SEPTEMBER 27 - OCTOBER 10, 2012
with 6-DAY AEGEAN CRUISE
Istanbul and the Greek Islands were always on my "places to see" and now it's time to do it.
ISTANBUL-IZMIR-EPHESUS
September 27-28, 2012New York - Istanbul
Left JFK on Delta Flight 72 and arrived in Istanbul the next morning. The Gate 1 agent picked us up at the airport and checked us in at Hotel Vicenza in the heart of the city. After an hour or so of rest I went out to check the neighborhood.
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Sehzade Mosque
The closest mosque to the hotel was the Sehzade Mosque (Turkish: Şehzade Camii), an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Süleyman II, also known as Süleyman the Magnificent and Qanuni, the Lawgiver, (reg. 1520-1566 CE / AH 924-976) to commemorate his favorite son Sehzade Mehmed (1520-1543 CE / AH 924-950) upon his early passing in 1543.
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Sultan Beyezid II Mosque
Next I went to the Beyazid II Mosque (Turkish: Beyazıt or Bayezid Camii, another Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Beyazıt Square.
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Grand Bazaar
Walked on and reached the colorful and very busy Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning "Covered Bazaar" or Büyük Çarşı, meaning "Grand Bazaar"), one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Built by Sultan Mehmet II, the construction of the Grand Bazaar's core started during the winter of 1455-56, shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
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Laleli Mosque
Walking back towards the hotel, I passed by the well-lit Laleli Mosque (Turkish: Laleli Camii, or Tulip Mosque), an Ottoman imperial mosque located in Laleli, Fatih, built by Sultan Mustafa III from 1760–1763, designed in the baroque style by Ottoman imperial architect Mehmet Tahir Ağa.
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Venezia Restaurant
Had a late dinner at the hotel's very pleasant outdoor restaurant before I turned in for the night.
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September 29
Süleymaniye Mosque
After breakfast at the hotel, I took a walk again in the neighborhood. First stop was the Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii), an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, the largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. Built by Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent), and designed by the architectural genius Mimar Sinan", the construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1558.
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Istanbul City Tour
Hippodrome
After lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the neighborhood I joined the Gate 1 City Tour. First stop was the Hippodrome of Constantinople (Turkish: Sultanahmet Meydanı. In AD 203 the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment. The Serpent Column is a bronze column which is part of an ancient Greek sacrificial tripod, originally in Delphi and relocated to Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324. Another emperor to adorn the Hippodrome was Theodosius the Great, who in 390 brought an obelisk from Egypt which was originally erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. The German Fountain is a gazebo styled fountain and was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898.
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Blue Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is an historic mosque popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. This is the only mosque with six minarets.
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Hagia Sofia
The Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica (church), later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.
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September 30
Nusretiye Mosque
The morning was free so I decided to go back to the city and see other mosques and the Basilica Cistern. First stop was the Nusretiye Mosque, an ornate mosque located in Tophane district of Beyoğlu, Istanbul. While its architecture is influenced by Islamic elements, it retains a Baroque style, making it unique to the city. It was built in 1823-1826 by Sultan Mahmut II.
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Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque
Next was the Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque, designed and built in 1578-1580 by Mimar Sinan, by the order of Kilic Ali Pasha. It is considered a smaller version of the Hagia Sophia.
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Galata Bridge
I crossed the Galata Bridge which spans the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus, dividing the city. There were enumerable fishermen along the bridge.
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New Mosque
The Yeni Cami, The New Mosque or Mosque of the Valide Sultan (Turkish: Yeni Cami, Yeni Valide Camii), situated on the Golden Horn at the southern end of the Galata Bridge, is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul. The construction of the mosque began in 1597, ordered by Safiye Sultan, who was the wife of Sultan Murad III. It took more than half a century and was completed by another valide sultan Turhan Hadice.
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Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: Yerebatan Sarayı - "Sunken Palace", or Yerebatan Sarnıcı - "Sunken Cistern"), located 500 feet southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul and was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. There are two blocks carved with the visage of Medusa which were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period. The blocks are thought to be oriented sideways and inverted in order to negate the power of the Gorgons' gaze.
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October 1
Izmir & Ephesus
After the ship docked in Izmir early afternoon.
House of Virgin Mary
After lunch, I took the Ephesus & House of Virgin Mary Tour. The House of the Virgin Mary (Turkish: Meryem ana or Meryem Ana Evi, "Mother Mary's House") is a Catholic and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos (Turkish: Bülbüldağı, "Mount Nightingale") in the vicinity of Ephesus. Catholic pilgrims visit the house based on the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption (according to Catholic doctrine). Pilgrims drink from a spring under the house which is believed to have healing properties and they leave messages on the wishing wall.
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Ephesus: Greek/Roman Ruins
Next stop was the remarkable Roman ruins in Ephesus (Greek: Ἔφεσος Ephesos; Turkish: Efes), an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the coast of Ionia, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province. The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian, and the huge theatre, which was capable of holding 25,000 spectators.
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TO CONTINUE VIEWING THE REST OF THE TRIP, PLEASE CLICK THE GREEK ISLANDS FROM THE BLOG ARCHIVE BELOW.
