DAY 4

Day 4: 9 Destinations

Now we can start to explain these places one by one.

Ecumenicial Patriarchate

If you use this order you will not waste your time with walking alot ;) I will edit my blog in time and u can see more details apart from these destination but for now i will just  try to explain these points, keep on reading ;)  by the way i traveled these places, if there are some better places to see you can recommend me, im not a resident of istanbul so you can also recommend destinations and i will add them to my blog ;)

A rather humble exterior in Fener shelters the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate, the worldwide headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church. It includes the sumptuously decorated Patriarchal Cathedral Church of St. George (Aya Yorgi). The church shelters many important artifacts and relics, including: the patriarchal throne, believed to date from the 5th century; three rare mosaic icons; the Column of Flagellation to which Jesus was tied and whipped; relics of Sts.

Bulgarian Church

Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom (recently returned from the Pope); and the tombs of three female saints.



------2) Bulgarian Church--------

The Bulgarian Church ( Църква „Свети Стефан“;  Sveti Stefan Kilisesi), also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, is a church in istanbul famous for being made of cast iron. The richly ornamented church is a three-domed cross-shaped basilica. The altar faces the golden horn and a 40 m-high belfry, the six bells of which were cast in yaroslav, rises above the narthex. The church belongs to the bulgarian minority in the city. The Bulgarians of the Ottoman empire used to pray at the churches of the Phanar but due to nationalistic movements, Bulgarians were allowed a national church in the 19th century, the Initially, a small wooden church was erected on the shore of the Golden Horn between Balat and fener squares (near Eyüp district), where the current church is located.

Fethiye Camii(Pammakaristos church)

----3) Fethiye Camii(Pammak. church)----

Few churches in istanbul have had an as varied history as the Pammakaristos. The Pammakaristos church was converted into Fethiye Cami or "Victory Mosque" in 1591 by Murad III to commemorate his conquest of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy, who had taken refuge in the Pammakaristos at the time of the Ottoman conquest, was transferred to its current location in Fener in the year of its conversion into a mosque. The fire of Balatkapi damaged the mosque in 1640. It was repaired in 1845, and finally restored in 1936-38. Abandoned after the restoration, the main space was re-opened to Islamic prayer only in 1960. The parekklesion, restored to its pre-Ottoman state by the Byzantine Institute of America, is now open to visitors as a museum.

Kariye Museum

The mosque was first built in 1458 by Mehmet the Conqueror on the site where Ebu Eyyüb el Ensari, who was Mohammed's standard-bearer, was killed under the walls of Constantinople during the first siege by the Arabs (672-677).

Eyüp Mosque

His tomb, in the walls surrounding the mosque, has beautiful Ä°znik tiles. The mosque was reconstructed by Sultan Selim III between 1798-1800. It is of no particular architectural interest - but large numbers of pilgrims visit the tomb of Gazi el Ensari. It is also a favorite place for circumcision ceremonies of young boys. This is the holiest site in Istanbul and one of the most sacred places in the Islamic world. Erected by Mehmet the Conqueror, it honors the tomb of Eyup Sultan, the standard bearer for the Prophet.

The mosque rises on the spot where Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Turkish: Eyüp Sultan), the standard-bearer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, died during the Arab assault on Constantinople in 670. His tomb is greatly venerated by Muslims, attracting many pilgrims. Some of the personal belongings of Prophet Mohammed are preserved inside this mosque. His other belongings are preserved in the Topkapı Palace and in several other mosques of İstanbul, which was the final seat of the Islamic Caliphate.

Haliç

Once a village, and outside the city walls of Istanbul, Eyüp has since long grown to be part of Istanbul. It is actually named after Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who was a close friend, follower and bodyguard of the Prophet Mohamed, one of the early adapters of Islam and part of the early Islam leadership. He fell in one of the many battles carrying Islam's banner and was buried outside the walls. Much later, in the 15th century a new mosque was built with the tomb of Ayyub next to it. It ranks fourth of sacred Muslim sites in the world, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

Miniatürk is a miniature park in Istanbul, Turkey. It was opened May 2, 2003. Miniatürk covers a total area of 60.

Pierre Loti

000 m². It is the world's largest miniature park with its 15.000 m² model area. Miniatürk has 40.000 m² of open space, 3.500 m² of covered area, 2.000 m² of pools and waterways, and a parking lot with a capacity of 500 vehicles. The park contains 105 models done in 1/25th scale. 45 of the structures are from Istanbul, 45 are from Anatolia, and 15 are from the Ottoman territories that today lie outside of Turkey. Also featured are historic structures like the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum). Additional space was reserved for potential future models.

The park contains 105 models done in 1/25th scale. 45 of the structures are from Istanbul, 45 are from Anatolia, and 15 are from the Ottoman territories that today lie outside of Turkey. Also featured are historic structures like the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum). Additional space was reserved for potential future models.

http://www.

Miniaturk

miniaturk.com.tr/eng/