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The City on the
Seven Hills
Istanbul was known as the city on the seven
hills. Whether Constantine the Great was actually aware of the fact that
the new city was, founded on seven hills remains uncertain.
The seven hills, all located in the area
within the walls, first appeared when the valleys of the Golden Horn and
the Bosphorus were opened up during the Secondary and Tertiary periods. In
the Ottoman, as in the earlier Byzantine period, each hill was surmounted
by monumental religious buildings.
The first hill
on which the ancient city of Byzantium was founded, begins from Seraglio
Point and extends over the whole area containing Hagia Sophia, the Sultan
Ahmet Mosque and Topkapi Palace.
On the second hill
are to be found the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, Grand Bazaar and cemberlitas. The
second hill is divided from the first by a fairly deep valley running from
Babiali on the east Eminonu.
The third hill
is now occupied by the main buildings of Istanbul University, the Mosque
of Beyazit to the south and the Mosque and Complex of Suleymaniye to the
north. The southern slopes of the hill descend to Kumkapi and Langa.
The fourth hill
on which stood the Church of the Holy Aposties and, subsequently, the
Mosque of Mehmet the Conqueror, slopes down rather steeply to the Golden
Horn on the north and, rather more gently, to Aksaray on the south.
On the fifth hill
we find the Mosque of Sultan Selim. The fifth and the sixth hills are
separated by the valley running down on the west to Balat on the shore of
the Golden Horn.
On the sixth hill
are to be found the districts of Edirnekapi and Ayvansaray Its gentle
slopes run out beyond the line of the defense walls.
The seventh hill
extends from Aksaray to the city defense walls and the Marmara. It
is a broad hill with three summits producing a triangle with apices at
Topkapi, Aksaray, and Yedikule. |
