Interesting places in ISTANBUL:

Fatih (District)		Eminönü
Cankurtaran		Beyoğlu (District)
Hagia Sophia		Üsküdar (District)
Sultanahmet Mimarmehmet Ağa		Sultanahmet
Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque)		Arap Cami
Beşiktaş (District)		Vişnezade
Kariye		Ortaköy
Eyüp (District)		Topkapi Palace
Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa		Bereketzade
Chora Church (Kariye)		Galata Bridge
Galata		Şişli District (southern part)
Kadıköy (District)		Galata Tower
Süleymaniye

ISTANBUL is part of Istanbul (Province & Municipality) .
Interesting places in ISTANBUL:

Eminönü (District)		Hagia Sophia
Fatih (District)		Sultanahmed (Blue) Mosque
Galata Tower		Topkapi Palace
Suleymaniye Mosque		Yeni (The New) Mosque
Chora Church (Kariye)		Galata Bridge
Bakirköy (İlçe)		Atakoy 2. Kisim
Sehzadebasi Mosque		Beyoğlu (İlçe)
Bosphorus Bridge		Ataturk Sanayi Sitesi
Hotel Daphne		Nusretiye Mosque
Laleli Mosque		Taksim Park
Galata		Egyptian / Spice Bazaar
Nevizade street		Fatih Mosque
Sultan Ahmet Square

Top photos chosen by u all:

Kız Kulesi...
Made by Kıvanç Niş
Kız Kulesi, hakkında çeşitli rivayetler anlatılan, efsanelere konu olan, İstanbul Boğazı'nın Marmara Denizi'ne yakın kısmında, Salacak açıklarında yer alan küçük adacık üzerinde inşa edilmiş yapıdır. Üsküdar'ın sembolü haline gelen kule, Üsküdar’da Bizans devrinden kalan tek eserdir. M.Ö. 2475 yıllarına kadar uzanan tarihi bir geçmişe sahip olan kule, Karadeniz’in Marmara ile kucaklaştığı yerde minicik bir ada üzerinde kurulmuştur. Bazı Avrupalı tarihçiler buraya Leander Kulesi derler. Kule hakkında pek çok rivayetler bulunmaktadır. Evliya Çelebi kuleyi şöyle tarif eder: Deniz içinde karadan bir ok atımı uzak, dört köşe, sanatkarane yapılmış bir yüksek kuledir. Yüksekliği tam seksen arşundur. Sathı mesehası ikiyüz adımdır. İki tarafına bakan yerde kapısı vardır. Bugün gördüğümüz kulenin temelleri ve alt katın mühim kısımları Fatih devri yapısıdır. Kulenin etrafındaki sahanlık geniş taşlarla kaplanmıştır. Üstündeki madalyon halindeki bir mermer levhada, kuleye şimdiki şeklini veren Sultan II. Mahmut’un, Hattat Rasim’in kaleminden çıkmış 1832 tarihli bir tuğrası vardır. Kulenin Eminönü tarafı daha genişçe olup burada bir de sarnıç vardır. İlk olarak Yunan döneminde bir mezara ev sahipliği yapan bu ada Bizans döneminde inşa edilen ek bina ile gümrük istasyonu olarak kullanılmıştır. Osmanlı döneminde ise gösteri platformundan, savunma kalesine, sürgün istasyonundan, karantina odasına kadar bir çok işlev yüklenmiştir. Asli görevi olan ve yüzyıllardan beri varlığı ile insanlara, geceleri ise geçen gemilere göz kırpan feneri ile yol gösterme işlevini hiç kaybetmemiştir.Geçmişten geleceğe en çok da düşlere yol göstermektedir Kız Kulesi... Kız Kulesi 2000 yılında restore edilerek turizmin hizmetine sunulmuştur. Kız kulesine ulaşım Salacak ve Ortaköy'den sandallarla yapılmaktadır. Çok eski tarihi geçmişi olan Kız Kulesi, bir zamanlar, Boğazdan geçen gemilerden vergi alınmak maksadı ile kullanılmıştır. Kule ile Avrupa Yakası boyunca büyük bir zincir çekilmiş ve gemilerin Anadolu Yakası ile Kız Kulesi arasından geçişine(o zamanlar gemi boyutları küçük olduğu için geçebilmekteydi) izin verilmiştir. Bir süre sonra Kule, zinciri taşıyamamış ve Avrupa Yakasına doğru yıkılmıştır. Kuleden suyun içinde bakıldığında yıkıntıları görülmektedir. Antik Çağ'da Arkla(küçük kale) ve Damialis(dana yavrusu) adları ile anılan kule, bir ara da Tour de Leandros(Leandros'un kulesi) ismi ile ün yapmıştır. Şimdi ise Kız Kulesi ismi ile bütünleşmiş ve bu ismi ile anılmaktadır. Wikipedia


