Beautiful historical buildings in Istanbul
Istanbul is one of the main cities of the Ottoman Empire, which has a long history, and for this reason, there are many monuments and monuments in the corners of this beautiful city. Istanbul is the tourist destination of many Iranian and non-Iranian travelers to Turkey, and various people travel to this city for sightseeing, shopping, and of course visiting the historical monuments of Istanbul .
We have decided to introduce you to some of the famous and famous historical buildings of Istanbul, which have been introduced as unique architectural masterpieces in the UNESCO organization. Visiting these buildings depends on your taste, which of these areas you visit on your trip to Istanbul, maybe you can include all of them in your tourism plan.
Galata Tower is one of the historical buildings in Istanbul
This tower is considered as a symbol for Istanbul, a building from which you can watch the city of Istanbul and the beautiful island of Parim Ada.
The construction date of this tower goes back to something about seven hundred years ago, that is, 1384 AD. At that time, this tower was built with the name of Christ during the Byzantine era, the Eastern Roman Empire. Masih Tower, or Galata today, with a height of 67 meters, was known as the tallest tower in Istanbul or Constantinople for many years, and although it is no longer a record in this regard, it can still be seen from many parts of the city due to its location on the hill. .
The purpose of building the Galata Tower was to monitor the shipping of ships and identify enemy ships. Years later, Galatai Tower was known as a prison and watchtower, and its upper floors were repaired and renovated many times. The nine-story Galata Tower weighs about ten thousand tons. Over the years, Ibn Borj has witnessed many stories from the history of Istanbul
From the top of this tower, you can have a 360-degree view of the city of Istanbul, which will be extremely beautiful and spectacular. Of course, since the Galata Tower is one of the most famous historical buildings in Istanbul , you will probably have to wait in line for your turn.
Galata Tower restaurant is one of the good options for food fans in Istanbul, because it offers you a view of the whole city. It is possible to visit from 9 am to 8:30 pm every day. The main purpose that people have when going to the Galata Tower in Istanbul is to stand on top of it and see the sea of Marmara, the greenery and the old houses of the neighborhood, the Hagia Sophia Mosque, the Blue Mosque, the Bosphorus Strait, the Marmara, the dome and the garlands of the mosques. to watch
Apart from the fire and earthquake of the Galata Tower in Istanbul in 1875, this tower was also hit by a storm, which caused serious damage to the tower. Its last renovation was done in 1960 and the reason was the change of use of the tower and the construction of a restaurant in this building.
Rumelihisari Castle is the second historical building in Istanbul
Rumli Hissar , which is also called Rumli Castle and Rumli Hisar Castle, is a military fortress complex located in Istanbul , on the European coast, on top of a hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait. This castle is one of the symbols of the city of Istanbul and today it attracts many visitors from all over the world. The name Rumli Hisar means a castle in the territory of the Romans and it was built by Sultan Muhammad II between the years 1451 and 1452 and within only 4 months.
This fortress and military fortifications were part of the preparation plan for the siege of the city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), which was considered part of the Roman territory at that time. This castle is located on the side of the Bosphorus strait and the purpose of its construction was to cut military communication and prevent the sending of commercial and naval aid to Constantinople through the Bosphorus strait. It is interesting to know that this castle, which was built in only 4 months, is still standing in a corner of the Bosphorus coast.
Today, the doors of this castle are open to the public and from time to time concerts, performances and various programs are performed in its amphitheater hall. Rumli Hesar Museum is open on all days of the week except Wednesdays.
The largest mosque in Turkey (Camlija Mosque) is the third historical monument in Istanbul
The largest mosque in Turkey and the largest mosque in the world was opened in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2019. In terms of area, the new mosque in Istanbul is not comparable to other mosques in Turkey, including the Hagia Sophia, Ortakoy and Sultan Ahmed mosques. The construction of this mosque was one of the biggest projects in recent years in Turkey, which cost a lot of money and time.
This mosque with an area of about 17 thousand meters is one of the largest mosques in the world. For the construction of this mosque, a cost of more than 100 million dollars and a time of about 6 years were spent. (years 2013 to 2019). The construction project of this mosque was one of the most important projects of Erdogan, the president of Turkey at the time. With a capacity of 63,000 people, a parking lot with a capacity of 3,500 cars, a chandelier weighing 7 tons and 6 high minarets, the Istanbul New Mosque is one of the largest buildings built in history.
