Istanbul 2014 - Hippodrome of Constantinople @ Sultan Ahmet Square

Date of visit: 6th April 2014

The Egyptian Obelisk, Thutmosis III at Sultan Ahmet Square at present day

The first thing we asked the Yazar Hotel reception was our luggage. We were beyond words when they told us it did not arrive as yet. What would happen if we did not get it before our train left Istanbul to Bucharest? Are we supposed to shop for the whole attire? What happened to all our foods inside the luggage? All plans for that night were cancelled. I immediately made a call to Qatar Airlines “Lost & Found” after no satisfactory answer received from Ataturk Airport “Lost & Found”. We were a bit relieved when they  informed that everything was on its way, that we the next plane should landed at around 9pm. To cut the story short, only the next morning we found out that all luggage was at the reception as the boy did not wanted to bother us from our horrible sleep.

Malaysian ladies in skirt at Hippodrome

We were overly excited taking out our skirts to wear for the day thinking about beautiful poses in Tulips festival garden. So, therefore we continued the full itinerary and trying to catch-up what was missed today. Let us the places that we visited on our day 3.

Tram stop at Sultanahmet station with a view of Sultan Ahmet Square in the background

The first stop was taking a tram to Sultanahmet (3 stops from Sikeci) and get down to “Hippodrome of Constantinople”. Hippodrome used to be a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. It was also called Atmeydani @ Horse Square. Today it is a square named “Sultanahmet  Meydanı” or Sultan Ahmet Square. In the present develop Turkish city of Istanbul, only a few fragments of the original structure surviving.

The German Fountain

The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos mean horse, and dromos, a pathway. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular in those ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in theHellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.

Although the Hippodrome is usually associated with Constantinople's days of glory as an imperial capital, it actually predates that era. The first Hippodrome was built when Istanbul city was called Byzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. In AD 203, the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment.

The base of the Obelisk of Thutmosis III showing Emperor Theodosius as he offers a laurel wreath to the victor from the Kathismaat at the Hippodrome.

In AD 324, the Emperor Constantine the Great decided to move the seat of the government from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Nova Roma (New Rome). The city was changing its name after Empreror Constantine as Constantinople, the City of Constantine. Constantine greatly enlarged the city, and one of his major undertakings was the renovation of the Hippodrome. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 450m long x 130m wide. Its stands were capable of holding 100,000 spectators.

Walled obelisk built by Emperor Constantine in 10th Century

The Hippodrome Boxes, which had 4 statues of horses in gilded copper on top, stood at the northern end. These four gilded horses, now called the Horses of Saint Mark, whose exact Greek or Roman ancestry has never been determined, were looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and installed on the façade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The hippodrome was once filled with statues of gods, emperors and heroes, among them some famous works, such as a Heracles by Lysippos, Romulus and Remus with their wolf and the Serpent Column of the Plataean tripod.

The rivalry and riots between the political or religious rivalries amounted to series of civil wars that broke out in the city between them. As a caused, many important buildings, such as the 2nd Hagia Sophia Church, were destroyed. The current Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian following the Nika Revolt. Constantinople never really recovered from its sack during the 4th Crusade and even though the Byzantine Empire survived until 1453, by that time, the Hippodrome had fallen into ruin. The Ottoman Turks, who captured the city in 1453 and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire, were not interested in racing and the Hippodrome was gradually forgotten, although the site was never actually built over.

Remains of the Delphi Tripod, "Serpentine Column" in Hippodrome Square

The Hippodrome was used for various occasions such as the lavish and days-long circumcision ceremony of the sons of Sultan Ahmed III. In Ottoman miniature paintings, the Hippodrome is shown with the seats and monuments still intact. Although the structures do not exist anymore, today's Sultanahmet Square largely follows the ground plan and dimensions of the now vanished Hippodrome.

At last, a photo of me with Anne at the Tulips yard near the German Fountain

We wandered for a while admiring multi-colors Tulips at the square before entering the Blue Mosque from back yard entrance.

