photo by Capucine Fachot-Charbonneau, The Istanbul Guide
As you walk down almost any street in Istanbul, save for the main arteries, there’s a distinct perfume of late summer afternoons. The figs have arrived and so has their sweet, heady aroma. Though dried figs are available all year round in Istanbul, there’s nothing like biting into a fresh one, as its perfume hits the back of the throat, and the crunchy seeds heighten the pleasure derived from its sweet chewiness.
Pamukkale is located in southwestern Anatolia, a 4 to 5-hour drive inland from coastal attractions such as Ephesus, Bodrum, Marmaris and Antalya. The closest major attraction is Aphrodisias, roughly halfway between the coast and Pamukkale (less than 2 hours driving). Pamukkale is known as the “Cotton Castle” because of its dramatic travertine terraces formed by hot-spring deposits of calcium carbonate. The Romans built the thriving spa town of Hieropolis here and besides the natural wonders there are some nice ruins to explore.
Can you name that country?
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Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
The great Ottoman architect Sinan had a long, illustrious career spanning most of the 16th century, the height of Ottoman power. His work pretty much set the tone for subsequent Ottoman architecture
Sinan’s parents were Christian Greeks and, as part of the system known as Devsirme, Sinan was taken as a young boy, converted to Islam and educated and trained to serve the empire. This system arose out of the practice of enslaving prisoners of war during the early years of the empire. By Sinan’s time, the system was meant as a way to balance power among the ruling classes by offering non-Turkic sons the opportunity to reach elevated positions.
Sinan was drafted into the elite Janissary corps of the sultan’s standing army.
There he served as a construction officer, working on bridges and fortifications.
In his extensive travels around the empire as a soldier he was exposed to many great buildings. He distinguished himself as a brilliant engineer and in 1538 was appointed by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent as head royal architect. He served in that position until his death in 1588.
Sinan built over 360 buildings, including mosques, medersas (Koranic schools), mausoleums, hospitals, aqueducts, public baths, palaces and mansions. His mosque designs were influenced by the Hagia Sophia, with a hovering central dome and open, airy interiors. In his exteriors he used smaller domes and half-domes to draw the eye upwards to the central dome.
One of his first buildings was the Sehzade Mosque, built to mark the death of the sultan’s son.
Sehzade Mosque, Istanbul
Perhaps his best known building is the Suleymaniye Mosque, which commands a prominent spot overlooking the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Like many of Sinan’s mosques, Suleymaniye comprises a complex with schools, a hospital, baths, shops, a kitchen and stables, in addition to the mosque.
Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne was one of his late projects and is generally considered his masterpiece. It has some of the tallest minarets ever built and the dome equals that of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia in diameter.
© Nexus7 – Selimiye Mosque Interior Photo
Sinan is buried in a modest tomb of his own design in a garden near the Suleymaniye Mosque.
Want to see some of Sinan’s work in person? Click here to see Turkey tours.
These 4th-century BCE rock-cut tombs hang above a charming and relatively quiet resort town on our mystery country’s “Riviera.” The town is surrounded by a Special Environmental Protection Area with pristine beaches, wetlands, lakes, rivers and nesting grounds for the endangered loggerhead turtle.
Can you name that country? What about the site?
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