Istanbul

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The tall minarets of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, known also as the Blue Mosque, tower proudly into the heavens and dominate the skyline of Istanbul, the Turkish capital on the Bosporus. At the beginning of the 17th century the young and ambitious sultan, Ahmet The First, decided that an additional building should replace the Hagia Sophia as the city's main...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Built in the middle of the 19th century and set on the beautiful shores of the Bosporus, the Dolmabahce Palace shines out in its old splendour, the third sultan?s palace of Istanbul, its royal buildings are considered to be the most beautiful examples of Osmanic architecture. The Turkish architect, Kabaret Balian and his son, Nikogos, were encouraged to indulge themselves...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Situated on the shores of the Bosporus, Istanbul is the only city in the world that is located on two continents, Europe and Asia. Within it, a historic and religious symbol rises up into the sky: the Hagia Sophia, for nearly a 1000 years the main church of former Constantinople. Legend has it that Constantine, founder of the New Rome,...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Istanbul is a grand Turkish metropolis that extends across two continents and is influenced by various cultural and historic epochs. In the bright and ornate interior of the Hagia Sophia the splendid yet contrasting influence of both Christian Byzantine and Ottoman architecture has been preserved to the present day. Beneath the second largest cupola in the world, each of these...

DVD. Globe Trekker. Istanbul is the only city to span two continents. Previously known as Byzantium and Constantinople, it was the center of the civilized world for over a millennium. Although no longer the capital of Turkey, Istanbul remains its biggest and busiest city. Traveller Estelle Bingham starts her exploration of the ancient city at Topkapi Palace, former home of sultans and their concubines. She...

DVD. Vista Point. 26 Minutes. Istanbul is the golden gateway to the Orient, a city that was once the centre of the Old World and still reflects two and a half centuries of history. Today this turbulent metropolis on the Bosporus is Europe's connection with Asia Minor. Today this link between Europe and Asia has more than fifteen million inhabitants and is not only Turkey's...

DVD. Cities of the World. 60 Minutes. Istanbul is a fantastic heritage of the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople, and its unique quality is that it lies on two continents. Europe and Asia are separated by the picturesque Golden Horn Bay. On the quiet Asian side live the wealthy citizens, while the European part is a busy center for business life, and the ancient city core,...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The mighty gate that rises from the old quarter of Istanbul is the entrance to a fascinating and astonishing world, the Serail Of Topkapi. The former Osmanic centre of power is a small town in itself with numerous wonderfully decorated buildings and an idyllic park. The Topkapi Palace consists of a large complex of administrative buildings as well as those...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Suur, for thousands of years the mighty tower-flanked Istanbul Land Wall was vital for both the defence and further development of the city. The Byzantine emperor, Theodosius The Second, ordered the construction of a new and mighty fortification in 408 A.D. The fortress was built during the reign of Sultan Mehmet Fatih The Second. It was an architectural symbol of...