Istanbul 2014 - Fatih Mosque

Date of visit: 5th April 2014

I have read so much history about Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the Ottomon's Conqueror as he was predicted and foreseen by the late Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in his dream that the greatest Muslim Conqueror will 1 day conquer the Constantinople from the Roman throne. Many of the prophets close companion including the famous Abu Ayyub al-Ansari has tried their luck. Abu Ayyub died in circa 672-674 during the 1st Arab siege of Constantinople. He was buried in Eyup Sultan Mosque. No one succeeded but Fatih Sultan Mehmed finally brought the dream glory 8 century later (779 years after the death of Abu Ayyub). It was in 1453 that Sultan Fatih conquered Constantinople. The glory of Ottomon empires lasted in a few centuries, making it as a great empires ever among the the rise and fall of the rest world great historian empires. 

Fatih Sultan Mehmed has ordered a mosque to be built on on the site of the former Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, which was in ruin since the 4th Crusade War. It was called the Fatih Mosque, or famously known as Conqueror's Mosque, named after the famous Sultan. This Ottoman imperial mosque is located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was one of the largest examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represented an important stage in the development of classic Turkish architecture. 

The Fatih mosque complex was a religious and social building of unprecedented size and complexity built in Istanbul between 1463-1470, 10 years after the Sultan's victory. It was built by the royal architect Atik Sinan on the site of the former Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles. The Fatih mosque was the first monumental project in the Ottoman imperial architectural tradition.

The original complex included a set of well-planned buildings constructed around the mosque. They include 8 madrassa, library, hospital, caravanserai, market, hamam, primary school and public kitchen which served food to the poor. Various mausoleums were added at a later dates. The original complex covered an almost 325 sqmeters area on a side, extending along the Golden Horn side of Fevzipasa Street. Along Fevzipasa street, the beautifully city gate as seen in above 2 photos was secretly admired by me from a far distance (in a bus) when we were passing by those street 10 years ago. I made a silent wish to get down on the bus and wandered the Fevzipasa Street for a closer look and/or taken a photo next to it. Those wishes came true on 5th May 2014, though the walk was quite suffering.

My sister Rosnani was overjoyed as she had the same high admiration over the success of the great Conqueror, Fatih, the story she read from the book and the reason why she wanted to visit Istanbul. We were both achieved our dream to visit Fatih's tomb, the least to pay our respect, say our prayer to him.

The original mosque was badly damaged and repeatedly repaired in the 1509, 1557 and 1754 earthquakes. It was completely destroyed by an earthquake on 22 May 1766 when the main dome collapsed and the walls were irreparably damaged. The current mosque (designed on a completely different plan) was completed in 1771 under Sultan Mustafa III by the architect, Mimar Mehmet Tahir.

The first Fatih mosque had 1 central dome supported by a single semi-dome of the same diameter on the qibla side and suspended on four arches; its dome was 26 meter in diameter. The 2nd mosque which was built in 1771 after the 1766 earthquake was built on a square plan. It has 1 central dome supported by 4 semi-domes. The courtyard, main entrance portal and lower portions of the minarets remain from the original construction, with the remainder consisting of the 1771 Baroque reconstruction.

Fatih's tomb in a beautiful mausoleum next to the mosque, with a beautiful dome. The most beautiful tomb that I have visited so far.

Interior decoration inside the place, Yaasin pamphlet with a beautiful view and a calm feeling inside

Both my sister and I took a Yaasin pamphlet and recited in a quite, teary voice. I don't know about what my sister wishes and prayed for but as for me, I seek Allah's forgiveness for mild punishment whilst allowing me to repay all my sins in this earthly life so that if I were to die, I hope to cleanse all of my sins. I pray to be accepted by Him, to be placed next to Fatih Sultan Mehmed and to receive full blessing from the prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Amen.

