イスタンブールの観光スポット

アヤソフィアは、世界遺産「イスタンブール歴史地区」の中心的建物で、世界で最も美しい建築物の一つとして有名です。アヤソフィアは、532年にローマ皇帝ユスティニアヌス1世の命によって建設された建物です。その後、オスマントルコによってコンスタンティノープルが陥落すると、イスタンブールとして改称された街はイスラム教となり、アヤソフィアは、モザイクなどの装飾が施され、イスラムモスクとして利用されました。 1930年代には、トルコ共和国の初代大統領であるアタチュルクによってアヤソフィアは世俗化され、博物館として公開されるようになりました。黄金に輝く美しいアヤソフィアのモザイク画は、イタリア・ラブェンナにあるビザンツ芸術最高峰のモザイクとその美しさを競い合っています。また、ベネチアにあるサンマルコ寺院は、アヤソフィアにインスピレーションを得て建設されたと言われています。ビザンチン様式の最高傑作とも呼ばれるアヤソフィアは、多種多様のドームやミナレットで構成されており、高い天蓋に覆われた広々とした内部は、壮麗な大空間が広がります。採光によって光のあふれるアヤソフィアのドームは、あまりにも美しく、印象的なため、現代においても最高傑作と称えられている意味が理解できます。

オスマン帝国時代に建設されたグランドバザールことカパリ・チャルシュ。現存する全ての市場やデパートの根源とも言えるこの「屋内市場」には、贈答品やお土産品アイテム、生活必需品やチープな雑貨品など、ありとあらゆる品物が売られています。バザールの中は昼間でも洞窟内に入ったように暗く、トルコ製ランプのかすかな光や絨毯のカラフルな色彩、キャンドルのともし火がアーケード内の天井や壁を照らし、まるでアラビアンナイトの世界に迷い込んだよう。迷路のように続く60以上のドーム型屋根付きアーケードの中には約5000件のショップが所狭しと並んでおり、一部はビザンチン帝国時代からそのまま残されています。陶器や絨毯、ビーズのブレスレットや金・銀製アクセサリー、先が丸くなったスリッパや多様な色彩のランタン、トルコ模様のお皿やベリーダンス用の衣装などは売られている商品のほんの一例。ウィンドーショッピングするだけでも十分楽しめる場所です。

The Bosphorus Bridge is one of two bridges that spans the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. It stretches from Ortakoy on the European side to Beylerbeyi on the Asian side and is sometimes referred to as the First Bosphorus Bridge. At 1560 meters long, the Bosphorus Bridge was the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1973 and was the first bridge to connect Europe and Asia since a bridge spanning the Dardanelles in 480 B.C. Today, it is the 21st longest suspension bridge in the world. In 2007, an LED lighting system was installed to illuminate the bridge at night and the computerized system is now used to create a colorful light show every evening. While the bridge is typically closed to pedestrians, it opens each October for the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon – the only marathon that crosses from one continent to another.

トルコのガリポリ半島は、第一次世界大戦中に連合軍とオスマン軍の激戦地となった場所です。連合軍がイスタンブール占領を目指し、ダーダネルス海峡にあるガリポリ半島に対して上陸作戦を行った場所です。オスマン軍の予想外の頑強な抵抗にあった連合軍は、多大な損害を出し、作戦は失敗に終わりました。イギリス帝国の無力からイギリス連邦のオーストラリア軍、ニュージーランド軍のたくさんの兵士が祖国から離れたこの場所で命を落としたのです。 オスマン軍は、ムスタファ・ケマルの指揮により、数々の戦闘の要所で上陸軍を撃退しました。ムスタファ・ケマルは、その功績によりアタチュルク（トルコの父）という称号を受け、指導者となってトルコ共和国を創立し、トルコの近代化に努めました。現在、ガリポリ半島は、国立公園となっており、1世紀前にこの地で命を落とした兵士達の墓地や記念碑が建っています。オーストラリアとニュージーランド両国は、4月25日を「アンザック・デー」と名づけ、ガリポリの戦いで勇敢に戦った兵士達の追悼を行う重要な国の祝日としました。この日には両国から多くの訪問客がガリポリを訪れます。

The heady scents of saffron, cloves, sugar and spice fill the air at the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and Market, or Misir Carsisi, one of Istanbul's oldest markets. Aisle after aisle of stallholders sell their wares in this cavernous covered market, built in 1660, under the market's vaulted ceiling lit by Turkish lamps. Baskets filled with every spice under the sun add colors of gold, orange, yellow and green, and the array of dried fruits and nuts is astounding. Stock up on Turkish delight, dried apricots, pistachios and walnuts, honey sweets and top-quality saffron. This is a place to simply dive in and wander. Don't have an agenda, just walk the crowded stalls and get lost. Stop for a tea, stop to chat with a carpet seller. If you're in a rush, you're missing the point.

