istanbul day 2 ottoman mosques

Istanbul Day 2 - Ottoman Mosques

Pakup's Istanbul - the real Istanbul to be found in its poorer areas.

Just take off on a route perpendicular to the route between two famous

landmarks and you'll come across shops, cafes, restaurants, markets

and streetlife completely different from the Sultanamed. These

backstreets make for great strolling. We walked through the wholesale

shoe district, clothes district an area of wooden houses that could be

a museum in itself. Ottoman houses, slums - cheap hotels.

Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque (1496)

One of the oldest mosques in the city built by a eunuch who became

Grand vizier. Like many mosques the gardens have a caf�. A little

exchange with the attendant at the door as the correct etiquette i.e.

NOT to take your shoes off until you are right in front of the

entrance carpet.

Nuruesmaniye Mosque (1748)

Quite strange to see recognisable Baroque features on the outside,

then inside, of a mosque but this 18^th century mosque has curved

pediments and the ornamentation one would expect to see on a church in

Rome. This set the trend for baroque and Rococco design for a full

century in Istanbul.

Cistern (Roman - 4th century)

14 rows of 16 columns, this water cistern was used as a rubbish dump.

The vents in the roof used as disposal bin. It took months to clear

the rubbish and inside you see a huge expanse of pillars. There's no

water to be seen but an exhibition on the right hand side has computer

generated images of the hippodrome and other Roman buildings. There's

a caf�/restaurant inside, although the dark and damp don't add to the

atmosphere.

Hippodrome (Roman)

The rough shape of the stadium can be ascertained, although little

remains, A tall block built obelisk, which was originally clad in

bronze, stands at one end, then the bronze Serpent Column, a spiral

pillar from Delphi celebrating the Greek victory at Plataea in 479 BC.

One of the bronze snake heads can be seen in the archaeological

museum. Then there's the Thutmose III Aswan granite obelisk from

Luxor.

Evening meal at Olympias, a fish restaurant in Kumkapi. L0ots opf