It is true that various criticisms were made to the construction project of the new mosque in Istanbul and its exorbitant costs, but many consider it a suitable symbol of Muslim life in Istanbul.
Yildiz Mosque is the fourth historical monument in Istanbul
Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque is one of the mosques in Istanbul, which was built next to the Royal Palace. The special feature of this mosque is its design by Sultan Abdul Hamid.
The construction date of Yildiz Mosque in Istanbul goes back to 1885 to 1886. This mosque was built by the order of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and it can be said that it is a royal mosque with royal decorations. The mosque is located on Yildiz Palace Road in Istanbul towards Barbaros Boulevard in Besiktas. Yildiz Mosque is a unique example of Ottoman era architecture and it is said that the plan of the building was drawn by Sultan Abdul Hamid and left to the main architect. The architecture of this building is a kind of evolved architecture in the Ottoman style, and it is located in front of Yildiz Mosque, Istanbul, and Yahya Kamil Park.
Kiz Kulesi is another historical building in Istanbul
There are many legends and stories about this tower, we will tell two of them below:
[The story of the prince and the snake]
One of the stories about the Maiden Tower is about the prince and the snake. In some traditions, it is said that the king of Constantinople had a beautiful daughter whom he loved very much. One day, an occultist gave the king the sad news that your princess would die of a snake bite at the age of 18. to give Therefore, the king orders that a tower be built in the Bosphorus region, which will be on the land and in the heights, where the girl will be freed from the snake’s bite. Years pass and on her 18th birthday, the king’s little girl goes to the princess with a basket full of fruits, the girl happily opens the entire fruit basket, a viper is hidden inside the fruits, which bites the girl. He dies before his father’s eyes. This is the reason why this tower is given the name of a girl.
[Legend of Hero and Linder]
Another legend related to Istanbul’s Maiden Tower is the legend of Hero and Linder. The story of these two is that one day a beautiful and chaste girl named Hero swears to stay away from everyone for the rest of her life for her chastity. But one of these days, a man named Linder passes by this tower in a boat and falls in love with the girl.
In order to get a positive response from the girl, he swam every night to the island of the girl’s tower to see Hero. After these efforts, Hero eventually falls in love with Linder, and soon their love affair turns into a full-blown tragedy. Once upon a time, according to the custom of every night when Linder ventured into the sea to go to Hero, he started swimming in the sea, but the weather of that night was stormy and angry waves covered the whole sea, Hero was waiting for his lover in the tower and He had lit a lantern on the top of the tower so that Linder would know his way in the darkness of the night, a cruel storm that knew nothing about the love of the two turned off the lantern on top of the tower and Linder lost his way in the sea with every wave.
After this hard night, Hero wakes up in the morning and goes out of the tower after Linder, who suddenly encounters Linder’s lifeless and cold body at the bottom of the rocks. he does. Of course, these are legends that Turkish people tell, but apart from these legends, this tower has a special beauty and is a tourist destination for many tourists.
Hagia Sophia
With the establishment of the Ottoman government and the selection of Istanbul as the capital of Turkey, many mosques were built in this country from the middle of the 15th century, and even now, with the passing of centuries, there are more than 3000 mosques in Istanbul. Mosques, some of which are so special in terms of history and architecture that hundreds of thousands of people visit them every year, one of them is undoubtedly the Hagia Sophia Mosque.
This mosque was an architectural masterpiece and of course important in the periods of Byzantine and Ottoman Empire. This historical building, which was originally a cathedral, was considered a symbol of Christ’s mysticism in the Middle Ages. This church was built during the time of Constantine II and became known as the Great Church. According to the historical documents, this church burns in a big event and as a result Theodeus II orders to build a second church.
900 years later, when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman forces, the church was turned into a mosque by order of the Ottoman king, and the minarets were added to the mosque at this time. However, this was not the last change of this building and in 1935, by order of the first president of Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, this mosque was reopened as a museum with the aim of attracting tourists.
Today, this building is one of the most visited buildings in Turkey, and more than 3 million people put this magnificent building on their sightseeing list in Istanbul every year. All means of public transportation are easily available to go to the Hagia Sophia Museum.
Aya Sofia is open on all days of the week except Monday, and the working hours of this place are from 9 am to 7 pm in spring and summer and from 9 am to 5 pm in autumn and winter.
Conclusion
In this blog, we tried to introduce a number of interesting historical places of Istanbul to you, the lovers of this city, so that you can visit them on your trip to Turkey and have pleasant memories of your trip. If you have visited these areas and have more complete information , please share with us.
