Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

GÜLHANE PARK ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Gülhane Parkı; h 7am-10pm; j Gülhane)

PARK

Gülhane Park was once the outer garden of Topkapı Palace, accessible only to the royal court. These days crowds of locals come here to picnic under the many trees, promenade past the formally planted flowerbeds, and enjoy wonderful views of the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and Princes’ Islands from the Set Üstü Çay Bahçesi on the park’s northeastern edge. The park is especially lovely during the İstanbul Tulip Festival F , in April, when tulips are arranged to resemble nazar boncuk ‘evil eye’ charms. Green-fingered beautification has brought improvements to walkways and amenities, and the park has seen the opening of the İstanbul Museum of the History of Science & Technology in Islam. Next to the southern entrance is the Alay Köşkü (Parade Kiosk), now open to the public as the Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Literature Museum Library. Across the street and 100m downhill from the park’s main gate is an outrageously curvaceous rococo gate leading into the precincts of what was the grand vizierate, or Ottoman prime ministry, known in the West as the Sublime Porte ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Alemdar Caddesi; j Gülhane) thanks to this entrance. Today the buildings beyond the gate hold various offices of the İstanbul provincial government (the Vilayeti). LITTLE AYA SOFYA ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Küçük Aya Sofya Camii, SS Sergius & Bacchus Church; Küçük Ayasofya Caddesi; h sunrise-sunset; j Sultanahmet or Çemberlitaş) F Justinian and his wife Theodora built this little church sometime between 527 and 536, just before Justinian built Aya Sofya. You can still see their monogram worked into some of the frilly white capitals. The building is one of the most beautiful Byzantine structures in the city despite being converted into a mosque in the early 16th century and having many of its original features obscured during an extensive restoration in 2007. Named after Sergius and Bacchus, the two patron saints of Christians in the Roman army, the building has been known as Little (Küçük in Turkish) Aya Sofya for much of its existence. Its dome is architecturally noteworthy and its

MOSQUE