Just 8 days ago I came to Istanbul on a guided tour. Our tour agenda was very exciting, and despite it was my second short visit, I looked forward to renewing my acquaintance with the city.
I didn't bring a tripod to my journey, and often took photos on a walk, so they are not very good quality. But I hope I could capture the mood.
The guide said - "Meet you on the roof terrace in 15 minutes!" And that was an amazing start!
Our hotel had a great location, in the very center of Sultanahmet district, 500 m to the Blue Mosque, 850 m to the Grand Bazaar, 800 m to Hagia Sophia!
As tourists that visit a seacoast of Turkey, we used to see stars in the names of hotels. But the Instanbul old center is different. Hotels have no stars, they are small and sometimes old, and no parking. But this is an ancient heart of Constantinople ... or Byzantium. Coz the city got the official name Istanbul only in 1930. That was a surprise for me!
Middle of the day, the terrace was bathing in the sun. An absolute summer in the middle of October. And such a beautiful panorama. Leisurely cups of a welcome coffee and tea (Turkish coffee and Turkish tea!), directions to the main sites, and a bit of history.
We paid our first visit to Little Hagia Sophia church, well, now it is a mosque. But it was one of the oldest churches in Constantinople.
The Orthodox Church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus was constructed in Constantinople by the order of Emperor Justinian I and his wife Theodora in the first half of the 6th century.
Justinian before accession to the throne participated in a conspiracy against the emperor Anastasius and for this he was sentenced to death. On the eve of the execution, Saints Sergius and Bacchus appeared to Emperor Anastassy in a dream and asked him to postpone the execution of the sentence. When Justinian became emperor, in gratitude, he built this church, which was considered one of the most graceful structures erected by him.
During the reign of Sultan Bayezid II, the Turks turned the temple into a mosque and gave it the name Kyuchyuk Hagia Sophia (Little St. Sophia, or Little St. Sophia Mosque).
But enough of history. Let's walk along these old streets. The central part of Istanbul is mainly two-story wooden buildings.
On top of the hill is the wall of the ancient Hippodrome, and below is an old house in which people live. Yes, yes, they live, we found out!
Let's move on. Quarantine made us unsociable, but it's so nice to travel and see people of other country again! But all in masks! :D
Here is it, so beautiful.
The dedication of the temple to Saints Sergius and Bacchus led the architect to the idea of placing a garland of vine leaves along the cornice that runs around the entire building. An inscription carved into the stone praises the holy martyrs, as well as the emperor Justinian and Theodora: "All other sovereigns admired the dead, who did something great during their lifetime, but Justinian chose to dedicate this brilliant temple to Sergius, the servant of Christ."
Thank you for reading and viewing! I hope you enjoyed the walk with me and I will see you again soon :) I am going to continue my photo report from Istanbul, stay tuned!
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