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Visiting Istanbul
#1
I'm planning a quick visit to Turkey in April, and wondered what I should make sure to see in Istanbul. I know a few people on RAT have been there.

I'll have a couple of days, probably. Are there any more unusual places that anybody can recommend? Or anywhere perhaps overrated that I could miss and spend the time elsewhere? Obviously, I'm after Roman stuff in particular, but other suggestions are most welcome!
Nathan Ross
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#2
It has been many years since I visited Istanbul but I don't suppose too much has changed since then (but see below). You will probably see the Theodosian walls on the way in from the airport and the Aqueduct of Valens when passing through the city.

If you do nothing else, a visit to the Archaeological Museum is a must. It has a lot of Roman material, including the tombstones of a bucinator (which we have discussed in another thread) and an aquilifer. There is also a metope from Adamclisi (presumably brought there when Romania was part of the Ottoman Empire) and a fragment of the Column of Theodosius.

On the latter point, if you have time, you might go to see the other fragments built into what used to be known as the Baths of Beyazit to see if the situation has improved (or worsened) since Adrian Coombs-Hoar's visit two or three years ago (see his thread http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/thread-...man+lost). If you can find out what has become of the relief that I called 'Suppliant Soldiers', you will be doing me and, I suspect, many others a great favour. This was visible when I was there (see this post http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/thread-...#pid251074) but has since apparently disappeared.

Are you going anywhere other than Istanbul?
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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#3
(02-14-2016, 11:12 PM)Renatus Wrote: the Baths of Beyazit

Yes, I'll see if I can get that far west - although I might get sidetracked into the Grand Bazaar and never seen again... [Image: smile.png]

Otherwise - certainly the archeological museum, the palace mosaics museum too, Agia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome and obelisk of Theodosius. I'd like to try and find the column of Claudius Gothicus too, and the remains of the Severan sea walls to the north of the Topkapi palace... If I get the time I'll try and make it west to look at Valens's aqueduct and the Theodosian walls - any suggestion where the best bit of the walls are to be found? - although I want to get across to Uskadar on the ferry too... all in two days or less... hmm.


(02-14-2016, 11:12 PM)Renatus Wrote: Are you going anywhere other than Istanbul?

Athens, some Greek islands, Ephesus, the Hellespont. I did want to visit Thessaloniki too, and Pergamum, and a dozen other places, but time's short...
Nathan Ross
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#4
(02-14-2016, 11:37 PM)Nathan Ross Wrote: Yes, I'll see if I can get that far west - although I might get sidetracked into the Grand Bazaar and never seen again... [Image: smile.png]

If you manage to escape through the western entrance to the bazaar, you won't be too far away.

The obelisk of Theodosius is interesting. I took a whole series of photographs of the reliefs on the base when I was there.

The Column of Claudius Gothicus is in the park immediately to the north of the Topkapi Palace. I remember seeing it from a balcony in the palace and then going out into the road to get access to the park and take a photograph.

The land walls are extensive and impressive. It is difficult to suggest any stretch that is better than another.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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#5
Try the Paladium Restaurant in Kutlugün Sokak or the Albura Kathisma Restaurant in Akbıyık Caddesi in Sultanahmet ( I went to the latter). They are built over excavated subterranean stretches of domed halls and corridors which are believed to have served as a covered corridor inside the Great Palace (or the palace of Boukoleon, I can't remember). From the dining rooms in the Albura Kathisma you just wander into the garden courtyard and decend the stone steps. You need to order something in the restaurant as the archeology is 'owned' by the proprietor.
Rodger Williams
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