Instanbul Day 2, May 4, 2024. This morning we hopped on public transportation and headed over to Istanbul’s Old City. We toured the Basilica Cistern, the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, checked out the Grand Bazaar, the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Rustem Pasa Mosque. Fantastic day! #hinesadventures
Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 metres (490 ft) southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I.
If you have ever been to the Roman Baths in Bath, England, this Cistern was significantly larger.
The columns were repurposed from other buildings.
There are two Medusa’s heads in the Basilica Cistern. Basilica Cistern has 336 columns supporting the water reserve. Two of these columns have Medusa’s heads at their bases. One of the Gorgon monster’s heads is positioned sideways while the other is placed upside down.
There were so many fascinating things in the Istanbul Archaelogial Museum. We loved the detail on this statue. It is Statue of Tyche, made of marble, 2nd century, Prusias ad Hyplum.
Check out the Sarcophagus of The Mourning Women, named for the reliefs on its facades. It is believed that this belonged to the Sideon King Straton I (374-358 BCE).
We went to The Grand Bazaar at lunch time on a Saturday. What a crush.
We toured the of Suleymaniye Mosque.
Look in the lower right where this marble threshold has been worn down over the centuries at the Suleymaniye Mosque.
Outside the Suleymaniye Mosque, this is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557, although work on the complex probably continued for a few years after this.
See the view of the Golden Horn waterway area of Istanbul from the Suleymaniye Mosque.
There were Turkish coffee urns for sale at the Spice Bazaar as well as nuts and figs.
The Rustem Pasha Mosque, was built after 1561. The mosque is noted for the many different designs of İznik tiles that cover almost every vertical surface both in the interior and under the entrance porch.
Check out the up close photos of the tiles of the Rustem Pasha Mosque.