FATIH, FENER AND BALAT
Fatih, Fener and Balat
Traveling along Fevzi Paşa in a northerly direction you will enter the Fatih district, where the Fatih mosque is worth a visit, with its green marble columns.
Religious orthodoxy makes this area very conservative, and in support of this theory, in addition to seeing more women wearing veils, we happened to observe a Koranic lesson inside the mosque.
Continuing on the road you arrive at the Theodosian walls of the city, a defensive system consisting of three levels plus a moat, which has been able to resist centuries of sieges and attacks by Bulgarians, Arabs and Rus.
To complete the circumnavigation of the walls you will need a whole day, since they cover more than 5 kilometers, and this walk can be combined with both a visit to the Yedikule Dungeon museum and the Panorama 1453 Museum, which tells of the siege and conquest Ottoman.
After seeing a small part of the walls, unfortunately we were not able to visit the Kariye Müzesi (church of Saint Savior in Chora), currently undergoing restoration, where there are the most beautiful Byzantine mosaics in all of Istanbul.
If it reopens to the public, it will be one of the fundamental stages of our second trip to this incredible city, where cultures and peoples have coexisted in a policy almost always based on tolerance and mutual respect.
f you pass through these picturesque streets, you cannot help but notice places and homes where naïf clashes with kitsch. Losing yourself among the winding streets, colorful houses and non-conformist clubs await you: here, where whimsical and degraded buildings join hands, we advise you to bring out all your photographic skills and immortalize the most particular details that strike you!
In addition to wandering around the streets, we also recommend some historic buildings, such as:
The red church and the Greek Orthodox high school
Small red church, it was founded in 1282 by a Byzantine princess named Maria who married the Mongol khan; it is a stone's throw from the Greek Orthodox high school of Fener, built of bricks and resembling a fairytale castle.
The Bulgarian Church of St. Stephen
Curious Gothic church painted white. It is entirely made of iron, cast in Vienna and transported to Istanbul in 1897. The circular windows with colored tilting glass are very particular.
The ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople
Spiritual center of the Orthodox world since 1599, it is located in the area of the church of Santo Stefano.
The Byzantine church of Fetiye Cami
Another interesting church which contains splendid Byzantine mosaics inside. Unfortunately, during our stay in Istanbul it was also under restoration.
That's all! If you like this text or have any question, leave a comment below.
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