The present interior of the Fatih Mosque is essentially a copy of earlier designs invented by Sinan re-used repeatedly by himself and his successors throughout Istanbul. The technique is emulative of the Hagia Sophia. The 26 meter diameter center dome is supported by 4 semi-domes on each axis supported by 4 large marble columns. There are 2 minarets each with twin galleries. The calligraphy within the mosque and the mimbar exhibit a Baroque influence, but the white tiles of inferior quality are a poor comparison with the İznik tiled splendor of mosques such as the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. The mihrab dates from the original construction.

As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the Fatih Mosque was designed as a kulliye, or complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. After the visit at the tomb's complex, we rushed inside the mosque to perform Asar and Zohor jama prayer. Ignoring all other thing, I cleansed at the man section. Could not find any women's area in a rush. Anne took a photo of me during the cleanse for prayer.

To the north and south of the mosque are the Sahn-ı Seman, 8 great madrassa, 4 to each side. These buildings are symmetrical, each contains 18 cells for students (each housing four youths) and a dershane. Behind each was an annex, about half as large as the madrassa itself, all of which have been destroyed as a result of road construction. The madrassa provided for about a thousand students, making it a large university for its time.

After the prayer, I wandered to the back courtyard which was beautifully seen from a carpet vis-a-vis beautifully laid carpet to receive visitor's at the courtyard. Everything in this mosque were as grandeur as it's history. The choices of it's interior decoration was simply breath taking. I politely asked a stranger to take my photo at the courtyard entrance. He was in a rush for prayer, hence, the photo result was not something that I satisfied.

Later, I bumped into Anne who was more than willing to take few shots of me inside the mosque. The building has a beautiful courtyard supported by 16 exceptional columns of verd antique and granite (some can be seen from above photo), which were probably salvaged from the Church of the Holy Apostles. 

Our group entered the graveyard which is located on the kiblah side behind the mosque. The tomb of Fatih Sultan Mehmet and his wif,e Gulbahar Hatun were both reconstructed after the earthquake. The tomb of the Conqueror is very baroque with a lavishly decorated interior. The tomb of Gulbahar is simple, with classic lines, and may closely resemble the original. In addition, the graveyard has a large number of graves belonging to leading state officials, including Osman Nuri Pasha.

On the kiblah side of the mosque, connected to it, is a domed library which was built in 1724. One of its doors opens onto the street, while the two other open onto the inner courtyard of the mosque. The library is presently undergoing repairs, and the books are under protection at the Suleymaniye Library. We did not have a chance nor a time to check the area as we were rushing to go back to the hotel and booked a show, Sufi Whirling Dance that night. Most important, we were eager to check our missing baggage, hoping that it were sent by the Airport to the hotel. 

On my way out from the mosque, I saw 2 pretty girls with their father and when asked for a selfie, both were gladly accepted my invitation in our sign languages.  All 3 girls were in pink colors, suited our selfie mood. It was a truly blessed day for me to achieve my personal dream to visit the Conqueror's tomb and mosque while meeting this 2 lovely young lady. 

End of our day 2 visits in Istanbul city.

Istanbul 2014 - Suleymaniye Mosque

Date: 5th April 2014

The second stop we made after Yeni Camii/Spice Bazaar was at the famous Suleymaniye Mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul. We chose to walk instead of taking a public transport as the place look so near, yet so far to reach. With a guided map and directions by the locals, we reached the destination though it was rather a breathless climbs up to the hill. It was seen very near as directed by the locals. The truth was, my feet was bursting with angers due to a lack of stamina and regular exercise. I must take note to be mentally and physically fit for my next trip.

Courtyard of the mosque

View from the main entrance to the mosque

The Suleymaniye Mosque was completed 456 years ago, in use since 1558.It is 1 of the renown Ottoman imperial mosque, being the largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. It was built on the order of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, draw by the architectural genius of Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1558.

The city directional sign is at it's best, you will not get lost

However, the hill does not look so friendly though :(

The vast religious complex blended Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements, combines tall, slender minarets with large domed buildings supported by half domes in the style of the Byzantine church Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia was once a mark of the Constantinople city but the mosque was built with an intent to surpass the Hagia Sophia glory.

