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One and the only villa hotel in the old town of Istanbul Sultanahmet

Sightseeings

Galata Tower


The Galata Tower — called Christea Turris by the Genoese — is a medieval stone tower in the Galata/Karakoy quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn’s junction with the Bosphorus. One of the city’s most striking landmarks, it is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and offers a panoramic vista of Istanbul’s historic peninsula and its environs. Continue reading

Cagaloglu Turkish Bath

It’s located in Cagaloglu neighborhood near the Underground Cistern. The hammam was built by an unknown architect in 1741 by the order of Sultan Mahmut I to provide revenue for the library of Sultan Mahmut and the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) Mosque at that time.

The hammam has separate sections for both men and women. It combines different Ottoman architectural styles and was the last of the great hammams to be built in the city before their construction was forbidden by Sultan Mustafa III in 1768, because of the increasing needs for water and wood in Istanbul.

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Istanbul Archaeological Museum

This complex was build by the end of 19th century by the architect Vallaury thanks to great efforts of famous Turkish painter Osman Hamdi Bey. It includes the exquisite Tiled Kiosk and the Museum of the Ancient Orient and houses a large collection of artifacts and works of art belonging to ancient Greek, Roman and other Anatolian civilizations dating back to the 6th century BC. The Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, Sarcophagus of Mourning Ladies, and other ancient sarcophagi and various objects found in the Sidon excavation are among its most interesting pieces.

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Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum

Istanbul’s Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Türk-Islam Eserleri Müzesi), on the Hippodrome across from the Blue Mosqueu, is a treasure-house of beautiful objects from the Ottomann (14th to 20th centuries), Seljuk (11th to 13th centuries), and earlier periods beginning in the 8th century.

The best art was religious art during the Ottoman Empire, just as it was in medieval Europe.

Turkish carpets, illuminated Kur’ans, calligraphy (at which the Ottomans excelled), carved and inlaid wood, glass, porcelain and stone are well displayed. Turkish ethnographic exhibits—a fully-furnished nomads’ tent, a 19th-centuryOttoman parlor, and others—extend the collection beyond mere beautiful objects shown out of context. Continue reading

Sokullu Pasha Mosque

Sokollu (or Sokullu) Mehmed Pasha was born in Sokol of Bosnia in 1505. Thanks to his honest and trusty public service he was quickly promoted to higher ranks in the Ottoman Empire. After the death of Barbaros Hayrettin in 1546 he became the Admiral of the Navy and later General of the Army. He commanded the troops during the war with Austria outside Szigetvar in Hungary in 1566, during which Suleyman died because of his old age and illnesses.

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St.Sergius & Bachus

RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS

Small St.Sofia Mosque – Ss. Sergius and Bacchus Church

Small St. Sofia Mosque is located between Cankurtaran and Kadırga quarters in Eminönü District, 20 km away from the southern seaside of Mediterranean ramparts. Although it is stated in some sources that there was a pavilion of Big Palace, which is known as Hormidas Palace, and a basically planned church established for Apostle Petrous and Pavlos near Small St. Sofia Mosque, there is no proof which determines their exact locations.

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The Sphendone

Just 10 meters to Villa Sphendone Hotel Istanbul…

“It stands on perfectly level ground; but this is more to be ascribed to industry than its natural situation…. Continue reading