Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

CHURCH Mosque. The latter is also a late example of a saf prayer rug; several people could pray side by side in a saf (line) on its multiple mihrab decorations. AYA İRINI ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Hagia Eirene, Church of the Divine Peace; % 0212-512 0480; http://topkapisarayi.gov.tr/en/hagia-irene-0; 1st Court, Topkapı Palace; adult/child under 6yr ₺ 20/free; h 9am-7pm Wed-Mon Apr–mid-Oct, to 5pm mid-Oct–Mar; j Sultanahmet) Commissioned by Justinian in the 540s, this Byzantine church is almost exactly as old as its near neighbour, Aya Sofya. Used as an arsenal for centuries, it is now open to visitors but the entrance fee is exorbitant considering the fact that there are no exhibits inside. The serenely beautiful interior and superb acoustics make this one of the most sought-after venues for the İstanbul International Music Festival. To attend a festival event here try your luck online at Biletix. Running between the Topkapı Palace walls and Aya Sofya, this cobbled street is named after the Soğuk Çeşme (Cold Fountain) at its southern end. It is home to the Carpet Museum, to a row of faux-Ottoman houses functioning as a hotel and to an undoubtedly authentic restored Byzantine cistern that now operates as the hotel restaurant. In the 1980s the Turkish Touring & Automobile Association (Turing) acquired a row of buildings on this street and decided to demolish most of them in order to build nine re-creations of the prim Ottoman-style houses that had occupied the site in the previous two centuries. What ensued was a vitriolic battle played out on the pages of İstanbul’s newspapers, with some experts arguing that the city would be left with a Disney-style architectural theme park rather than a legitimate exercise in conservation architecture. Turing eventually got the go-ahead (after the intervention of the Turkish president, no less) and in time opened all of the re-created buildings as Ayasofya Konakları, one of the city’s first boutique heritage hotels. Conservation theory aside, the street is particularly attractive and worth a look. HISTORIC SITE SOĞUKÇEŞME SOKAK ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; j Sultanahmet or Gülhane)