TP7: ...from Kapalicarsi to Suleyminye Masjid


It was about 11:30 hours, we exited the Grand Bazaar through Gate 14 heading toward Suleymaniye Masjid through Oruculer Caddesi. On the way, we stopped at the Beyezit Square. Unfortunately, the square was closed but we managed taking few shots of the square and its famous Beyazit Tower through one of its gates.
Beyazıt Tower, which was oredered by the Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), is an 85 metre tall fire-watch tower located in the courtyard of Istanbul University's main campus on Beyazıt Square (known as the Forum Tauri in the Roman period), on top of one of the "seven hills" which Constantine the Great had built the city, following the model of Rome. It was designed by Senekerim Balyan who built it of stone in 1828 on the place of the original wooden Beyazıt Tower which was destroyed in a fire and was constructed earlier by the architect's brother, Krikor Balyan. Some of the buildings around the tower as we saw it are still under restoration.
10 minutes after that, we visited the small masjid called Ali Pasha Camii or Masjid adjacent to the square. This was not actually the Kilic Ali Pasa Masjid designed and built by the famous Mimar Sinan in 1957.

Subsequently, we continued our walk along the Fuat Pasa street and had another pit stop quenching our thirst at the fresh fruit juice vendor outside the wall of the Suleymaniye the Magnificent Masjid. The owner, I assumed, was very hospitable but not able to converse fluently in English. Not a big deals though, with a mix of Arabic and sign language, we ordered the banana and milk juice, pomegranate juices and fresh oranges. And, he delivered it excellently.

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