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Thread: the defences of istanbul!

  1. #41
    neoptolemos's Avatar Breatannach Romanus
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by dogukan View Post
    Well palaces of Ottomans have built and bosphorus as well as Istiklal avenue also attracts loads of tourists.
    And the grand bazaar even though it's place.
    All these are great but as i've said when someone thinks about Instabul then Hagia Sophia will come to his mind first
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  2. #42
    Romios's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by dogukan View Post
    And the grand bazaar even though it's place.
    Seriously, i couldn't stay in that place for more than thirty minutes. The crowd, the heat...we just buy some stuff and got out asap.
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  3. #43

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by John I Tzimisces View Post
    It was changed to Istanbul from Konstantiniyye AFTER the ottoman empire fell...
    I believe you are wrong.

    Arabs used to call this city as Konstantiniyye

    However at 10 century Seljuk Turks used to call this city as Stamboul-Stambul.

    Ottomans however use Konstantiniyye name in bureaucracy and people used to call this city as Stanbul

    Evliya Çelebi in his diaries refer the city as İstanbul which is originated from Greek and meaning as "towards the city"

    During the reign of Mustafa III. the name of Konstantiniyye removed from the coins and replaced with the name of İstambol





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  4. #44

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by neoptolemos View Post
    All these are great but as i've said when someone thinks about Instabul then Hagia Sophia will come to his mind first
    I believe there is no such priority queue. Many also said Blue Mosque or Topkapı Place to this answer.

    Still Hagia Sophia is a great place and I think it should be counted as one of the wonders of the world.





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  5. #45

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Romios View Post
    Seriously, i couldn't stay in that place for more than thirty minutes. The crowd, the heat...we just buy some stuff and got out asap.
    I think you are not used to visit or to be in such places.

    Grand bazaar signifies the dynamism of the city which was rooted many years ago.

    I really like the place. You can chat with some friendly herb dealers and have a nargile with them. Of course with a cup of Turkish coffee. You can find many spices and other unique goods.





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  6. #46
    antaeus's Avatar Cool and normal
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    i guess what people here fail to understand is that the greco roman and turkish history in that city can't be separated.

    the hagia sofia was used as a mosque, and is just as famous for its islamic history now. one of the problems they've had restoring it, is that to reveal the ancient christian mosaics, they have to damage historic muslim art.

    the city walls would not be standing now had the turks not restored them in the 16th - 19th centuries and used them for defence. without the turks, much of the greco roman heritage of the city would have been lost as it was in many western cities. not only did the turks maintain a connection with the city's greco roman past... they also added to it.. their mosques represent the same fashions you see in europe... being distinctly greco roman, baroque, romantic, victorian etc..

    you cant simply sit there and say "oh the city is known for its greco roman monuments" because those monuments are just as much a part of the living turkish city as the sultanahmet mosque.
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  7. #47

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by antea View Post
    i guess what people here fail to understand is that the greco roman and turkish history in that city can't be separated.

    the hagia sofia was used as a mosque, and is just as famous for its islamic history now. one of the problems they've had restoring it, is that to reveal the ancient christian mosaics, they have to damage historic muslim art.

    the city walls would not be standing now had the turks not restored them in the 16th - 19th centuries and used them for defence. without the turks, much of the greco roman heritage of the city would have been lost as it was in many western cities. not only did the turks maintain a connection with the city's greco roman past... they also added to it.. their mosques represent the same fashions you see in europe... being distinctly greco roman, baroque, romantic, victorian etc..

    you cant simply sit there and say "oh the city is known for its greco roman monuments" because those monuments are just as much a part of the living turkish city as the sultanahmet mosque.
    Thats exactly my point and thats exactly what makes İstanbul such a unique city in the world

    Also thats the reason why I love İstanbul so much.

    You should visit İstanbul in 2010 since İstanbul is chosen as EU Cultural Capital for 2010. Many restoration works have been completed and many are still ongoing





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  8. #48
    Holger Danske's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Could be cool to see these defenses fully restored... Certainly a MAJOR tourist attraction for the city.

  9. #49

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    yea they actually were a lot taller, but there were moats in front of them and during the siege, they were filled in... so the walls seem shorter than they were ( thr still tall!! )

  10. #50
    Atatürk's Avatar Türküm. Doğruyum...
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Carl Von Döbeln View Post
    It looks like much of the walls and fortfications overall are in a quite bad condition, that's really sad, i really hope that Constantinople will be restored to it's former shape, just like the crusader fortress on the island of Rhodes.
    You mean Istanbul?

  11. #51
    antaeus's Avatar Cool and normal
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Atatürk View Post
    You mean Istanbul?
    dont start them off again!
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  12. #52
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    How many historical monuments are there in Constantinopel? I am asking this because i might visit it next year if every thing works out fine. Also if you could post a list of things that you need to see for sure i would really appreciate it. Thx.
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  13. #53
    antaeus's Avatar Cool and normal
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    there are literally hundreds of historic things in istanbul.. its similar to saying "how many monuments are there in rome" as in rome... the best way to find them is simply to go walking cause you'll bump into things before you wander 150 meters.

    http://wikitravel.org/en/Istanbul is a good place to start... its good to do a bit of studying before you go so you know what you're looking for..

    if you have less than a week, you should include the following:
    topkapi palace, hagia sofia, little hagia sofia, sultanahmet mosque, galata (the old italian quarter), the walls, the grand bazar, the basilica cistern...

