Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Byzantine Architecture After Mehmet the Conquerer stormed into İstanbul in 1453 many churches were converted into mosques; despite the minarets, you can usually tell a church-cum-mosque by the distinctive red bricks that are characteristic of all Byzantine churches. During Justinian’s reign (527–65), architects were encouraged to surpass each other’s achievements when it came to utilising the domed, Roman influenced basilica form. Aya Sofya is the supreme example of this. Early Byzantine basilica design used rectangular external walls; inside was a centralised polygonal plan with supporting walls and a dome. Little Aya Sofya (Küçük Aya Sofya Camii), built around 530, is a good example. Later, a mixed basilica and centralised polygonal plan developed. This was the foundation for church design from the 11th century until the Conquest and many Ottoman mosques were inspired by it. The Monastery of Christ Pantokrator is a good example. The Byzantines also had a yen for building fortifications. The greatest of these is the still-standing land wall. Constructed in the 5th century by order of Emperor Theodosius II, it was 20km long and protected the city during multiple sieges until it was finally breached in 1453.

İstanbul’s Old City is included in Unesco’s World Heritage List for its mix and wealth of Byzantine and Ottoman architectural masterpieces and its incomparable skyline.

Constantine the Great, the first Byzantine emperor, named his city ‘New Rome’. And like Rome it was characterised by great public works such as the stone aqueduct built by Emperor Valens between 368 and 378. The aqueduct fed a series of huge cisterns built across the city, one being the Basilica Cistern. Like Rome, the city was built on seven hills and to a grid pattern that included ceremonial thoroughfares such as Divan Yolu and major public spaces such as the Hippodrome.