Zoe’nin mozaik, Ayasofya, İstanbul
Made by El senyor dels Bertins
Santa Sofia és una antiga església ortodoxa convertida en mesquita i avui museu d'İstanbul. L'esplanada des d'on es contempla Santa Sofia a un costat i la Mesquita del Sultà Ahmet o Mesquita Blava a l'altra és una imatge turística inoblidable. Es considera l'obra més gran i sagrada de l'època bizantina. Va ser utilitzada com església durant 916 anys, des de la seva construcció l'any 537 fins al dia de la conquesta d'Istanbul l'any 1453. Des d'aquesta data fins a 1934, durant 481 anys, es va utilitzar com a mesquita. Després de passar una restauració complerta per ordre de Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, fundador de la república Turca, el febrer de 1935, va ser inaugurada com a museu. El 23 de febrer de 532, només uns quants dies després de la destrucció de la segona basílica, l'emperador Justinià I prenia la decisió de construir una tercera basílica totalment diferent, més gran i més majestuosa que les sevess predecessors. Justinià escollia el físic Isidor de Milet i el matemàtic Antemi de Tral·les com a arquitectes; Antemi, tanmateix, moria al cap d'un any. La construcció és descrita per l'historiador bizantí Procopi a De Aedificiis. La basílica es construí amb material portat de pertot l'imperi, com columnes hel·lenístiques des del temple d'Àrtemis a Efes. Les pedres grans es portaren de llunyanes pedreres: Pòrfid des d'Egipte, marbre verd des de Tessàlia, pedra negra des de la regió del Bòsfor i pedra groga des de Síria. Més de deu mil persones foren contractades durant la construcció. Fou reconeguda immediatament com una obra excepcional d'arquitectura, demostrant les idees creatives dels arquitectes. Podrien haver utilitzat les teories d'Heró d'Alexandria per poder construir una cúpula d'aquestes dimensions sobre un espai obert tant gran. L'emperador, juntament amb el patriarca Eutychius, inaugurava la basílica nova en 27 de desembre de 537 amb molta pompa i circumstància. Els mosaics dins de l'església, tanmateix, no foren completats fins el regnat de l'emperador Justí II (565-578). Els terratrèmols l'agost de 553 i 14 de desembre de 557 provocaren escletxes a les cúpules. La cúpula principal s'ensorrà completament durant un terratrèmol el 7 de maig de 558, destruint per l'impacte l'altar i el cimbori. L'emperador ordenà una restauració immediata. El confiava a Isodor el Jove, nebot d'Isidor de Milet. Aquesta vegada utilitzà materials més lleugers i elevà la cúpula 6,25 m, donant així la seva alçada interior actual de 55,6 m. Aquesta reconstrucció es completà el 562. Pàgina a la UNESCO World Heritage List. .


A Tile Paradise; Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque (HDR)
Made by Kuzeytac
BİGGER is BETTER Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque The Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque (Turkish: ' Sokollu Pasa Camii') is an Ottoman mosque located in the Kadirga neighborhood of the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey. The Sokoullu Mehmet Pasha Mosque was designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha (husband of one of the granddaughters of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Princess Esmahan. Its building took place from 1571 to 1572. The mosque is official named after Princess Esmahan. Exterior The mosque is noted for its architecturally challenging location on a steep slope. Sinan resolved this issue by fronting the mosque with a two-story a courtyard. The bottom story (now in ruins) was divided into shops, whose rents were intended to help support the upkeep of mosque. The upper story with an open colonnaded courtyard had the spaces between the columns on three sides walled off to form small rooms, each with a small window, fireplace and niche to store bedding, forming the living accommodations for a madrasah. Instruction for students was given in the prayer hall itself, or in the dershane, a large domed room over the western staircase. The fourth side of the courtyard is the mosque itself, which is designed as a hexagon inscribed in a rectangle, topped by a dome with four small semi-domes in the corners. Interior The interior of the Sokulu Mehet Pasha Mosque is famous for its large quantities of exquisite İznik tiles, set in a very wide variety of blue and green floral designs, with panels of calligraphy in white letters on a blue field. The interior columns make use of polychrome marble. The minbar is made of white marble with a conical cap, sheathed in turquoise tiles, which also frame the mihrab. The windows above the mithrab are stained glass. Above the door, framed by a gold design, is a fragment of the Kaaba in Mecca; other fragments of this black stone are in the minbar and mihrab. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokollu_Mehmet_Pasha_Mosque


