Istanbul History & Classics School Trip

The Hagia Sophia (the Church of St. Sophia) is one of the most important sites in the Golden Horn. It was originally built as a Christian church in the sixth century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. When Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under the Sultan Mehmed in 1453 it became a mosque. Over the following centuries the building was altered, and minarets were added. It remained a mosque until 1935 during Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s secularisation of Turkey when it was turned it into a museum. It remained so until July 2020 when a controversial decree by the authoritarian Turkish President Erdoğan reversed that position and it is now once again a functioning mosque. Sadly, this has resulted in some sections being placed off-limits to visitors to comply with Islamic taboos on figurative imagery.

The Yedikule Fortress, or Fortress of the Seven Towers, dates from the fifth century and forms part of the old City Walls of Constantinople which were breached during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Originally the city walls had over 50 gates, but today only 11 still exist. Within the courtyard of the Yedikule Fortress you can see the glorious Altın Kapı, the Old Golden Gate which was the main ceremonial entrance used for the triumphal entry of emperors into the city.

The Blue Mosque is located on the Golden Horn and is more correctly called the Sultan Ahmed mosque. Built during the seventeenth century, it is known as the Blue Mosque not due to its external appearance but because of the 20,000 handmade blue ceramic tiles that decorate the interior. The mosque famously has six minarets as opposed to the usual two or four of most of the city’s mosques. The only other mosque which had six minarets was the mosque in Mecca and this problematic matter was resolved by the Sultan ordering a seventh minaret to be added to the mosque in Mecca to restore its status.

This large underground cistern located close to the Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It is known as Basilica Cistern since there is a Basilica in the place where the cistern is located. Various such cisterns were built across Constantinople during the Byzantine period, primarily as a means of storing and supplying water when the city might be besieged for months at a time. In the Basilica Cistern, a series of ornate columns and capitals recycled from earlier pagan temples were used in its construction, including the upside-down head of the Medusa that forms the bottom of one column, proof that Byzantine builders saw Roman relics as little more than reusable rubble. When the Ottoman Turks gained control of the city, and the threat of sieges had diminished, the cisterns fell into disuse and were often converted to other uses. The Basilica Cistern is one of the few that has survived to this day.

The mediaeval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora was adjoined to the Chora Monastery when Constantinople was part of the Eastern Roman Empire. The term ‘chora’ means ‘outside the city’ as it lay outside the fortress-like city walls. Although the church is plain on the outside, its interior walls display some of the best-preserved examples of figurative Byzantine art and religious iconography, with early Christian mosaics and frescoes dating from the eleventh century. Although they are many centuries old, their colours are still bright and vivid. This is in no small part to the fact that they were covered in plaster by the Islamic rulers of Constantinople for many decades.

The Istanbul Archaeological Museum is in fact a collection of three linked museums which span Archaeology, the Ancient Orient and Art. There is a wealth of treasures from antiquity on display and which traces the history of Istanbul from Byzantine and Roman times, and the various Christian and Muslim periods. One of the most famous items is the Treaty of Kadesh, also known as the Eternal Treaty. This is widely regarded as the oldest peace treaty in the world, made between the Hittite King Hattusilis III and the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. On display is the Hittite version which is preserved in baked clay tablets treaty in cuneiform script, dated to 1274 BC and discovered in the Hittite capital of Hattusa, now in modern day Turkey. Also of note is the Lycian Sarcophagus, which depicts scenes from Greek mythology. There are also some fascinating pieces from Schliemann’s excavation of Troy.

Topkapi was built in the fifteenth century by Sultan Mehmet II as the court of the Ottoman empire after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. With views across the Bosphorus, the Palace has a commanding position on the Golden Horn and for almost 400 years the ruling sultan, his family and advisors lived in the sumptuous rooms along with their many concubines and children. The tour includes the palace kitchens, the various meet rooms and of course the Harem. You also see the museum displays of various weaponry pieces and elaborate jewellery.

The Bosphorus is the name of the 20 mile long channel which connects the Black Sea to the north with the Sea of Marmara to the south, eventually leading to the Dardanelle Straits which has held such strategic significance for many centuries. A cruise on the Bosphorus is the perfect, relaxed way to get some unique views of the most famous waterfront sites and many of the important buildings and monuments on the Golden Horn, including the the Dolmabahce Palace, the Ortakoy Mosque, the Beylerbeyi Palace and the Maiden’s Tower. Cruises typically last about 90 minutes.

The Galata Tower is one of the most recognisable sights in Istanbul and is one of the highest and oldest towers in the city. It was built in 1348 by the Genoese and derives its name from the area of the city in which it is situated. During the Ottoman period the Tower was used to hold prisoners, but today it is home to a museum, a fine dining restaurant and a spectacular viewing area with a panorama across the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. The Tower is located in Karakoy, one of the most fashionable parts of the city. Karakoy is undergoing a process of gentrification but the area’s fin-de-siècle buildings and rich multicultural heritage are being preserved, making it a fascinating destination for an evening’s exploration with many upscale restaurants, pleasant squares, and trendy wine bars.