Turkey
Basilica Cistern

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    • Day 4

      Paläste, Museen, Ortaköy-Moschee

      April 4, 2023 in Turkey

      Ich habe heute noch ungefähr einen halben Tag in Istanbul, bevor mein Flug nach Kairo startet. Trotzdem steht auch heute so einiges auf meiner Liste. Ich starte direkt nach dem Frühstück mit dem Versunkenen Palast, eine unterirdische Zisterne, die mit tollen Säulen und einem mystischen Licht besticht, erinnert an Perseus Kampf gegen die Medusa. Danach geht es zum Dolmabahçe Palast weiter, dem ehemaligen Amtssitz von Kemal Atatürk, wie schon der Topkapipalast ist dieser wirklich toll anzuschauen. Auf dieser Anlage besuchte ich auch den Harem und das Kunstmuseum, welches Werke von den verschiedensten Epochen beherbergt. Anschließend bin ich zur Ortaköy-Moschee gefahren, eine eher kleine Moschee, die allerdings durch ihre Lage am Wasser und ihren barocken Stil eine ganz besondere Ausstrahlung hat. Nun war es Zeit zum Flughafen zu fahren, nach ca. 2h Flug bin ich am Abend gut in Kairo angekommen, hier gab es für mich allerdings einen längeren Aufenthalt, weil ich meine Drohne mithabe und das in Ägypten nicht erlaubt ist, daher muss diese hier bleiben 🙈. Kurz nach 0 Uhr bin ich dann endlich angekommen, schnell einchecken im Hostel und dann ab ins Bett, denn morgen 5 Uhr geht es ab in die Wüste für 2 Tage. Ich bin sehr gespannt 🐪😊🌵.Read more

    • Basilica Cistern

      October 18, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      4th stop of the Day - Incredible underground cisterns in the southwest part of the Hagia Sophia. Over 325 columns, delivered via aquaduct from reservoirs. Built in the 6th Century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, Approx 453’ x 212’, it holds up to 2,800,000 cu feet of water.Read more

    • Day 2

      Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art

      October 4, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      This museum is housed in the former 16th century palace of Suleiman the Magnificent’s Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. The museum holds approximately 40,000 pieces spanning from the 7th to 19th century. The items are displayed in sections including texts and manuscripts; carpets and rugs; mining; glass and ceramics; wood work; ethnography; coins and stamps and stone work.

      Among the highlights of the museum is a magnificent collection of 1,700 carpets which were amazing. Other outstanding pieces include illustrated Qurans from all the ruling Islamic states from the 7th century to the 20th century. Some of these are really gorgeous. There is also an illustration of how Turkish architecture changed from tents to 19th century palaces.

      Calligraphy is a serious form of Islamic art and there was an interesting display on how it developed.
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    • Day 26

      24. Tag Istanbul

      June 20, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Heute hat Marc nichts geplant. Also hat jeder sein eigenes Ding gemacht. Ich bin mit dem Rad ums goldene Horn, also Richtung Fischhafen und offenes Meer. Sogar Delfine gesehen. War gemütlich. Noch an den berühmten Moscheen lang, viel zu viele Touristen. Nachmittags sind wir längere Zeit in einem Lokal um die Ecke gesessen, Bier getrunken. Burak kam auch hinzu. War ok. Ich bin dann wieder rumgeschlendert für mich, halbes Fischbrötchen gegessen, nochmal zur Massage. Spät noch alle 3 auf der Hotelterrasse. Mit Weißwein und Rotwein. Ich bin um halb 2 ins Bett.Read more

    • Day 3

      Hagia Sophia

      October 5, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      The Hagia Sophia is one of those 'bucket list' sights. I joined up with a booked tour guide and after a long line, we had a short tour of what was the largest church in the world for many years.

      The Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) began as a Byzantine church, then it became a mosque during the Ottoman Era and today is a museum and is an architectural wonder. The structure today dates back to 532-537 when its construction was over seen by Justinian I. Although the church suffered from earthquakes and an attack by the Crusaders in 1204 it has retained its historic structure and decoration. From 1453 for 500 years the church became the main mosque of Istanbul during the Ottoman Era.

      The church features rich mosaics and a grand central dome with a diameter of 31 meters. The circular dome rests on a rectangular base all richly decorated with murals, Arabic calligraphy and mosaics. All the interior surfaces are polychrome marble in green, purple and white with gold mosaics. The marble mihrab has survived from the Ottoman Era.

      There are many magnificent mosaics., and like lots of church art, the rulers of the time incorporated themselves into the religious scenes.
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    • Day 29

      First day in Istanbul

      April 25, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Arrival at 6am
      Nice coffee shop
      Free walking tour in this amazing city
      Kumpir for lunch
      Little nap to recover from the night in the bus
      Sultanahmed neighbor for the beginning of the night
      Diner in the Asian sideRead more

    • Day 2

      Citerne basilique

      July 27, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

      La Citerne Basilique, aussi connue sous le nom turc Yerebatan Sarnıcı (« la citerne enfouie sous terre »), est une gigantesque citerne souterraine de Constantinople. Elle fut construite au VIe siècle, pour stocker l'eau l'hiver en vue de la saison estivale. Elle mesure 138 × 64,6 m, et sa capacité est estimée à 78 000 m3. L'espace intérieur est subdivisé par 12 rangées de 28 colonnes monolithiques en marbre, soit un total de 336 colonnes.Read more

    • Day 12

      Istanbul Day 2 continues

      October 7, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

      Left the mosques and from there we went to the Basilica Cisterna it is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. That was our morning. Walked through the smaller Bazar, had a little lunch and went to the “Grand Bazar” I went into sensory overland , wandered a bit and then went on a two hour boat tour which was beautiful and very cool 😎 it’s been very warm here.Read more

    • Day 15

      Basilica Cistern

      October 13, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in Istanbul, it was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking, and its cavernous depths make a great retreat on summer days.

