The Eternal Mystery

Istanbul Tourism has grown because of the cities mystery. Her dance has dazzled some of the greatest men in history: Justinian, Constantine and Mehmet the Conqueror, who all made her the queen of their empires. With each marriage, her name changed from Byzantium, to Constantinople to Istanbul.

Istanbul has always been a stunning beauty: from head to toe, her curvaceous shores are lined with grand palaces and villas; her seven hills are dressed in green parks and red roofs; her accessories are glittering domes and minarets. But her main attraction has to be her dowry: the waters of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.

Istanbul

Istanbul is a world metropolis with a population of 10 million and a very wide stretch of  inhabited area. One's first impression is that Istanbul is a lively city. You feel its heartbeats in the most unlikely street corner.  In spite of its magnitude, it has the human qualities of a small community because Istanbul is a city of contrasts where the ancient allies with the modern, not only in terms of organization, but the way people think and behave.

The history of this bewitching city dates back 2500 years.It was founded by Greek colonists (660 BC) in Khalkedon (Kadikoy) known as the Land of the Blind because the founders did not prefer the more attractive European shores.

Kadıköy ve Bağlı Semtler

Kadıköy ve Bağlı Semtler

Kadıköy İstanbul'un Anadolu yakasında bulunan en büyük ilçelerinden

biri. Kuzeyde Üsküdar ile doğusunda ise Ataşehir ve Maltepe ilçeleri

yer alır. batısında ve güneyinde ise Marmara denizi vardır. Kadıköy

çok eski zamanlara dayanan bir yerleşim birimidir. Fikirtepe'de

yapılan arkeolojik kazılar neticesinde Kadıköy’ün milattan önce 3000

li yıllara dayanan bir yerleşim birimi olduğu saptandı. bunun yanında

Kadıköy bir çok tarihi esere de sahiptir moda da bulunan deniz

fenerlerinde Fenikelilerden kalma kandillere rastlanmıştır. Kadıköy

Osmanlı zamanında Üsküdar sancağına bağlı kaldı. Cumhuriyet

yıllarında ise bir ilçe olarak hızla gelişmeye ve büyümeye başladı.

Kadıköy ekonomik, sanatsal, ve spor bakımından İstanbul'un en önemli

ilçelerinden biridir. Bahariye, Moda Bostancı, Cadde bostan, Bağdat

caddesi gibi semtlerinde özellikle eğlenceye yönelik işletmeler,

giyim mağazaları ve alışveriş merkezleri bulunur. Söğütlüçeşme

civarında ki Fenerbahçe'de ise Fenerbahçe Futbol Kulübünün maçlarını

oynadığı Şükrü Saraçoğlu stadı yer almaktadır. Kadıköy İstanbul'un en

merkezi ilçelerinden biri olduğundan 24 saat rahat bir ulaşıma

sahiptir. İett ve halk otobüsleri, deniz otobüsleri, vapur seferleri,

minibüsler, metrobüs ve tren gibi bir çok toplu taşıma aracının yolu

Kadıköy'de kesişir. Kadıköy eğitim yönünden de önemli bir merkezdir.

İlçede birçok dershane okul, tiyatro müze ve kültür sanat tesisleri

bulunmaktadır. İlçenin belediye başkanlığını uzun yıllardır Chp’li

Selami Özdemir yapmaktadır. 2008 yılında çıkarılan yeni ilçeler

yasasıyla Kadıköy bazı semtlerinin ilçe yapılarak kaybetmesine rağmen

hala İstanbul'un en önemli merkezlerinden biridir.

Cağaloğlu Hamam (Bath)

This historical bath located in the Cağaloğlu neighborhood near the Underground Cistern. A plan for the bath was designed by Süleyman Ağa, one of the palace architechs, by order of Sultan Mahmut I in order to provide revenue for both his library and the Ayasofya Mosque (Hagia Sophia). It was then built by Abdullah Ağa in 1741.

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Before its construction, the palace built by Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Paşa stood on its location. The palace was destroyed by a fire in 1740, and the Cağaloğlu Bath was erected on its site. Essentially, the bath consists of two sections, a men’s section and ladies’ section. The entrance door of the ladies’ section is located on a side street called Hamam Street, and the men’s section is found on the main road .

Several architectural innovations are found in the bath’s design which draws the attention of its visitors who have never seen a combination of Baroque and Classical Ottoman style architecture. It is also the last of the great hamams built in the city during the Ottoman era.

The Camekan of Cağaoğlu Hamam, a court surrounded by small individual changing rooms, is covered by a wide dome. There are changing rooms which surround the Camekan which are built on consolidated beams. In the middle of the Hamam, there is a wide pool that is made of a massive marble block, and in the middle of the pool, there is a splendid fountain. The wide dome in the lukewarm section (ılıklık) is raised upon four marble columns and seven cradle-shaped domes that form the roof of the structure which extends from the lukewarm section into the harare (hot section). The hot section, raised upon eight embroidered columns, is covered by a wide dome that dazzles with its grandeur.

The Cağaloğlu Hamam has been in service for two hundred seventy-six years. Today, it is still in operation, and the vast majority of its visitors are foreign tourists.