Üsküdar

Description

Üsküdar

Istanbul’s Asian shore is easily reached by ferry from Eminönü dock across the Bosphorus. On an islet just off the Asiatic shore stands the 30-meter-high Kiz Kulesi, (Maiden’s Tower). Üsküdar was traditionally known as Scutari and has some handsome old mosques, winding lanes, and weathered brown timber houses (particularly between the ferry dock and the large cemetery).

The town, known in antiquity as Chrysopolis, was one of the earliest Greek settlements on the Bosporus. It was much more exposed to attack by foreign conquerors than Constantinople, with its defensive situation and strong walls, but it was able to draw economic advantage from its exposed situation — until 1800 it was the terminus of the caravan routes that brought the treasures of the East to Constantinople and onwards to Europe. Of particular sightseeing interest here is the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, built by Süleyman the Magnificent in 1547 for his daughter Mihrimah, and the Yeni Valide Mosque, built in the 18th century by Sultan Ahmet III.

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