ISTANBUL,SECOND LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD

Istanbul  is the largest city in Turkey . With a population of 13.9 million, the city forms one of the largest urban agglomeration in Europe and is the second largest city in the world by population within city limits. Istanbul is a transcontinental city straddling the Bhosphorus. Its commercial and historical center lies in Europe, while a third of its population lives in Asia.


The Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s most prominent symbols, immediately astounds every visitor to the city.  It is located directly opposite the Hagia Sophia Museum. The mosque takes its name from Sultanahmet Square, and is the most important of the mosques to be built as an endowment to the city during the Ottoman Empire.
Sultanahmet mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet the First, and built between 1609 and 1616. Its English name, the “Blue Mosque”, stems from the more than twenty thousand blue Iznik tiles which decorate the interior of the structure.

blue mosque

The Blue Mosque is the most typical example of Classic Turkish-Ottoman architecture, and was the first mosque that includes six minarets in its original design. Although the Blue Mosque was not designed by the legendary Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, whose unparalleled works are seen throughout other parts of Istanbul, it bears the stamp of his influence.

According to a rumor, the mosque’s architect, Mimar Sedefkâr Mehmet Aga—himself one of Mimar Sinan’s students—expanded on a plan that had earlier been expounded by his master in order to build the mosque.


A majestic dome
The entrance to the mosque is on the hippodrome, which dates back to the Roman Period.  The mosque itself and its inner courtyard rest upon a raised podium, which is surrounded by the outer courtyard. Through the entrance to the inner courtyard, one can see a fountain and a series of conforming domes, each higher than the previous.

Anyone who enters the three inner doors of the mosque itself immediately encounters the paint, tiles, and stained-glassed decorations which complete the structure’s glorious outside appearance.
The interior of the mosque is surrounded on three sides by balconies, while the floor, like that of all mosques, is covered by carpets. Even on the most crowded days, one can see men praying directly across from the main entrance of the mosque.

Near them, one sees the mihrap (a prayer niche pointing in the direction of Mecca) and, next to it, a marble bench, which is one of the finest examples of Ottoman stone carving. The spiral staircases in the mosque make it quite easy to reach the minaret balconies.
Although the dome is a crucial element of all Ottoman mosques, that of the Blue Mosque exceeds most in splendor.  Like many other mosques, the Blue Mosque also includes a complex which houses a variety of social and cultural institutions. Among other things, this complex is home to a covered market, a Turkish bathhouse, a soup kitchen, a hospital, several schools, a caravansary, and the tomb of Sultan Ahmed.  

The Spice Bazaar dates back to the Seventeenth Century. It is one of Istanbul’s oldest covered markets, where the exotic, Oriental aspect of the city still survives.

At the time of its establishment, thousands of spices from nations in the Far East, such as India and Arabia, was well as curative herbs and remedies for every imaginable ailment, were sold at the Spice Bazaar. Because the majority of the products for sale in the market were imported from Egypt, it came to be known as the “Egyptian Bazaar”.
The Spice Bazaar is located in Eminönü, right next to the New Mosque and the Flower Bazaar. It is the best place in the city to find spices, herbal teas, and traditional Turkish foods such as Turkish Delight (lokum).
Construction of the bazaar was commissioned in the year 1660 by Hatice Turhan Sultan, the mother of Sultan Mehmed the Fourth.  It was built by the architect Kâzım Aga, and restored once later in its existence. There are a total of eighty-six shops in the bazaar, which can be accessed by way of six different entrances.

egyptian bazar sale spices

'A natural pharmacy'
Formerly, the Spice Bazaar functioned as a ‘natural pharmacy’. Recipes for medicines made from mixtures of various herbs were often hung outside of shops, so that customers could request these herbs if they so desired. This tradition still continues today. Many of the shops in the bazaar sell a large number of different spices and herbs that are known to be effective against many different ailments.
Although there are an endless number of shopping centres and supermarkets in Istanbul, shopping at the Spice Bazaar remains a popular, pleasant tradition for the city’s residents.  After making a number of purchases in the bazaar itself, one can leave through the Tahtakale exit and complete one’s shopping at the shops in the adjacent open-air market.
Also, if you do go to the Spice Market, don’t forget to buy Turkish coffee from Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi (Mehmet Efendi Coffee Roasters), who produce the traditional Turkish brand of coffee. They are located just outside of the bazaar’s Tahtakale exit.