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City walls was
built around 400AD by Emperor Theodosius
II which is 6.5km(4miles) long. They
exist of land walls and sea walls.The
inner walls were 13m high,3-4m. thick
and the outer walls were 8m. high and
approximately 2m. thick and the height
of 96 towers is ranging from 15 to
20m.10 gates lead into the city through
walls.
Pier Loti Hill is magnificent
view of Golden Horn and Istanbul. Famous
French author Pierre Lotti (1850-1923)
came to this place and wrote a lot of
poems about Istanbul, the Golden Horn
and the life in Harem.
Chora Church, the word "chora"
means "outside the city, the countryside".
Probably, a small church built here
before the erection of the 5th century
Roman city walls gave its name to the
later churches built on the same site.
The present-day edifice is dated to the
llth-14th centuries. Besides its
attractive exterior, the mosaics and
frescoes inside are considered
masterpieces of the Byzantine "renaissance".
These decorations and the additions made
in the 14th century were ordered by
Theodore Metochites. Mosaic panels in
the two narthexes at the entrance depict
the lives of the Virgin and Christ in
the chronological order described in the
Bible. Religious subjects were depicted
in the form of frescoes in the side
chapel. Prominent church and court
personalities also figure in these
frescoes.
Underground Cisern, was known in
Byzantium as "Basilica Cistern" because
it lay beneath the Stoa Basilica, the
great public square on the First Hill.
The Basilica Cistern was built by
Justinian I after the bloody Nika Revolt
in 532, probably as an enlargement of an
earlier cistern which was constructed by
Constantine the Great. During the
Byzantium Period, it was used as a
reservoir for water storage for the
Great Palace and other buildings in the
First Hill. During the Ottoman Period,
the water was used for Topkapi Palace
and watering the gardens of it. However
the cistern had its brighest days during
the Byzantium Period. |