Ortakoy, Istanbul, TR
Made by fikretonal
update: Jan 07, 2008 Intelligent Traveller's choice for the week of Jan 07, 2008: blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2008... Ortakoy Mosque has a unique heritage in this neighborhood and I had been planning for a long time to capture it. It was before sunrise on a Sunday morning right in front of the Bosphorus Bridge, where the two continents (Europe and Asia) are almost touching each other. I was a little bit late and I did not know exactly from where the sun would be coming up. And it was an overcast, dull morning and most of the fishermen had already left for fishing. Luckily there were still three vessels there waiting for duty. And there were still some people hanging around, burning their candles at both ends, and a bunch of university students making music, playing guitar and singing all together out loud. The lights on the bridge and the mosque were still on and turned off right after taking this shot. Otherwise, most likely the façade of the mosque would have been too dark. I live in Toronto, and my mom and sister live in Istanbul. I was there to visit them last summer for a short period of time. However, I was dying to spare some time in the city to take some photographs, so we made a deal the previous night with my little nephew and my mom to wake up really early in the pitch dark to go to Ortakoy. The only reason that I had to make this deal was to make sure that this mischievous 8-year old boy would not cry out for being woken up in the middle of his sleep. It turned out that he loved to carry up my tripod even though he was still sleepy. I still shoot film with my Canon EOS ELAN 7N camera. I used Velvia 50 film and Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM lens at f/22 around 18mm to have enough DOF to get the mosque, Bosphorus Bridge at the back and the leading poles at the front all the way sharp. Since the sky was so boring, I attached my 1-stop graduated tobacco and 1-stop graduated neutral density Cokin filters to give a try.


Galata Bridge...
Made by Kıvanç Niş
Explore No : #401 Galata Bridge The Galata Bridge (in Turkish Galata Köprüsü) is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. From the end of the 19th century in particular, the bridge has featured in Turkish literature, theater, poetry and novels. History The oldest recorded bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul was built during the reign of Justinian the Great in the 6th century AD close to the area near the Theodosian Land Walls at the western end of the city. In 1453, during the Fall of Constantinople, the Turks assembled a mobile bridge by putting their ships next to each other and used it for transporting their troops from one side of the Golden Horn to the other. In the years 1502-1503 plans to construct the first bridge in the current location were discussed. Sultan Bayezid II solicited a design and Leonardo da Vinci, utilizing three well-known geometrical principles, the pressed-bow, parabolic curve and keystone arch, created an unprecedented single span 240 m long and 24 m wide bridge for the Golden Horn, which would become the longest bridge in the world of that period if constructed. However, the ambitious design did not meet with the Sultan's approval. Another Italian artist, Michelangelo was also invited to design a bridge for Istanbul. Michelangelo rejected the proposal, and the idea of building a bridge across the Golden Horn was shelved until the 19th century. A smaller scale version of Leonardo da Vinci's Golden Horn Bridge was brought to life in 2001 near Oslo, Norway by the contemporary artist Vebjørn Sand, the first civil engineering project based on a Leonardo da Vinci sketch to be constructed. The Leonardo Bridge Project hopes to build the design as a practical footbridge around the world, including the Golden Horn in Istanbul, using local materials and collaborating with local artisans as a global public art project. The Wall Street Journal referred to the Project as a ...logo for the nations. (WSJ, Nov. 5-6, 2005) by Wikipedia


100.000 visites al Flickr. ISTAMBUL LA NUIT
Made by Quim Bahí
L'emperador romà Constantí el Gran va fundar la ciutat i la va anomenar Constantinoble en honor seu, a l'emplaçament de l'antiga colònia grega de Bizanci. Arran de la partició de l'Imperi Romà, en va esdevenir capital de la part oriental, coneguda com l'imperi Bizantí. Després de la caiguda de Constantinoble el 1453, va entrar a formar part de l'imperi Otomà i de seguida en va esdevenir la capital. Abans de la conquesta, els turcs l'anomenaven İstanbul, però oficialment usaven el nom àrab de Qusţanţaniyyeh (قسطنطنيه), en el sentit de Ciutat de Constantí. Només fou a partir del 28 de març de 1930 que la ciutat fou reanomenada Istanbul de forma oficial. ------------------------- Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul; historically Byzantium and Constantinople; see the other names of Istanbul) is the largest city in Turkey and fourth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. ------------------------------- Gràcies a per aquestes 100.000 visites. Moltes gràcies a en Salvador per mostrar-me aquesta gran galeria que és el Flirck, gràcies a totes les persones que quedem i han volgut quedar per anar a fer fotos. Gràcies a aquelles persones que han volgut mirar, comentar i observar tantes i tantes vegades cadascuna d'aquestes fotografies. Gràcies a tots els que esteu al França Vista Pels Catalans. Gràcies a totdon i a tothom. Millor en gran: farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3714274830_76e0a4721e_b.jpg