Posing as soon as we entered through the rear entrance of the mosque

The design of the Suleymaniye displays the Sultan's self-conscious representation of himself as a 2nd Solomon, in references to the Dome of the Rock, which was built on the site of the Temple of Solomon. Emperor Justinian was recorded boast upon the completion of the Hagia Sophia by saying "Solomon, I have surpassed you!" The Suleymaniye, similar in magnificence to the preceding structures, asserts Sultan Suleyman's historical importance. The structure is nevertheless smaller in size than its older archetype, the Hagia Sophia.

Sultan Suleymaniya's mausoleum and member of the courts

In the garden behind the main mosque there are two mausoleums including the tombs of Sultan Suleiman I, his wife Roxelana, his daughter Mihrimah, his mother Dilaşub Saliha and his sister Asiye. The sultans Suleiman II, Ahmed II and Safiye, the daughter of Mustafa II, are also buried here. Just outside the mosque walls, to the north is the tomb of architect Sinan.

Similar case to Yeni Camii, Suleymaniye Complex was also ravaged by a fire in 1660 and was immediately restored by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part of the dome collapsed during 1766 earthquake. Subsequent repairs damaged what was left of the original decoration of Sinan (recent cleaning has shown that the Architect, Sinan had experimented the decor first with blue, before turning red the dominant color of the dome).

3 sisters discussing the world matter...hehe

During the World War I the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956 was it fully restored again.

Like the rest of Ottoman imperial mosques in Istanbul, the mosque itself is preceded by a monumental courtyard on the west side (see below 2 photos). The courtyard at the Suleymaniye is of exceptional grandeur with a colonnaded peristyle with columns of marble, granite and porphyry. At the 4 corners of the courtyard are the 4 minarets, a number only allowable to mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets have a total of 10 galleries which by tradition indicates that Suleiman I was the 10th Ottoman sultan.

The main dome is 53 meters high and has a diameter of 27.5 meters. At the time it was built, the dome was the highest in the Ottoman Empire, when measured from sea level, but still lower from its base and smaller in diameter than that of Hagia Sophia.

Closer view of the courtyard

Foreign and local tourist having photo together in this magnificent place

The interior of the mosque is almost a square, 59 meters by 58 meters, forming a single vast space as can be seen from below photo. The dome is flanked by semi-domes, and to the north and south arches with tympana-filled windows, supported by enormous porphyry monoliths. The architect, Sinan decided to make a radical architectural innovation to mask the huge north-south buttresses needed to support these central piers. He incorporated the buttresses into the walls of the building, with half projecting inside and half projecting outside, and then hid the projections by building colonnaded galleries. There is a single gallery inside the structure, and a two-story gallery outside.

The interior decoration is subtle, with very restrained use of Iznik tiles. The white marble mihrab and mimbar are also simple in design, and woodwork is restrained, with simple designs in ivory and mother of pearl.

As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque was designed as a külliye, or complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The original complex consisted of the mosque itself, a hospital (darüşşifa), primary school, public baths (hamam), a Caravanserai, four Qur'an schools (medrese), a specialized school for the learning of hadith, a medical college, and a public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the poor. Many of these structures are still in existence, and the former imaret is now a noted restaurant. The former hospital is now a printing factory owned by the Turkish Army.

Kulliyah complex

Shops complex

We end our visit with a good lunch

The place is 1 of the most attractions visited by many foreign and local tourist. It provides many of the things that you would want to fulfill depending on your wish list. We were there for tulips festival and we were so lucky as the main yard was planted with beautiful tulips in bright and pastel color. Beside, it has a small cozy shopping areas selling local souvenirs (see above photo) and a place to eat. We had lunch at 1 of the restaurant up there before adjourned to our next destination, Fatih Mosque. I'm sharing some of the  lovely shots of the tulips garden at the time of our visit at a weather of 19 Celsius to end this entry. Enjoy the view...

Notes: research from Wikipedia