of the tramway, which is a fast and easy transportation to any part of the city. 7 program 8 sunday 18th monday 19th tuesday 20th wednesday 21th 0800 breakfast breakfast Tünel trip 0900 breakfast breakfast Istanbul tech. Guided tour Ünv. guiding - Santral Istanbul 1000 Topkapi palace Blue mosque - Fez-factory - Borusan music hall 1100 Aya Sofia 1200 Lunch at ITU 1300 Lunch Lunch Salt Beyoglu - Lunch exhibition center 1400 Basilica cistern Ferry trip visit to Mimarlar Bosphorus Tasarim architects 1500 1600 Ferry to the Asian side, Kadiköy 1700 1800 1900 Dinner Sultanahmet Dinner Dinner 2000 Kadiköy 9 1 - Top Kapi palace page 12 2 - Hagia Sophia page 14 3 - The Blue mosque page 16 4 - Basilica Cistern page 18 5 - Istanbul Modern page 28 6 - Grand Bazar page 25 7 - Kadiköy page 39 8 - Istanbul Sapphire page 36 9 - Chora church page 20 10 - Rustem Pasa mosque page 21 Istanbul projects 11 - Istanbul Technical University page 31 12 - Mimarlar Tasarim architects page 30 13 - SALT page 32 14 - Santral Istanbul page 34 15 - Galata tower page 26 16 - Fez Factory page 17 - Borusan Music and art center page 38 18 - Ast Hotel page 06 19 - Süleymaniye Mosque page 22 20 - Cagalaglu Hamami page 24 10 Print - Maps 14.09.11 21.02 Maps Istanbul, Turkey My Notes 14 8 12 16 11 13 17 5 15 19 9 10 1 6 20 4 3 18 2 11 7 http://www.bing.com/maps/print.aspx?mkt=en-us&z=13&s=r&cp=41…8.981249&poi=Istanbul%2C%20Turkey&pp=qv1yh3kdd8n3&b=1&pt=pb Side 1 av 1 Sunday 18th 10.00 am Topkapi palace Sulthanmet, Istanbul constructed: 1453 Price: TL20, admission TL15 Hours: 9am-5pm Wed-Mon, 9am-5pm Wed-Mon 12 This opulent palace is the subject of more colourful from earliest times and, before that, a pagan temple. The stories than most of the world’s museums put togeth- early church was replaced by the present one, com- er. It was the home of Selim the Sot, who drowned in missioned by Justinian in the 540s. When Mehmet the the bath after drinking too much champagne; Ibrahim Conqueror began building his palace, the church was the Crazy, who lost his reason after being locked within the grounds and was most fortunately retained. It up for four years in the infamous palace kafes; and was used as an arsenal for centuries, then as an artillery Roxelana, beautiful and malevolent consort of Süley- museum and now occasionally as a concert hall. man the Magnificent. Mehmet the Conqueror built The Harem is the section of the Palace where the Sultan, the first stage of the palace shortly after the Con- his mother, the princess and the ladies of the palace lived quest in 1453, and lived here until his death in 1481. The brothers of the Sultan where also locked up here Subsequent sultans lived in this rarefied environment to avoid a dispute of the throne. The Harem conatains until the 19th century, when they moved to ostenta- hundred of rooms and corridors which are all embellished tious European-style palaces such as Dolmabahçe, with Ottoman ornamentation. Çıragan and Yıldız that they built on the shores of the Bosphorus. Mahmut II (r 180839) was the last sultan to live in Topkapı. Before you enter the Imperial Gate (Bab-ı Hümayun) of Topkapı, take a look at the ornate structure in the cobbled square near the gate. This is the Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III, built in 1728 by the sultan who so favoured tulips. It replaced a Byzantine fountain at the same spring. Typical of ar- chitecture during the Tulip Period, it features delicate Turkish rococo decorations (note the floral carvings). As you pass through the Imperial Gate, you enter the First Court, known as the Court of the Janissaries, also known as the Parade Court. On your left is Aya Irini, also known as Haghia Eirene or the Church of the Divine Peace. There was a Christian church here 13 Called Hagia Sofia in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin and the Church of the Divine Wisdom in English, Istanbul’s most famous monument has long and fascinating history. Monday 19th Built by Emperor Justinian, it was constructed on the site 11.30 am of Byzantium’s acropolis, which had also been the site of Hagia Sofia two earlier Aya Sofyas. Aya Sofya Square The first of these was a basilica with a timber roof com- Sultanahmet pleted in 360 by Constantine’s son and successor, Price: YTL10 Constantinius, and was burned down in a riot in 404; and Hours: Tue-Sun 09:00-19:30, the second was a building commissioned by Theodosius upper gallery closes 19:00 II in 415 and destroyed in the Nika riots of 532. Justin- ian’s church, which dwarfed all other buildings in the city, was completed in 537 and reigned as the greatest church in Christendom until the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, when Mehmet the Conqueror took posses- sion of it for Islam and immediately converted it into a mosque. As significant to Muslims as it is to Christians, it was proclaimed a museum by Atatürk in 1934. Ongo- ing restoration work (partly Unesco funded) means that the interior is filled with scaffolding, but not even this can detract from the experience of visiting one of the world’s truly great buildings. On entering his great creation for the first time, Justinian exclaimed, ‘Glory to God that I have been judged worthy of such a work. Oh Solomon! I have outdone you!’ Entering the building today, it is easy to excuse his self-congratulatory tone. The exterior may be somewhat squat and unattractive but the interior, with 14 its magnificent domed ceiling soaring heavenward, is so sublimely beautiful that many seeing it for the first time are quite literally stunned into silence.