In the Shadow of Bozdoğan: From Zeyrek to Fatih

1. 01
   History

   Spot Three Churches in One Structure

   Start at Zeyrek Mosque, the former Pantokrator Monastery, founded around 1124 by Empress Eirene, wife of Emperor John II Komnenos. The complex originally consisted of three adjacent churches and also had a hospital. After the conquest, it was turned into a madrasa and became associated with Molla Zeyrek, whose name the site still carries; it is considered the city’s first Ottoman educational institution.

   Zeyrek Camii (Pantokrator Monastery), Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Art

   Search for the Lost Tiles

   Continue to Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, built by Sinan for Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha between 1540 and 1546 on top of a Byzantine cistern. The blue-and-white İznik tiles that gave the bath its name were damaged by earthquakes and fires, then sold off and dispersed to museums in Europe. After a thirteen-year restoration, the site reopened in 2023.

   Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Photography

   Walk Beneath the Aqueduct

   Pass under the Bozdoğan Aqueduct, also known as the Aqueduct of Valens, built during the reign of Emperor Valens between 364 and 378. Its original length was about 971 meters, and roughly 790 meters still stand today. In some sections it rises to 28 meters above the ground, spanning the dip between the city’s third and fourth hills.

   Bozdoğan Kemeri (Valens Aqueduct), Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Local

   Count the Layers in the Park

   Pause at Saraçhane Park, just west of the aqueduct, for a slice of ordinary city life with benches, a children’s playground, and welcome shade. But the ground here is anything but ordinary: this area has been continuously built over since Byzantine times, and fragments from different periods can still be seen around the park’s edges.

   Saraçhane Parkı, Istanbul, Turkey
5. 05
   Food

   Wait for the Well Oven Lid to Open

   Head to Kadınlar Pazarı, also known as Siirt Pazarı, a market established by migrants from Siirt and Bitlis. Behind the shops around the square are earth-buried well ovens where meat hangs and cooks for hours. When the lid is opened, the whole square seems to know it by the smell.

   Kadınlar Pazarı (Siirt Pazarı), Istanbul, Turkey
6. 06
   History

   Find the Site of a Lost Church

   Continue uphill to Fatih Mosque, built by Atik Sinan between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles. The surrounding Sahn-ı Seman madrasas formed the city’s first major educational complex. The mosque was heavily damaged in the 1766 earthquake, and the building seen today was reconstructed between 1767 and 1771.

   Fatih Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
7. 07
   Photography

   Descend into the Cistern Beside the Mosque

   Finish at Yavuz Selim Mosque and the adjacent Çukurbostan. The mosque is the centerpiece of the complex commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent for his father, with an inscription dated 1522. Its single large dome and twin minarets stand on a terrace commanding the Golden Horn. Right beside it lies Çukurbostan, the Byzantine Cistern of Aetius, a vast emptied reservoir that has been reused for other purposes for centuries.

   Yavuz Selim Camii ve Çukurbostan, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.