Culture of Istanbul. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

» Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the largest and one of the most beautiful mosques of Istanbul. The name ‘Blue Mosque’ it owes to a huge variety of blue and white ceramic tiles used in interior decoration.
» Construction of the mosque has being carried out for 7 years and was completed in 1616.
» The most unusual part of the Blue Mosque is a niche for prayers carved from a huge piece of marble with a black stone, which was brought here from Mecca.
» The mosque has a separate entrance for the Sultan, who came here on a horse. Before the entrance there was a low-strained chain for the passage, so he had to bend down. Thus, he gave praise to God and demonstrated the insignificance of the Sultan before the Almighty.
» When construction of the Blue Mosque was completed, it was found that the most sacred mosque in Islamic world, Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, was caught up in the number of minarets (there were six of them) by Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was treated as sacrilege, so it was decided to attach another minaret to the Masjid al-Haram to make it to surpass all existing facilities once again.

» Topkapi Palace can be considered the whole city located on the territory of Istanbul, because the total area of the palace is more than 700 thousand square meters, and the length is about 5 kilometers.
» Topkapi Palace houses a vast collection of treasures including jewelry, costumes, weapons and sacred artifacts. Major exhibits include cape and sword of the Prophet Mohammed and his collection of porcelain, which is the third most important in the world.
» The fifth largest diamond in the world, which is set in silver and surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds, is kept in the Treasury of the Palace.
» One of the main attractions of the Palace, Harem, is a protected and prohibited place. Only people, which were very close to the Sultan, including his family, wives, concubines, eunuchs and servants had access there. Entrance to the Harem was strictly forbidden to outsiders; all inside was run by the mother of the Sultan.
» The Palace has being the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years.

» While constructing this mosque, architect Sinan uttered the famous phrase, "The mosque will stand for eternity."
» Lamps in the mosque are made of ostrich eggs. They became home to a huge family of spiders, which are bred because of herbs, incense and spices in an oil lamp.
» There are many legends associated with the Suleymaniye Mosque. It’s said that a piece of black stone of the Kaaba was placed inside its dome. According to another legend, gems could be found in the minarets of Suleymaniye. Persian Shah has sent gems as a sponsorship to build the mosque; those were meant to gode Sultan Suleiman. The Sultan in anger has ordered to lay these treasures in the masonry of one of the minarets.
» Previously Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul was not only a religious institution, as there were hospital, madrassa, shelter, baths, and a caravanserai.
» Suleymaniye Mosque also houses the tomb of Suleyman the Magnificent and his wife Roxelana.

» Eyup Sultan Mosque is built on the place of burial of the standard-bearer of the Prophet Muhammad, Eyup Ansari, who was killed at the siege of Constantinople.
» There is a tradition concerning the throne succession. According to it, the future ruler certainly must visit Eyup Sultan Mosque, where he will wear the legendary blade once belonged to the founder of the dynasty of Osman Gazi and, only then, he will be declared the ruler of the Muslims.
» Today, the holy Muslim relics are carefully preserved inside the mausoleum; the footprint of the Prophet Muhammad stands among them.
» It’s simply impossible not to notice shadyrvan, the ritual ablutions fountain, at the entrance of the mosque. It’s intended for the girdling the sword ceremony.
» The mosque was often subjected to destruction and reconstruction. The most devastating was an earthquake of 1766. Sultan Selim the Third decided to demolish the almost destroyed mosque and rebuild it anew.

» Galata Tower was built in the mid-14th century. Then, it had a different name, the Tower of Christ, and its structure was designed to perpetuate the expansion of the Genoese colony of Constantinople.
» During the reign of Sultan Selim II, Galata Tower was used as an observatory tower.
» Since 1874, it was used as a watchtower. The tower, which was called Big Bastion by the Byzantines, and the Tower of Jesus by the Genoese, has changed its appearance several times during Ottoman era.
» On the seventh floor, you can see the relief image of Hazerfena Ahmet Celebi. He was the first person who managed to fly using homemade wings.
» Galata Tower provides the best view of the Golden Horn, the historic peninsula, the Bosphorus and the Asian coast.