      Like most sites in Istanbul, the cistern has an unusual history. It was originally known as the Basilica Cistern because it lay underneath the Stoa Basilica, one of the great squares on the first hill. Designed to service the Great Palace and surrounding buildings, it was able to store up to 80,000 cu metres of water delivered via 20km of aqueducts from a reservoir near the Black Sea, but was closed when the Byzantine emperors relocated from the Great Palace. Forgotten by the city authorities some time before the Conquest, it wasn't rediscovered until 1545, when scholar Petrus Gyllius was researching Byzantine antiquities in the city and was told by local residents that they were able to obtain water by lowering buckets into a dark space below their basement floors. Some were even catching fish this way. Intrigued, Gyllius explored the neighbourhood and finally accessed the cistern through one of the basements. Even after his discovery, the Ottomans (who referred to the cistern as Yerebatan Saray) didn't treat the so-called Underground Palace with the respect it deserved – it became a dumping ground for all sorts of junk, as well as corpses.

      The cistern was cleaned and renovated in 1985 by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and opened to the public in 1987. It's now one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. Walking along its raised wooden platforms, you'll feel water dripping from the vaulted ceiling and see schools of ghostly carp patrolling the water – it certainly has bucketloads of atmosphere

      Medusa heads - one on it's side, one upside down so they don't turn you to stone 🪨.

      Lights change colour for a bit of interest.
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    • Day 5

      Istanbul

      November 10, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      ISTANBUL

      La quasi totalità della popolazione di Istanbul è di fede musulmana, ma la città è anche abitata da diverse comunità religiose, retaggio del suo passato ottomano.

      Qual è il piatto tipico della Turchia?
      doner kebab
      DONER KEBAB
      Letteralmente “carne arrostita”. Il più famoso e internazionale è il doner kebab, ovvero il kebab che gira attorno allo spiedo verticale, la cui carne viene servita in un panino o una specie di piadina (in questo caso si tratta di dürüm kebab).

      CURIOSITÀ (6 false supposizioni)
      1) La Turchia è un Paese pericoloso?
      Non si può negare che il panorama della Turchia stia cambiando. Detto questo, La Turchia è una nazione enorme.
      La regione sud-orientale della Turchia è una delle aree più volatili data la sua vicinanza alla Siria. Dall’altra parte del paese, ad ovest, città come Izmir sono molto più sicure.

      2) Le donne turche indossano il burka?
      Sebbene la popolazione della Turchia sia al 99% musulmana, ciò non significa che tutte le donne si coprano da capo a piedi.
      Alcune donne indossano burka, alcune donne indossano il velo e alcune non coprono affatto la testa. La decisione spetta alle singole donne e alle loro credenze religiose.
      Nelle città più grandi, le donne si sentono più libere di indossare ciò che vogliono, ma nelle città più piccole che tendono ad essere più religiose, essendoci molta più pressione sociale, è più facile incontrare donne che indossano il velo.

      3) Gli uomini turchi possono avere più mogli?
      Una parte importante della creazione della Repubblica di Turchia da parte di Ataturk fu la messa al bando della poligamia. Se un uomo ha più di una moglie, viene punito con due anni di carcere.
      Questo stereotipo deriva spesso dalla copertura mediatica di piccoli villaggi in cui gli uomini sposano più mogli attraverso le cerimonie religiose.
      Questi matrimoni non sono considerati legali agli occhi della legge, però, e possono essere penalizzati duramente se scoperti.

      4) I ruoli di genere in Turchia sono di stampo religioso-tradizionale?
      A causa del fatto che il paese è in gran parte musulmano, si ritiene spesso che i turchi continuino a mantenere rigidi ruoli di genere in ambito domestico.
      Mentre potrebbe essere stato così in passato, oggi ci sono donne che diventano dottori, ingegneri e avvocati – campi che erano dominati dagli uomini in passato – così come donne che sono casalinghe.
      Il percorso professionale di una donna in Turchia dipende molto dal suo livello di istruzione e dall’ambiente in cui è cresciuta.

      Anche noi italiani ne sappiamo qualcosa: basti pensare al magico tridente pizza-Mafia-mandolino che ormai ci marchia superata qualsivoglia frontiera. Chi ci sia un fondo di verità, nessuno lo mette in dubbio.
      Certo è che forse, “toccando con mano” davvero un Paese e una cultura potremmo renderci conto che sì, certe cose esistono, ma non sono universalmente valide come invece avremmo pensato.
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