Private Tour Guide in Istanbul

The flower was given great importance in every period in the Ottoman Palace. After the construction of Topkapı Palace, Mehmed the Conqueror allocated large areas for planting flowers, both within the palace's land and in various parts of Istanbul, whose maintenance required approximately 920 orchards. On the other hand, Suleiman the Magnificent was also a sultan known for his interest in flowers and his gardening. His interest in the flower was reflected in the tulip motifs that adorned the tiles, miniatures, embroidery, fabrics, carpets, fountains, buildings and tombstones of his time. Other flowers preferred in the palace gardens, apart from tulips, were roses, hyacinths, Manisa tulips, irises and carnations. Undoubtedly, among these flowers, there were few flowers that were as glorified as tulips in the Ottoman Palace, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. So much so that the tulip gave its name to a circuit. In this period, known as the Tulip Era, between 1718 and 1730, th...

  WHERE DOES THE NAME FOÇA COME FROM? Foça, also known as Phokaia, takes its name from the seals living on the islands surrounding the city. ANCIENT PERIOD Foça (Phokaia); It was one of the most important of the Ionian settlements. The foundations of today's western civilization, BC. It was cast in Ionia in the 6th century. The Ionian of the period was a pioneer in philosophy, architecture and sculpture. The sculptor, Telephanes, who decorated the Persian palaces with his works; famous architect Theodoros (4th century BC); BC Dionysus, the commander who led the "Lade Sea War" in 494, was from Phocaea. Phokaia, BC. It was founded in the 11th century by the Aeolians. Ionian settlement BC. It started in the 9th century. The Phokaians were master sailors; They had boats with 50 oars & 500 passengers. With their superior intelligence in engineering and their success in maritime, they opened up to the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas and established many colonies. T...

 HISTORY OF NARMANLI HAN There is no definite information about the construction date of Narmanlı Han, which is located on Istiklal Street in Beyoğlu. Although some researchers claim that it was built by the Italian-born architect Gaspare Fossati with the construction of the Russian Embassy between 1838-1845, there is no definite information on this subject. Probably XIX. It must have been made at an unknown date in the first half of the century. After the Great Beyoğlu Fire of 1870, on the map showing the areas affected by the fire, the inscription "Partie Russie" on a building with a courtyard indicates Narmanlı Han. On the Goad Map dated December 1905, the large area facing the Grande Rue de Pera and surrounded by Sweden Street (modern Müeyyet) and Sofia Street is indicated as "Consulat Géneral de Russie". It is seen that a 5.60-meter section of this building was cut for the construction of the widened street. It is known that the building was used as the Russian...

  The History of the Hippodrome (Racecourse)      One of the masterpieces of the late antique period architecture, the Hippodrome / Atmeydanı, which witnessed numerous events in its history of many centuries and was a square where important social events of the city occurred leaving sometimes destructive effects on the place, became an open air museum as it is the most visited site of the historic peninsula today. There are different opinions about the building date of the Hippodrome, which was one of the earliest buildings built in Istanbul during the Roman Empire Era. Based on the 6th century sources, it is said that the construction of it started after the seizure of Byzantium, one of the independent ancient Greek cities, by Septimius Severus (AD 193-211), and it was completed and inaugurated during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (AD 272- 337). However, as there is no archaeological evidence to confirm this data, it is generally accepted that it was co...

     The Republic of Turkey minted its first coin during the first years of its foundation. The first series of coins issued consisted of three types: 100 para, 5 kurus, and 10 kurus. In 1925, 25 kurus was added to this series, and 100 kuruş and 1 lira were issued in 1934. Over time, different denominations of coins and banknotes were issued as needed. No commemorative coins were minted from the foundation of the Republic until 1970. Following the law enacted in 1970, the Undersecretariat of Treasury was given the authority to issue coins "commemorating historical, scientific, cultural and artistic events of national and international significance, other notable historical events and days, Turkish notables who have made significant contributions in various fields, and other occasions and causes the need and benefits of which may be appreciated." The first commemorative coin was stuck on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and it...

  From the time the House of Osman, a frontier beylik of the Seljuk Sultanate, declared their independence in the late 13th early 14th century and until the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire struck coins from gold, silver and copper continuously for about six centuries. The Ottomans had minted and used coins since the foundation of their state. However, gold coins were not minted until the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, when the Ottomans used the Venetian gold ducat in trade. Beginning with the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror, the Ottoman state began to issue gold coins, minted in Kostantiniyye (Istanbul), the new capital of the empire. The old Venetian ducats were- stamped with the inscription "Shah", and thus their commercial validity continued. From the initial stage of Ottoman coinage, the iconoclastic principle introduced by Umayyad Ruler Caliph Abd al-malik ibn Marwan to Islamic coinage was observed. No figurative depictions were used on the ...

  It is accepted as a zero point of the world: As it is dug, history gushes out! Curious sight in Istanbul During the archaeological excavations in and around the Million Stone, which is located right next to the Basilica Cistern opposite the Hagia Sophia remaining from the Eastern Roman Empire in Fatih, Istanbul and is accepted as the zero point of the world, the remains of buildings thought to be neighborhoods in the Ottoman Empire and the walls belonging to the Byzantine period were found. Million Stone, one of the most important artifacts of human history preserved during the Ottoman Empire period, and the archaeological excavations around it started in 2019. The project, which was expanded with the emergence of archaeological remains during the arrangement works of the Basilica Park and its surroundings at that time, first uncovered a water channel that came to the Water Scale from the Valens Arch. In addition, in the studies carried out in the no...