Turkey/Istanbul

Sunset Istanbul

Due to the conflicts in Egypt, the BYU-JC students went to the land of the New Testament and the Apostle Paul.  TURKEY.  We flew from Ben Gurion Airport via Turkish Airlines to Istanbul

Yeni Mosque Istanbul

Istanbul, historically known as Byzantium and then Constantinople. Constantine I defeated Licinius in the Battle of Chrysopolis in September 324 AD. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country.  Sultan Mehmed II defeated Constantine XI in May 1453 changing the name to Istanbul

Golden Horn of Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with  a population of over 13 million.  Over 90% are Muslim and there are over 2,500 active mosques.

Taksim Square Istanbul

Taksim Square in the European section of Istanbul is considered the heart of modern Istanbul and is famous for its restaurants, shops and hotels.  We stayed in the Cartoon Hotel with a definite Disney flavor including statues of Donald Duck.  Following a dinner featuring traditional Turkish salads and grill and fried mozzarella (heavenly) I went with Frank Judd to McDonalds and had a McFlurry and walked the main street with all the shops.  The tattoo parlors were awful tempting

  Imperial Gate Topkapi Palace Istabul

 Topkapi Palace was home to Ottoman Sultans from 1465-1865.  Located on Sergalio point overlooking the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara.  The palace complex has over 100 rooms including the Harem.

The First Courtyard

One of the central tenets of the imperial courts was strict silence.  Needless to say, when our 80 students arrived there was no silence.

The large Gate of Salutation  also known as the Middle Gate  leads into the palace and the Second Courtyard.No one apart for official purpose and foreign dignitaries were allowed passage through the gate. All visitors had to dismount by the Middle Gate, since only the sultan was allowed to enter the gate on horseback. We were allowed to pass along with the other 5,000 visitors that morning

The Tower of Justice next to the Imperial Council hall

The tower symbolizes the eternal vigilance of the sultan against injustice. Everyone from afar was supposed to be able to see the tower to feel assured about the sultan's presence. The tower was also used by the sultan for viewing pleasures

The Sultan's bedroom.  It is hard to get an idea of how big the bed is.  It would definitely hold our entire extended family while we were watching TV.  Christine believes that the Sultan would sleep here alone and visit his wives in the Harem in separate quarters.  You can see my reflection in the glass

From Topkapi Palace overlooking downtown Istanbul

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles on the interior, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the largest mosque in Turkey.  It has 6 minarets on the exterior

Interior of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque which is still a functioning mosque.  Men are allowed in the large prayer women have a much smaller secluded spot.  This is so they don't think about other things during prayers

Minor ablutions before prayer

"O you who believe! when you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles; and if you are under an obligation to perform a total ablution, then wash (yourselves) and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy, or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith, Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful."  Quran

Obelisk ofTutmoses III in Hippodrome Istanbul

Theodosius the Great in 390 AD brought the Obelisk of Tutmoses III from the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor (Thebes) Egypt and placed it in the center of the Hippodrome race track.  This looks huge but is only the top third of the original obelisk as the knucklehead cut the obelisk into 3 pieces.

Hippodrome with Blue Mosque in background

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting (horse racing and chariot racing) and social centre of Byzantium.  Today it is known as Sultanahmet Meydani.

Basilica Cistern Istanbul

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the old city of Istanbul (Constantinople).  Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian I

Medusa Head Pillar Basilica Cistern

In the northwest corner of the Basilica are two columns with Medusa Heads carved in at the base.  The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is thought that the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period

Yeni Mosque seen from Bosphorus strait

Following our visit to Old Istanbul we took a cruise along the beautiful Bosphorus, a narrow strait between the continents of Europe and Asia connecting the Black Sea in the north to the Sea of Marmara in the south.

Modern Istanbul from Bosphorus

We finished up at the northern end of the Bosphorus

Strait near the entrance to the Black Sea where we had a great fish dinner.

Northern Bosphorus Stait entrace to Black Sea

Valens Aquaduct Istanbul

Completed by Roman Emperor Valens in the late 4th century AD, it was restored by several Ottoman Sultans, and is one of the most important landmarks of the city.