TRAVEL
Istanbul . For love
“ If someone is destined to look at the world just once , he should look at Istanbul ,” said Alphonse de Lamartine . And he was right ... In our guide we will tell what museums to visit , what to try , where to look for ancient treasures and without what one cannot leave the shores of the Bosphorus .
Polina Lyubimova ,
Art critic
@ polina _ liubimova
Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul ... is many-sided eternal city , where ancient culture , Byzantium greatness , the Ottoman Empire ’ s power and progressiveness of modern Turkey unite into an inseparable whole . Roman columns and sharp minarets , narrow streets and wide water surfaces , skyscrapers and Ottoman palaces , noisy bazaars and quiet gardens ... This is an open-air city-museum , which every corner keeps the memory of the past .
I hope our readers know such sights of interest as the Palace of the Turkish Sultans Topkapi , Hagia Sophia , Sultan Ahmed Mosque ( the Blue Mosque ), the Basilica Cistern , the Galata Tower … However , some unknown museums are worth mentioning .
We recommend purchasing the Istanbul Museum Card , which will save money , avoid queues and inspire to visit museums .
1 ) Carpet and Kilim Museum , Halı Müzesi
It is impossible to imagine oriental culture , its way of life and interior of any building without a carpet . It is in a mosque , a madrasah , a magnificent palace , or a poor man ’ s hut . If you are holding this magazine , you should definitely visit the kingdom of carpets in the heart of Istanbul . The museum is located next to Hagia Sophia in the building of the former imaret ( canteen for the poor ). The collection of the museum covers the period from the XIV to the XX century and illustrates the traditions of carpet weaving not only in Turkey , but also in Iran , Turkmenistan , the Caucasus , etc . The exposition includes carpets that covered the floors of the most famous mosques : Suleymaniye and Sultan Ahmed in Istanbul , the Ulu mosque in Divrigi and Eski Jami in Edirne . The collection of large Ushak carpets , known far beyond the borders of Turkey thanks to European painters , deserves special attention . After leaving the museum , you can go for a walk in the Kuchuk Hagia Sophia and Binbirdirek districts and look into the kilim shops that this area is famous for . Unlike in the museum , you are allowed to touch everything and even sit on the antique carpets .
2 ) Islamic and Turkish Arts Museum , Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi
Despite its advantageous location on Sultan Ahmed Square , opposite the Blue Mosque tourists often do not go to this museum with a stunning collection of more than 40,000 exhibits . The museum has the most ancient objects of material culture connected with the development of modern Turkey , early
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