Kariye Müzesi,.....Church of St. Savior in Chora Istanbul
Made by keithhull
If you have time looks better . The highlight of my trip to Istanbul was visiting the extraordinary museum Church of St. Savior in Chora in Turkish the Kariye Camii. This photograph is of one of the domed ceilings it is not perfect as you were not allowed to take tripods into the building so the shot was taken lying flat on the ground. The majority of the fabric of the current building dates from 1077–1081, when Maria Dukaina, the mother-in-law of Alexius I Comnenus, rebuilt the Chora Church as an inscribed cross or quincunx: a popular architectural style of the time. Early in the 12th century, the church suffered a partial collapse, perhaps due to an earthquake. The church was rebuilt by Isaac Comnenus, Alexius's third son. However, it was only after the third phase of building, two centuries after, that the church as it stands today was completed. The powerful Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites endowed the church with much of its fine mosaics and frescos. Theodore's impressive decoration of the interior was carried out between 1315 and 1321. The mosaic-work is the finest example of the Palaeologian Renaissance. There is probably no other site that has such a rich and varied collection of fourteenth century byzantine frescos and mosaics. For centuries they lay underneath a heavy coat of plaster when the church became a mosque. In 1948, Thomas Whittemore and Paul A. Underwood, from the Byzantine Institute of America and the Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, sponsored a programme of restoration. From that time on, the building ceased to be a functioning mosque. In 1958, it was opened to the public as a museum — Kariye Müzesi. If you visit Istanbul I would urge you to visit this tiny church out by the city walls it is really worth the effort THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT HAVE A GREAT DAY To see keithhull's Most Interesting Photos on Flickriver


Turkey - Istanbul - Blue mosque
Made by © Lucie's Photography / www.luciedebelkova.com
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1299 to 1923). The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul.this mosque is also called the johan kimonary nad the istkkahyura toh mosque this is the largest. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is one of the two mosques in Turkey that has six minarets, the other is in Adana. When the number of minarets was revealed, the Sultan was criticized for presumption, since this was, at the time, the same number as at the mosque of the Ka'aba in Mecca. He overcame this problem by paying for a seventh minaret at the Mecca mosque. Four minarets stand at the corners of the mosque. Each of these fluted, pencil-shaped minarets has three balconies (ṣerefe) with stalactite corbels, while the two others at the end of the forecourt only have two balconies. Photo taken very early in the morning when the light was still very soft. Blue color of the sky increased with Nikon Circular Polarizer. PENTAX K20D, f/6.7, 0.008 sec (1/125), ISO 100, 35 mm All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer. Visit for links to my site, facebook, and camera equipment information.


The mystical light of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Made by eftimov-schenk-schwartz
Sailing to Byzantium That is no country for old men. The young In one another's arms, birds in the trees - Those dying generations - at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect. An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress, Nor is there singing school but studying Monuments of its own magnificence; And therefore I have sailed the seas and come To the holy city of Byzantium. O sages standing in God's holy fire As in the gold mosaic of a wall, Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre, And be the singing-masters of my soul. Consume my heart away; sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal It knows not what it is; and gather me Into the artifice of eternity. Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing, But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make Of hammered gold and gold enamelling To keep a drowsy Emperor awake; Or set upon a golden bough to sing To lords and ladies of Byzantium Of what is past, or passing, or to come. -- William Butler Yeats (2006)


Şiirlerin Şehri..
Made by kocabebek
Cem Karaca'ya Rahmetle... HEP KAHIR dur ! bırak ! kaynasın kahvenin suyu... bana istanbul’u anlat nasıldı? bana boğazı anlat nasıldı? haziran titreyişlerle,kaçak yağmurlar ardı. yıkanmış kurunur muydu o yedi tepe ana şefkati gibi sıcak güneşte... insanlar gülüyordu de, trende,vapurda,otobüste yalanda olsa hoşuma gidiyor söyle hep kahır,hep kahır, hep kahır,... bıktım be... dur ! bırak ! kalsın, açma televizyonu! bana istanbul’u anlat nasıldı? şiirlerin şehrini anlat nasıldı? beyoğlu sırtlarından,yasak gözlerinle bakıp, köprüler, sarayburnu, minareler ve haliç’e... diyiverdin mi bir merhaba gizlice? insanlar gülüyordu de, trende, vapurda, otobüste, yalanda olsa hoşuma gidiyor söyle... hep kahır, hep kahır, hep kahır, bıktım be... dur ! bırak ! kımıldama,kal biraz öylece ne olur... kokun istanbul gibidir, gözlerin istanbul gecesi, şimdi gel sarıl,sarıl bana kınalım. gök kubbenin altında orda da beraber. çok şükür diyerek yeniden başlamanın hayali, hasretimin çölünde sanki bir pınar gibi... insanlar gülüyordu de, trende,vapurda,otobüste, yalanda olsa hoşuma gidiyor söyle... hep kahır, hep kahır, hep kahır, bıktım be...