ANCIENT ISTANBUL

About this tour

Dolmabahce Palace – built in the middle of the 19th century by order of Sultan Abdul-Majit I, in order to compete with the best palaces of European monarchs with its luxury. Dolmabahce remained an active palace of the Ottoman sultans until the collapse of the empire and the beginning of the reign of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The palace consists of two parts: a public “selamlik” and a “harem” where concubines were housed. 14 tons of gold were used to decorate the palace, and among the main valuables is a five-ton chandelier donated by Queen Victoria, a collection of paintings by Aivazovsky and the famous Crystal Staircase. The last resident of the palace was Ataturk. After his death in 1938, the palace became a museum. Dolmabahce Palace is visited annually by about
2 million people.
The harem of the Dolmabahce Palace is a closed and guarded residential part
of the palace, where the concubines and wives of the sultan lived (a forbidden, sacred place). More than half of the area of the Dolmabahce palace is devoted to the harem, in the eastern section there were the chambers of the Padishah’s mother, his family and other members of the ruling dynasty.
In the other sections, the Sultan’s concubines lived. The interior of the harem is made in neo-Baroque style and is connected to the main palace by a long, wide corridor.The most luxurious halls in the harem are the Blue Hall and the Pink Hall. In the Blue Hall, which got its name due to the main shade of furniture and curtains, events related to religious holidays were held, during which the inhabitants of the harem were allowed here. The Pink Hall, also named after the dominant shade in its interiors, served as a hall for distinguished guests received by the Sultan’s mother.
The Suleymaniye Mosque was built by the great architect Mimar Sinan in 1557 by order of Sultan Suleiman for his wife Hurrem.
The mosque is a masterpiece of architecture, as you can
see for yourself.
This is the very place where Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent,
his Slavic wife Hurrem and their beloved daughter Mihrimah are buried.
The mosque includes a whole complex of baths, madrasas, kitchens, libraries and an observatory.
And from the observation deck of the Suleymaniye Mosque, you can enjoy the fascinating panoramas of the city.
The Filoxene cistern or Binbirdirek – which means 1001 columns. It is one of the oldest cisterns in the city, which was built in the 5th century under the supervision of a certain senator Philoxenus, from which the name actually comes. The cistern is a hypostyle hall, the brick vaults of which are supported by
224 marble columns. Most of the columns are marked with inscriptions of several letters in Greek, probably the signatures of the foremen of the artels that made the columns.
Little Hagia Sophia is one of the oldest mosques in Istanbul.
The same architects worked on the construction of the temple, who later erected the Cathedral of St. Sophia. Of particular interest is the interior of the mosque, rich in openwork decorative elements. Openwork colonnades, cornices, capitals, ornaments turn it into a wonderful example of elegant architecture. The construction of the mosque was completed in 536. The territory also houses an ancient cemetery of notable people, a madrasah, and a tea garden.