Istanbul Guide

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BAZAAR DISTRICT SIGHTS Across the road from the mosque is the türbe (tomb) of Valide Sultan Turhan Ha dice. Buried with her are no fewer than six sultans, including her son Mehmet IV, plus dozens of imperial princes and princesses. Her türbe was closed for restoration at the time of research. If it is open, be sure to visit the Hünkar Kasr ı (p99), once the sultan’s waiting room, located above the grand archway on the eastern side of the mosque. NURUOSMANIYE MOSQUE MOSQUE Map p242 (Nuruosmaniye Camii, Light of Os man Mosque; Vezir Han Caddesi, Beyaz ı t; j Çemberl ı ta ş ) Facing one of the major gateways into the Grand Bazaar, this large mosque complex was built in Ottoman baroque style between 1748 and 1755. Con struction was started by order of Mahmut I and finished during the reign of his suc cessor, Osman III. Meticulously restored in recent years, it has a central prayer hall topped by one of the largest domes ever built in an Ottoman mosque, a unique po lygonal rear courtyard and a külliye com prising medrese, imaret, kütüphane and türbe . Though designed in the then highly fashionable and modern baroque style, the mosque has very strong echoes of Aya Sofya – specifically the lofty dome, colon naded mezzanine galleries, broad band of calligraphy around the interior (in this case a marble relief of the Sura Al-Fath) and 174 windows topped with Roman arches. De spite its prominent position on the busy pedestrian route from Ca ğ alo ğ lu Meydan ı and Nuruosmaniye Caddesi to the bazaar, it is surprisingly peaceful and contemplative inside. The türbe contains Ş ehsuvar Sultan, mother of Osman III, and the library (being restored at the time of research) is home to more than 5000 handwritten and printed manuscripts. Visitor entry to the mosque is via the rear courtyard. Ş EHZADE MEHMET MOSQUE MOSQUE Map p242 ( Ş ehzade Mehmet Camii, Mosque of the Prince; Ş ehzadeba ş ı Caddesi, Kalenderhane; m Vezneciler) Süleyman the Magnificent built this square-shaped mosque between 1543 and 1548 as a memorial to his son Meh met, who died of smallpox in 1543 at the age of 22. It was the first important mosque to be designed by Mimar Sinan and has a lovely garden setting, two double-balconied minarets and attractive exterior decora

tion. Inside, the central dome is supported by four semidomes (one on each side of the square). Among the many important people bur ied in tile-encrusted tombs on the mosque’s eastern side are Prince Mehmet, his broth ers and sisters and two of Süleyman’s grand vezirs : Rüstem Pa ş a and İ brahim Pa ş a. Other still-surviving parts of the külliye include a partially demolished medrese and a tabhane (inn for travelling dervishes) that is now used as a laboratory by the neigh MARKET (Kad ı nlar Pazar ı ; İ tfaiye Caddesi, Fatih; m Vezne ciler) Though it’s a wonderful spot to ob serve local life, the vibrant Women’s Bazaar isn’t for the faint-hearted. Freshly slaugh tered sheep carcasses swing in the wind and shops sell dried sheep heads, pungent tulum cheese and other unusual produce. Most shopkeepers are from the southeast ern corner of Turkey – specifically Siirt – and the tasty food served at the bazaar’s eateries reflects this. AQUEDUCT OF VALENS LANDMARK Map p242 (Atatürk Bulvar ı , Zeyrek; m Vezneciler) Rising majestically over the traffic on busy Atatürk Bulvar ı , this limestone aqueduct is one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. Commissioned by the Emperor Valens and completed in AD 378, it linked the third and fourth hills and carried water to a cistern at Beyaz ı t Meydan ı before finally ending up at the Great Palace of Byzantium. The aqueduct was part of an elaborate system sourcing water from the north of the city and linking more than 250km of water channels, some 30 bridges and more than 100 cisterns within the city walls, making it one of the greatest hydraulic engineer ing achievements of ancient times. After the Conquest, it supplied the Eski (Old) and Topkap ı Palaces with water. CHURCH OF THE MONASTERY OF CHRIST PANTOKRATOR MONASTERY Map p242 (Molla Zeyrek Camii; İ badethane Sokak, Zeyrek; m Vezneciler) This church and a series of cisterns are the only remaining struc tures of an important Byzantine monastery complex that also included a library, hospi tal and chapel. One of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in İ stanbul, it is the second-largest surviving Byzantine church in the city after Aya Sofya. Sorely neglected bouring Vefa Lycée. WOMEN’S BAZAAR