Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ŞEHZADE MEHMET MOSQUE
OFFLINE MAP
| MOSQUE
GOOGLE MAP
(Şehzade Mehmet Camii, Mosque of the Prince; Şehzadebaşı Caddesi, Kalenderhane; Ak-saray)
Sü-
leyman the Magnificent built this mosque between 1543 and 1548 as a memorial to his
son, Mehmet, who died of smallpox in 1543 at the age of 22. It was the first important
mosque to be designed by Mimar Sinan. Although not one of his best works, it has a
lovely setting, two beautiful minarets and attractive exterior decoration.
Among the many important people buried in tile-encrusted tombs here are Prince
Mehmet, his brothers and sisters, and Süleyman's grand viziers, Rüstem Paşa and İbrahim
Paşa.
AQUEDUCT OF VALENS
OFFLINE MAP
| LANDMARK
GOOGLE MAP
(Atatürk Bulvarı, Zeyrek; Aksaray)
Rising majestically over the traffic on busy Atatürk Bul-
varı, this limestone aqueduct is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Commis-
sioned by the Emperor Valens and completed in AD 378, it linked the third and fourth
hills and carried water to a cistern at Beyazıt Meydanı before finally ending up at the
The aqueduct was part of an elaborate system sourcing water from the north of the city
and linking more than 250km of water channels, some 30 bridges and over 100 cisterns
within the city walls, making it one of the greatest hydraulic engineering achievements of
ancient times. After the Conquest it supplied the Eski (Old) and Topkapı Palaces with wa-
ter.
MONASTERY OF CHRIST PANTOKRATOR
(Zeyrek Camii; İbadethane Sokak, Zeyrek; Aksaray)
This Byzantine monastery originally com-
prised two churches, a library, a cistern, a hospital and a chapel, but only one church and a
cistern remain. The church was dedicated to Islam after the Conquest. One of the finest
examples of Byzantine religious architecture in İstanbul, it is the second-largest surviving
Byzantine religious structure in the city after Aya Sofya.
| MONASTERY
The monastery was commissioned in 1118 by Empress Eirene (she features in a mosaic
at Aya Sofya with her husband Emperor John II Comnenus), who wanted to give succour
to 'poor, sick, and suffering souls'. Building works were completed after her death. The
north and south churches, dedicated to Christ Pantokrator and the Archangel St Michael,
were connected by an imperial chapel, used as a mausoleum for the Komnenos and
Palaiologos dynasties.
