Category Archives: Places of Faith
Kantarcılar Cami / Kantarcılar Mosque

KANTARCILAR CAMİ İnşa tarihi kesin olarak bilinmeyen cami, Ebu’l Feth Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in fethe katılan askerlerinden olan Sarı Timurci Muhyiddîn Çelebi tarafından yaptırılmıştır. Banisine nispetle ‘Sarı Timurci Mescidi’ olarak da bilinmektedir. Minberi Şânîzâde Abdurrahman Efendizâde Mehmed Efendi tarafından koydurulmuştur. Caminin duvarları kesme taş ve tuğladan örülmüş, çatısı ise ahşap, kiremit …
Selçuk Sultan Cami / Selçuk Sultan Mosque

SELÇUK SULTAN CAMİİ ‘Selçuk Hatun Cami’, ‘Abbas Ağa Cami’ ve ‘Tahta Minare Cami’ isimleriyle de bilinen cami, Çelebi Mehmed Han’ın kızı Selçuk Hatun tarafından Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han zamanında inşa ettirilmiştir Sonraki yıllarda yangın geçirerek harap olan cami, Valide Sultan’ın başağası Abbas Ağa tarafından yeniden yaptırılarak minberi koydurulmuştur. Millet Caddesi’nin …
Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque
Sehzade Mosque and Complex
Places of Worship in Istanbul

İstanbul is unique, as it has been the Capital city of empires that were also seats of religion. Today, too, İstanbul continues to reflect is religious character and there are many place of worship of various religious beliefs that are active. The Ottomans ruled for five centuries, İstanbul was not …
Churches in Istanbul
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode I
NOAH’S LEGACY TO MANKIND According to the legend of the great flood, Noah’s Ark ran aground at Mount Ağrı (Ararat). When the flood waters receded, Noah and his family descended the mountain towards the fertile Iğdır Plain, whence their descendants moved west- and southwestward along the Fırat (Euphrates) and …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode II
“UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY” THROUGH THE LAND OF REBECCA AND RACHEL Old Şanlı Urfa, with its wealth of biblical associations, is known as the “Jerusalem of Anatolia.” According to the Old Testament, the Patriarch Abraham (“grandfather of great religions”) was born in the city of Ur, in the Chaldea region. Not far …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode III
CRADLE OF THE SAINTS The biblical city of Antakya (Antioch), once the third largest city in the Roman Empire, was the headquarters of St. Paul’s missionaries and the base for several missionary journeys. The New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 11, verse 26) declares that the followers of …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode IV
MAGNIFICENT PASTORAL VISTA Trabzon, near the eastern end of the Black Sea coast, was founded in the 7th century BC by Miletian colonists. It was the capital of the Empire of Trebizond which survived for a few years after the conquest of Byzantine İstanbul. The Byzantines ruled here until …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode V
THE CELTIC ENIGMA Celts, the indigenous people of Europe, faced oppression from the Romans during the 4th century BC. As a result, some Celts migrated through the Balkans and across the Bosphorus to Central Anatolia. According to historical records, Ankara was first established by the Celts and made their …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode VI
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAINT PAUL Antalya, founded in 159 BC, has been continuously inhabited since its founding by Attalos II, king of Pergamum, who named the city Attaleia after himself. The Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks successively occupied the city before it came under Ottoman rule, The elegant fluted …
Seven Journeys to Anatolia: Episode VII
THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF APOCALYPSE Seven Churches, born of the Jewish communities in prominent towns in Anatolia, are mentioned in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation by St. John the Evangelist. These seven cities played an important role in the expansion of early Christianity westward from the Holy Land. …
The Hagia Sophia

The construction of the grand Church of Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and begun in 532 over the foundations of an earlier basilica and completed in 548. This cathedral was considered the greatest Christian church until it was taken by the Turks upon the …
Chora Church (Kariye Museum)
Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet)

One of the most famous monuments of Turkish and Islamic art, Blue Mosque, is the only mosque that was originally built with six minarets. It’s located in one of the oldest settlements of Istanbul and therefore surrounded by many other outstanding historical structures. The mosque can be viewed from many …