Sultanahmet - part 1
HAGIA SOPHIA, BLUE MOSQUE, SULTANAHMET SQUARE


Sultanahmet is the historic neighbourhood in the city center of Istanbul, part of the Fatih district. Here you can find Istanbul's most popular attractions, the former cathedral and mosque Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. These two buildings both have huge interiors beneath the massive domes, we went inside both of them. Between them is a large fountain that is illuminated in different colours after dark. Sultanahmet is also where hordes of tourists arrive, and you can find many restaurants there.


HAGIA SOPHIA:
Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya). Formerly mosque and a byzantine cathedral, now a museum. It was built in year 537 as a Christian church, it was transformed into a mosque in 1454 by the Ottomans, after the fall of Constantinopel (now Istanbul).

 

Hagia Sophia

  Hagia Sophia   Hagia Sophia entrance
   
Hagia Sophia  

Hagia Sophia

   Hagia Sophia
 



Hagia Sophia's massive interior    

 

  
Hagia Sophia windows        
   
   

 

    
 





     

 


       
   
The fresco inside the dome  

 

    
   
The stairway hall of Hagia Sophia       Hagia Sophia from the Bosphorus

 

BLUE MOSQUE:
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) was built by Sultan Ahmet II to surpass Hagia Sophia and the Süleymaiye mosque. It was completed in 1616. The name comes from the blue ceramics roof tiles from Izmik. It is also known for having as many as six minarets. To enter the mosque you have to take your shoes off and women have to borrow a blue headscarf.

 

The entrance ot the Blue Mosque

   The courtyard    
   
   

 

    
 



Interior of the Blue Mosque. It is large inside but not as large as Hagia Sophia.   Ceiling of the Blue Mosque

 

Detail of one of the six minarets

   The courtyard    

 

AROUND SULTANAHMET SQUARE:

 

Divanyolu Caddesi

  Divanyolu Caddesi   Divanyolu Caddesi
   
Sultanahmet Square and the Blue Mosque  

Sultanahmet Square is the square between Hagya Sophia and the Blue Mosque, where you can find the Hypodrome

   Sultanahmet Square: Hypodrome obelisques

 


  The Obelisque of Theodosius   The Obelisque of Theodosius
   
   

Sultanahmet Square and Hagia Sophia

   Ayasophia Restaurant, we tried it
   
The tourist police building   The entrance to the underground water cistern, Yerevatan Sarnici   Yerevatan Sarnici, the underground water cistern. Click on the photo to get to its separate page.
 


The small tower is part of the underground cisterna, Yerabatan Sarnici
The fountain at Sultanahmet Square. It is situated between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque    

 

Divanyolu Caddesi

  Firestation at Divanyolu Caddesi   Divanyolu Caddesi
 


Yerabatan Caddesi and Hagia Sophia
Yerabatan Caddesi: colourful houses   Yerabatan Caddesi: Zeynep Sultan Mosque

 

Yerabatan Caddesi

   Yerabatan Caddesi   Yerabatan Sarnici entrance