Istanbul's Byzantine treasures celebrated in themed tours
(31 Dec 2018) LEAD IN
Tourists are returning in droves to Turkey, helped this year by the sharp fall in the value of the Turkish lira following economic uncertainty and a rift with the United States.
Now some tour guides are offering themed tours to discover specific historical eras that shaped the city we know today.
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Istanbul's lesser-known Byzantine treasures are being discovered by tourists keen to explore hidden parts of the city.
The iconic Hagia Sophia Museum, built in 537 AD, is an emblem of the city and a must-visit for tourists.
But it's smaller sister Little Hagia Sophia is even older, constructed between 527 and 536 AD, and acted as a model for its larger neighbour.
Both were originally Byzantine churches which were later converted into mosques.
The Little Hagia Sophia was first built as the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus.
Tour guide Yasin Karabacak is showing some Australian visitors the lesser known Byzantine gems of Istanbul.
It is the oldest religious building which is still in use. That's why I wanted to show Little Hagia Sophia Mosque to my visitors. And it is also a very interesting building because it is like a small model of Hagia Sophia, even in the Ottoman times they called Hagia Sophia 'The Great Mosque' or 'The Big Hagia Sophia, he explains.
Karabacak is one of the few licensed tour guides among hundreds in Istanbul who offers themed tours like Byzantine, Roman and even Genoese Istanbul.
En route the tour includes the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serefiye Cistern and other underground structures from the Byzantine period.
In the 4th-15th centuries, Istanbul was known as Constantinople and was the epicentre of an empire dominating the Mediterranean Basin.
In the beginning of that period the Byzantine emperors used to live in what was called the Great Palace. The main building no longer stands, but its cellars can still be explored if you know where to look.
We went to see an underground structure which is underneath a carpet shop, it's a substructure of the Great Palace. Unfortunately we don't have so many things to see from the Great Palace, but there are some underground places and most of them are private property, Karabacak adds.
Another hidden Byzantine gem of Istanbul is the Bucaleon Palace, by the Marmara Sea, which was recently restored by the Turkish Government.
Karabacak's two Australian clients, Richard Stockdale and Marie McDonald, are delighted with the tour.
We decided to hire this tour because we recognised there were lots of really special historical places in Istanbul that we, without experience, as tourists, would be unable to find without a special guide. And I must say, it's been a very successful strategy, we've seen lots of things that we wouldn't had been able to see on our own, even with the best of guide books and the internet to help us, explains Stockdale.
The couple fit the profile of Karabacak's typical clients: Europeans, Americans and Australians who have already visited Istanbul, with an interest in history and keen to discover a different side of the city.
Karabacak says that since he started these themed tours two years ago, the demand has increased by 50 per cent.
He created a Facebook page in March 2018 called 'The Hidden Face of Istanbul', and it now has more than 5,000 followers, 95 percent of them foreigners, mostly Americans and Greeks.
Professor Ferudun Ozgumus, teaches Byzantine Architecture in Istanbul University.
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