Sights in Iznik
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A
Aya Sofya
What was once the Aya Sofya is now a crumbling ruin slumbering in an attractively landscaped rose garden. The one building actually encompasses the ruins of three completely different structures. A mosaic floor and a mural of Jesus with Mary and John the Baptist survive from the original church. Built during the reign of Justinian I and destroyed by an earthquake in 1065, it was later rebuilt with the mosaics set into the walls. After the Ottoman conquest the church became a mosque, but a fire in the 16th century again destroyed everything. Reconstruction was supervised by the great architect Mimar Sinan, who added İznik tiles to the decoration.
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Church of the Koimesis
If you cut back inside the walls from the ruins of the minor Horoz (Rooster) Gate you will come to the scant ruins of the Church of the Koimesis (c AD 800) on the western side of Kaymakam S Taşkın Sokak. Only some foundations remain, but the church was once famous as the burial place of the Byzantine emperor Theodore I (Lascaris).
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İznik Museum
Opposite the Yeşil Camii is the İznik Museum, housed in the old soup kitchen that Sultan Murat I had built for his mother, Nilüfer Hatun, in 1388. Born a Byzantine princess, Nilüfer married Sultan Orhan to cement a diplomatic alliance.
The museum's grounds are filled with marble statuary. Inside, the lofty whitewashed halls contain examples of original İznik tiles, with their milky bluish-white and rich 'İznik red' hues. Other displays include 8000-year-old finds from a nearby tumulus (burial mound) at Ilıpınar, believed to show links with Neolithic Balkan culture.
Across the road is the restored Şeyh Kutbettin Camii (1492).
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Abdülvahap Hill
There is a cluster of minor sights around Abdülvahap Hill, outside the Lefke Gate, including the remains of a Roman aqueduct, an open-air Arab namazgah mosque, several tombs and a shady cemetery.
For a perfect evening stroll, head out an hour or so before sunset to peruse these features and climb up the hill itself, where as well as great views you'll find the Berber Rock, a shattered monumental mausoleum carved from a single rock, and the tomb of Abdülvahap Sancaktari, the Turkish-Arab flag bearer who gave his name to the hill after dying during an 8th-century siege.
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Yeşil Cami
Built between 1378 and 1387 under Sultan Murat I, the Yeşil Cami (Green Mosque) has Seljuk Turkish proportions influenced more by Iran (the Seljuk homeland) than by İstanbul. The green- and-blue-glazed zigzag tiles of the minaret foreshadowed the famous industry that arose here a few decades later.
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E
Lefke Gate
The Lefke Gate to the east actually comprises three gateways dating from Byzantine times. The middle one bears a Greek inscription that says it was built by Proconsul Plancius Varus in AD 123. You can climb to the top of the walls here - a good vantage point for inspecting the lie of the land.
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II Murat Hamamı
To the southeast of Aya Sofya, the brick-built II Murat Hamamı was constructed during the reign of Sultan Murat II in the first half of the 15th century.
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Hacı Özbek Camii
In the centre of town on Kılıçaslan Caddesi, Hacı Özbek Camii, dating from 1332, is one of İznik's oldest mosques.
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Saray Gate
To the southwest are the remains of the more minor Saray Gate - Sultan Orhan (1326-61) had a palace near here in the 14th century.
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Roman theatre
If you head back inside the walls from the Saray Gate you will come to the abandoned ruins of a 15,000-seat Roman theatre.
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İstanbul Gate
Like the Lefke Gate, İstanbul Gate is similarly imposing, with huge stone carvings of heads facing outwards.
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Şeyh Kutbettin Camii
Across the road to the south of İznik Museum is the restored Şeyh Kutbettin Camii (1492).
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City Walls & Gates
With some imagination it's still possible to recreate İznik's imposing walls, which were first erected in Roman times, then rebuilt and strengthened under the Byzantines. Four main gates – İstanbul Kapısı, Yenişehir Kapısı, Lefke Kapısı and Göl Kapısı – still transect the walls, and the crumbling remains of another 12 minor gates and 114 towers are also evident. In places, the walls still rise to a height of 10m to 13m.
The Lefke Gate to the east actually comprises three gateways dating from Byzantine times. Climb to the top of the walls here for a good vantage point of the surrounding area.
The İstanbul Gate is similarly imposing, with huge stone carvings …
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