Located on the European side of Istanbul, Taksim Square is the heart of the modern part of the city. It takes its name from the stone reservoir on the west side of the square, which today houses the Taksim Republic Art Gallery. Sultan Mahmud I originally established the square as the point where water lines from north of Istanbul converged before branching off to other parts of the city. Today, Taksim Square buzzes with activity day and night. With Istiklal Caddesi, the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, ending in the square, it is surrounded by shops, restaurants and high end hotels, making it a popular gathering spot for locals and tourists alike. Over the years, it has also been home to numerous public celebrations, parades and demonstrations. In the center of the square, you’ll find the Monument of the Republic, constructed in 1928 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey after the Turkish War of Independence.

The Church of the Holy Savior in Chora is one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches still in existence today. Originally built in the 5th century, it was part of a monastery complex that stood outside the old city walls of what was then Constantinople. The name “Chora” refers to that location and even after it was mostly rebuilt in the early 11th century, the church retained the name. An earthquake in the 12th century caused a partial collapse of the church and repairs weren’t completed until the early 14th century that it was completed thanks to funding from the great Byzantine statesman, Theodore Metochites. Most of the gorgeous mosaics and frescoes in the building date to that period and represent the best of the Palaeogian Renaissance. The mosaics depict various biblical scenes, including the birth of Christ and the journey of the Magi, as well as major events in the life of the Virgin Mary.

Covered in intricate mosaics and massive murals in Late Byzantine style, the Church of St Savior in Chora has been standing since the 4th century. The present day structure is thought to have been built in the 11th century, then converted to a mosque by Ottomans in the 16th century. Today it functions as a secular museum, housing what are considered to be some of the world’s finest frescoes and mosaics. The interior of the church has been especially well preserved throughout time. In total there are more than 50 mosaic panels, most dating back to 1310 and in near perfect condition. The frescoes depict the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, as well as saints and icons of Christianity. Above the door to the nave in the inner narthex, you’ll find one of the most spectacular mosaics of Theodore Metochites, the director of the Byzantine Treasury, making an offering to Christ.

The Koza Hani, also known as the Cocoon Inn, was a caravanseri commissioned by Sultan Bayezid II in the late 15th century. Constructed in the city of Bursa, it was intended to provide income for the sultan’s mosque in Istanbul. As the final stop on the Silk Road from China, the han was a place where merchants could try to sell the last of their goods, particularly silk. Intricate turquoise tiling adorns the entrance to the han, which soon gives way to a cozy garden setting in the center courtyard. In classical Ottoman style, the structure features two stories of galleries surrounding an inner courtyard, with nearly 100 rooms altogether. An absolution fountain and small prayer room sit in the middle of the courtyard and cells to the east of the han were built as stables and storage rooms. The Koza Hani remains an active bazaar today and its tradition of being a center for the silk trade continues.

Located on the Sixth Hill near the highest point in Istanbul, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is one of the most visible landmarks in the city. One of two mosques in the city with the same name (the other no longer functions as a mosque), it was designed by famous imperial architect Mimar Sinan and built in the mid-16th century in honor of Suleyman the Magnificent’s favorite daughter. The mosque forms part of a larger complex that includes a madrassah, primary school, Turkish bath and shrine. The mosque stands on a terrace built over a row of shops, whose rents were intended to sustain the mosque financially. Visitors will enter the mosque through an impressive porch with seven domed bays flanked by marble and granite columns. The interior is simple, but elegant. Multiple earthquakes damaged the mosque in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the narrow minaret that fell through the roof of the mosque during an 1894 earthquake.

One of the largest public parks in Istanbul, Emirgan Park covers 117 acres on a hillside along the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. In Byzantine times, the area was covered with cypress trees and by the mid-16th century became known as Feridun Bey Park. By the 1860s, the park was owned by Khediva Ismail Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Egypt and Sudan, who built three wooden pavilions that remain standing today. The Yellow, Pink and White Pavilions within the park were restored in the late 1970s and then opened to the public. The Yellow Pavilion stands in the center of the park, overlooking the Bosphorus, and features traditional Ottoman architecture and rich interior decorations. The Pink Pavilion is also a typical Ottoman house and is often used for weddings or other events. Not far from the Yellow Pavilion, the White Pavilion was built in a neo-classical style and is now a cafeteria and restaurant.

Deemed the best dinosaur museum in the world by many, Jurassic Land is not only a place to enjoy dinosaurs but also to learn about them in a whole new way. Dinosaur bones were uncovered during the construction of the shopping mall inside which Jurassic Land is located; the rest is history. These magnificent and extinct beasts come alive at Jurassic Land thanks to the life-size, moving models of over 70 dinosaurs linked to each other through a witty and clever scenario. Various exhibitions tell the story of dinosaurs, their features, their abilities and their daily life, as well as their sudden and tragic disappearance through interactive displays and 65-million-year-old skeletons. Jurassic Land also boasts a massive six-dimension cinema with special effects that takes guests on extreme air, underwater and land journeys, a special cave where kids can dig for bones and be rewarded with a “Explorer Paleontologist” certificate, a gift shop, and a relaxing garden.