    if you have more than a week plan some day trips... go to iznik, the former capital of the ottoman empire, the empire of nicea and the HQ of diocletian.. its a walled city famous for its tiles and ceramics.. its only a short bus trip away and has all the roman, greek, etc ruins you want.

    go to galipoli... see the ww1 battlefields, there's plenty of daytrips, its about 4 hours drive away on a good day. some of it's a bit touristy but once you start strolling through cemeteries you get the feel of the place...

    do lots of walking daytrips... a lot of the old city is within walking distance and surprisingly compact for a city of 20 odd million people. there's several roman era cisterns underground, there's some amazing mosques and you're welcome to visit most as long as you take a note of their etiquette... the most amazing ones imo are the baroque ones which could be straight out of versailles..

    visit the old parliament - its so victorian you would think you're in london... along the waterfront underneath beyoglu (head down hill past the stadium - its about 15 minutes walk from taksim square.)... beyoglu which is next to galata on the eastern side of the golden horn was the only place in the city even after being there for a month and a half that i never felt like a tourist as its the most cosmopolitan and european part of the city.. there's great gelato, plenty of terrible cheesy bars, trams and the amazing swedish embassy and a number of catholic cathedrals and jewish synagogues.

    eat everywhere... although if you want to keep your pennies, avoid sultanahmet as you're going to get ripped off... even if you cunningly ask for local prices because it's tourist central.. although, once you've eaten walk sultanahmet at night, as its incredibly beautiful, and the hyppodrome monuments etc are prettier at night...

    i could go on, but i think the turks in this thread will know some of the better less touristy things to do.
    Last edited by antea; June 14, 2009 at 09:06 PM.
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  14. #54
    dogukan's Avatar Praeses
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Hesus de bodemloze View Post
    How many historical monuments are there in Constantinopel? I am asking this because i might visit it next year if every thing works out fine. Also if you could post a list of things that you need to see for sure i would really appreciate it. Thx.
    the cafes around Ortaköy, the night life in Istiklal and Nişantaşı and the region around boshphorus should also be seen. And for maximum capitalism, you can also visit Bağdat district and again Nişantaşı.
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  15. #55

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    the cafes around Ortaköy, the night life in Istiklal and Nişantaşı and the region around boshphorus should also be seen. And for maximum capitalism, you can also visit Bağdat district and again Nişantaşı.
    maximum capitalism and flocks of young, hip and fashion chasing retards who pay 25tl for an eggs benedict...

  16. #56
    Petar's Avatar Miles
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Atatürk View Post
    You mean Istanbul?
    You mean Tzarigrad?

    It's one city with different names, no big deal. Everyone calls it as they're used to.
    And everyone probably have different reasons for visiting it. I or some Greek wouldn't look for the places where the janissaries were circumcised and trained, while it might be fascinating for a turk, who on the other hand won't rush to visit the St. Stephan church. The city's definetely rich in history, there's something for everyone.

    Regarding the traffic? Is it that bad? I'm planning a trip to south Strandzha, Lozengrad and Istanbul either this summer or the next one (depens when I get enough free time), but I'll be with my own car.

  17. #57
    antaeus's Avatar Cool and normal
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by Petar View Post
    You mean Tzarigrad?

    Regarding the traffic? Is it that bad? I'm planning a trip to south Strandzha, Lozengrad and Istanbul either this summer or the next one (depens when I get enough free time), but I'll be with my own car.
    it's been a couple of years since i was last there, but traffic was pretty chaotic.. not quite as bad as south asia, kind of similar to greece and italy but without the same vehicle testing and certificates... but there was some pretty random car quality standards - i have a photo of a 4 wheeled car driving along with only 3 wheels... no joke... apparently they're trying to improve vehicle safety standards and a german company was doing vehicle testing, but testing was still voluntary when i was there.

    things may have changed a bit since then tho.
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  18. #58
    Petar's Avatar Miles
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    Quote Originally Posted by antea View Post
    it's been a couple of years since i was last there, but traffic was pretty chaotic.. not quite as bad as south asia, kind of similar to greece and italy but without the same vehicle testing and certificates... but there was some pretty random car quality standards - i have a photo of a 4 wheeled car driving along with only 3 wheels... no joke... apparently they're trying to improve vehicle safety standards and a german company was doing vehicle testing, but testing was still voluntary when i was there.

    things may have changed a bit since then tho.
    Well, good to know!

  19. #59

    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    There are literally hundreds if not thousands of monuments in Istanbul. Quite a lot of them are located in the old city which would be the only place you can accurately refer to as Constantinople. I'd love to see every single wall of the old city to be restored but then another question arise. Is it right to restore such monumental structures that were broken down as a part of history? What I actually want to happen is for government to slowly buy buildings inside the walls one by one and gave the land to Istanbul University which is located inside the wall. In time the whole city could be turned into a historical site under the supervision of the university where there would only be historical buildings as museum and university buildings, theaters, conference buildings and maybe a few historical hotel buildings. The only things needed are money and vision and both seem to be scarce resources when it comes to government.

    A number of sites:

    Istanbul Archeology Museum

    The building is simply magnificent. I went there to listen to a small Jazz concert that took place in the yard right in front of the building. The building is huge but I couldn't find a better picture yet.
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  20. #60
    gastovski's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: the defences of istanbul!

    The walls will/could not be repaired in near future because traffic is horrible and this makes the city unbearable.

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