Whether A Church or A Mosque – Discover Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul

Are you planning to visit Istanbul? Do you know Hagia Sophia, or so-called ‘eight wonder of the world’ by East Roman Philon, is in Istanbul? Museum is definitely one of the museums that you should add to your to-do list in Istanbul. Looking at its name, Hagia Sophia, also called Ayasofya in Turkish and Santa Sofia in Latin comes from Greek which means ‘Church of the Divine Wisdom’. To whom curious about its history, it was built in 6th century by the order of Emperor Justinianos. Anthemios (Tralles) and Isidoros (Miletus) are the famous architectures of this prominent monument. You may be surprised to hear that, these architectures are said to have 100 architectures working under them, who in turn had 100 workers working with them in building this amazing monument.

Actually, the current Hagia Sophia is the third one built in the same location, with different architectural styles. Previous two Hagia Sophias were built from wood and destroyed by fire and riots.

Although it served as a church for 916 years, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque when Istanbul was conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmed. Then it continued to serve as a mosque until 1935, when Atatürk and Council of Ministers decided to turn it into a museum. You can visit Hagia Sophia and enjoy Byzantine mosaics, architectural drawings, amazing structural incarnations, such as Mighty Dome (32m in diameter and 55m high), Omphalos (place in which the Byzantine emperors were crowned), Weeping Column, (which is said that if your thumb emerges from the copper-faced hole moist, you will be cured of all your ailments) and etc. If you want to enter the museum, you can buy a museum card at the entrance which will also able you to visit other museums for free. A piece of note for museum fans: You can visit Hagia Sophia in European Night of Museum Week, enjoy the mystic ambience of fascinating

Hagia Sophia Museum under darkness of the night.

The Avenue is crowded till mid-night and nearly all of the buildings on the avenue have historical background. Many dignitaries, intellectuals and people of affluence prefer hanging out here.

It was named as Independence Avenue in 1923 after the independence war. But it gained its current status in 1990s when Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality restored it.

Here some activities that you can do when you visit Taksim or Istiklal Avenue;

The Independence Monument stands in Taksim Square in the center, as the source of proud for Turkish war of independence; it is held by many Turks in great esteem. It stands there since 1928. Nearly 3 million people are said to pass this statue at weekends.

You can visit the churches in the area, especially the biggest one St. Anthony of Padua Church and get impressed by The Venetian Neo-Gothic architecture inside. You may even witness a ceremony if you are lucky.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]You can make shopping, for that many shops selling traditional, antique, vintage and modern products are available.

If you are keen on taking photography, you should definitely visit Istiklal Avenue, and Galata Tower in Taksim to capture wonderful photos.

You can visit The Mevlevi Museum- Museum of Whirling Dervish and see one of the Sema rituals. You may learn some information about Sufism sect of Islam and Rumi, who was one of the greatest poets in the world.

Also Pera Museum is one of the museums worth seeing in Taksim. You can also see the world wide known painting ‘Tortoise Trainer’ by Osman Hamdi.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”EsVRjAVe_o8″ width=”640″ height=”480″ anchor=”https://www.worldheritagehotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/taksim_video.jpg”][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Many legends about why Maiden Tower was built exist. Although all of them are very interesting, here are some of them; according to one of the famous legends; a sultan had a prophecy that his daughter would die due to a snake bite when she became 18. The sultan tried to prevent his daughter death by putting her daughter in an off-shore tower, but unfortunately, a basket of fruit with a snake were taken to the princess for her birthday celebration, and she was bit and died in the arms of her father.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to another legend, a girl named Hero, living in the tower, loved a man named Leandros. Leandros swam every night to see the beautiful girl, and the girl lit a lamp to guide her lover. One stormy night, the lamp was extinguished and her lover Leandros couldn’t find his way, thus drowned in the sea. When Hero saw her lover’s corpse onto the rocks, she threw herself from the window and landed next to her lover.

Nowadays, Maiden Tower is a touristic attraction, and it can be visited by ferries departing from Uskudar coast. You may also have a romantic dinner at the restaurant opened at the bottom of Maiden Tower, and enjoy the majestic view of Bosphorus from the platform at the top of the Maiden Tower.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Do You Want To Visit All Of Turkey In Just 2 Hours? Here is Miniaturk: A Window To Turkey

Miniaturk was opened on 2^nd of May 2003. It is an exhibition area where many models of architectural works of many civilizations that once prevailed or left traces in Turkey are presented.

You can find many historical and natural attractions of civilizations such as Ancient Greece, Rome, Byzantine Empire, Seljuks and Ottoman.

Just like its motto “A small model of a great country”, Miniaturk is a display window for Turkey. Miniaturk has models of architectural works at a scale of 1/25 of 134, chosen by the criteria of reputation, capacity to represent its era and the feasibility of the making of its model.

You will see not only modern Turkish culture works, but also other culture’s traces and co-existence of several civilizations in Ottoman era.  It is the symbol of civilizations dating back to 3000 years ago.

A team, supported by expert advisors, chose, by a painstaking selection procedure, the caravanserais, mosque complexes, madrasahs, bridges, railway stations, castles, defense walls, mausoleums, mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, mansions, obelisks, monuments, statues as well as unique natural formations such as Pamukkale’s white cascades and Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys to be exhibited in Miniaturk.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]You would feel as if you travelled across the whole Turkey since all models very faithful to their originals. Audio guide system provides information in nine languages: Turkish, English, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Farsi and Japanese.

Miniaturk is placed on is 60.000 sqm. You can find a restaurant, a café, a shopping mall, an open-air show ground and a children’s playground there.

Miniaturk includes also two museums which are The Panorama Victory Museum and The Istanbul Crystals Museum.

You can also have a photo in traditional Ottoman costumes with your friends. It is a really nice memory :)[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]