History of Istanbul

Indonesia Media

What is now called Asian Istanbul was probably inhabited by people as early as 3000 BC. Eventually, in the 7th century, Greek colonists led by King Byzas established the colony of Byzantium, the Greek name for a city on the Bosphorus. Byzas chose the spot after consulting an oracle of Delphi who told him to settle across from the "land of the blind ones." Indeed, Byzas concluded, earlier settlers must have been deprived of their sight to have overlooked this superb location at the mouth of the Bosphorus strait. This proved an auspicious decision by Byzas, as history has shown Istanbul's location important far beyond what these early Greek settlers might possibly have conceived. Byzas gave his name to the city: Byzantium.

In the early 100's BC, it became part of the Roman Empire and in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great made Byzantium capital of the entire Roman Empire. From that point on, the city was known as Constantinople. The mid 400's AD was a time of enormous upheaval in the empire. Barbarians conquered the western Roman Empire while the Eastern, also called the Byzantine Empire, kept Constantinople as its capital. In 532 during the reign of Justinian I, antigovernment riots destroyed the city. It was rebuilt, and outstanding structures such as Hagia Sophia stand as monuments to the heights Byzantine culture reached.

The attribute that made the city so desirable, its incomparable location for trade and transport between three continents, was also its nemesis. For the next several hundred years Persians, Arabs, nomadic peoples, and members of the Fourth Crusade (who for a time governed the city) attacked Constantinople.

Finally, weakened by almost constant battle, the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453. Renamed the city to “ Istanbul”, it became the third and last capital of the Ottoman Empire. It was the nerve center for military campaigns that were to enlarge the Ottoman Empire dramatically. By the mid 1500's, Istanbul, with a population of almost half a million, was a major cultural, political, and commercial center. Ottoman rule continued until it was defeated in WWI and Istanbul was occupied by the allies.

When the Republic of Turkey was born in 1923 after the War of Independence, Kemal Ataturk moved the capital to the city of Ankara. But Istanbul has continued to expand dramatically; today its population is approximately 15 million and increases at an estimated 700,000 immigrants per year. Industry has expanded even as tourism has grown. It continues to be a city that creates its own history at the intersection where both Continents meet.

There are many interesting museums, castles, palaces, mosques, churches, and historic hammams. Some of the interesting districts of the city are: Haydarpasa, Uskudar, Eyup, Galata, Perapalas, Ortaköy, Bosphorus, Taksim, Eminönü and Sultanahmet. Princess Islands are a popular summer resort for local people.

Sultan Ahmet I ordered the construction of the Blue Mosque in 1609. It was completed in 1616. Istanbul's Blue Mosque was built partly as an effort to show Christians that Ottoman culture could produce something to rival the Hagia Sophia. The architect, Sedefkâr Mehmet Aÿa, was looking to rival the visual experience of Istanbul's famous church. And it is in fact an architectural masterpiece. And it is built so that visitors to the city can see both the mosque and the Hagia Sophia, and can compare the two...With six minarets standing out, this mosque is quite unique during that time. Hence, it’s the safest place to be when earthquake hits the city.

Tourists from all parts of the world lining up from the sideway entrance to enter the mosque. Prepare to take off your shoes and grab a plastic bag, put them inside while you are touring the interior building of the mosque. In this blue mosque, women are not requested to wear a headscarf, but other mosques they do request that women wear headscarf.

This is the prayers’ hall where it can accommodate about 10,000 people. This blue mosque is open to the public, except when the prayer time is in progress. You see the pulpit (called “mimbar” in Turkish) where Imam stands facing Mecca while praying and preaching.

This is the place where they are supposed to clean their feet, hands, faces before entering the prayer room.

Being inside the mosque makes one feel small. The chandeliers and blue Iznik tiles (from which the mosque takes its name) create a unique sense of lighting inside. The dimensions of the mosque are (like nearby Hagia Sophia) staggering. The dome rises to about 140 high and is 77 feet in diameter. Four pillars hold up the roof; they measure about 16 feet in diameter. There are some 260 windows. The 20,000 magnificent blue ceramic tiles covering much of the interior of the Blue Mosque and giving the mosque its nickname are the first things noticed when entering. These tiles are quite splendid and were produced in Iznik, which was once known as Nicaea in early Christian times. One piece of tile is worth $ 25,000 nowadays.

This is only a partial view of the most expensive Iznik blue tiles installed with different designs.

In the front yard of the Blue mosque you will find the statue of tulip, symbolizing the original place of this popular flower plant discovered in Turkey. Tulips were later successfully cultivated in Holland and becomes one of its main exports.

View outside the mosque taken from the main entrance door.

Another view outside yard showing the time and temperature in Centigrade.

Another view of Blue Mosque taken from the main street near the Hippodrome.

This is prayer room section for women. Notice the word “Bayan” means woman in Turkish and the word “Bay” means man.

The Hippodrome was built by the Romans in about 200 AD. It was originally used for chariot racing and other public events, and the stadium surrounding the track held over 100,000 people. The Hippodrome was the center of life in Byzantine Constantinople for over 1,000 years and of Ottoman life in Istanbul for over 400 years. It was also the center of numerous political and civil battles, some brutal. The bloodiest brawl occurred in 532 AD when two rival chariot racing teams ignited a riot that resulted in most of the city being burned. The revolt ended when an army of Justinian's mercenaries massacred about 30,000 people who were trapped in the HippodromeVery little of the Hippodrome survives today, and the area is now a large park adjacent to the Blue Mosque. The floor of the Hippodrome lies buried under 16 feet of soil and the track is now a paved road. Emperor Constantine once lined the Hippodrome with large columns, but only three survive in the park. Some of the rest were taken by the Crusaders, and can be found in European locations outside of Istanbul such as Venice. The oldest remaining column is called the Egyptian Obelisk, which was built in Egypt in 1500 BC, and once stood in Luxor before Constantine brought it to his city. Experts believe the beautifully carved column is only about 1/3 its original height, the rest being broken while it was being shipped to Constantinople.

The Column of Constantine -

Although it is believed that this dates from the 10th century, evidence shows that it was built earlier than that. Until 1204, it was covered by bronze and silver. When the Crusaders came to the area, they pulled off the bronze and silver, melted them down and made coins out of them.

Next to the Egyptian Obelisk is the spiral Serpentine Column, dating back to 479 BC. It was brought to Istanbul from Delphi, and originally consisted of three intertwined serpents supporting a large cauldron. The cauldron and snakes' heads were broken off the column in the 18th century.

During a visit in 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany erected an elaborate temple-like fountain as a gift to the sultan and his people. From the outside it looks pretty much like European style architecture.