Istanbul has many unique and fascinating things to offer a traveler looking to experience some history. From ancient architecture to more museums than you can visit in one trip, Istanbul is soaked in thousands of years of history and we can confidently say deserves more than one trip.
First, we want to go into just a brief history of the city, and by brief we mean we are leaving out most of it: Istanbul was officially founded in the 7th century BC by Greek settlers and was known as Byzantium for the next millennium. It quickly became the center of the world, was renamed Constantinople by Constantine the Great himself, which remained the name of this incredible city until the 1930s. Constantinople was such a strategic hub for the rapidly growing world, so much so that it played a very significant role in spreading religion. Initially, it was the center of the Christian world during Roman and Byzantine times and was vital for both the crusade and other holy pilgrimages. Once it became the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1517, it served as an Islamic stronghold and played a significant role in the spread of Islamic influence throughout the Ottoman Empire. Jumping to modern history, The Republic of Turkey was not formed until 1930, which is when the city was named Istanbul as we know it today. As you can imagine, the drastically different influences over the past three thousand years, leave us with an incredible blend of cultures, religion, and history as we walk through Istanbul today.
Now for the adventures from our trip! We have wanted to visit the Blue Mosque for the longest time and were so excited to finally see it. One of the most famous mosques in the world, the Blue Mosque, or the Sultan Ahmed Mosque as it’s known in Turkish, was built and completed in the early 17th century. Ahmed the First chose to build this mosque after his defeat in the Ottoman war with Persia as a strategy to reassert Ottoman power. Built in the location of the Byzantine emperor’s palace, it was the first imperial mosque of Ahmed the First’s rule and prominently stated the wealth and power of the Ottoman Empire. Walking through this mosque is unlike anything we have ever experienced. It’s hard to imagine that tiles that line the walls and ceiling, more than 20,000 in total, were all hand painted over 400 years ago.
In 1459, just six years after the Ottoman conquered Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror began the construction of the Topkapi Palace. It served as the both the administrative headquarters and the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans through the 16th century and was originally called the “New Palace” and did not gain its current name, which means Cannon Gate, until the 1800’s. It was transformed into a museum in the 1920’s shortly after the end of the Ottoman Empire. Today, it is simply remarkable that we are able to walk through the Ottoman Imperial Harem and the treasury, while seeing the traditional clothing, weapons, and relics on display. Though we were only able to see a handful of the hundreds of rooms that make up the palace, it truly felt like walking through time as we made our way through the courtyard and mazes of the museum.
We then got to visit the oldest shopping mall in the world. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul has been listed as the most visited tourist attraction in the world, and for good reason. This market covers 61 city streets and contains over 4,000 shops. If the size of the Grand Bazaar hasn’t sunk in yet, then picture the 400,000 people that visit this market every day. Not only is it the largest covered market in the world, it is also the oldest. Construction first started back in 1455, right after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, as a strategy to increase the economy in the city. Later sultans built additional markets nearby, all of which were eventually combined to make the singular Grand Bazaar in the 17th century, the same structure that remains today. Originally, you could trade textiles, jewels, and spices among many other goods. As we walked through the endless streets of the market, we saw many of the same goods that have been sold there for hundreds of years I literally said to Joey when we was shopping that I needed to come back with a shipping container so I could grab all the stuff I wanted for home and gifts and believe it when we say we didn’t even cover it all.
