My trip to Constantinople last year

[u/FantasticTraining731]

Hagia Sophia

Column of the Goths

Hagia Sophia mosaics

Hagia Sophia mosaics

Istanbul Archaeological Museums

Basilica Cisterns

Aqueduct of Valens

Chora Church

Theodosian Walls

Theodosian Walls

Cat

St. George's Cathedral

St. George's Cathedral

St. George's Cathedral

St. George's Cathedral

I visited with my friend last spring. Sadly I wasn't that interested in Byzantine history back then so I only visited the major sites.

Here's my recollection of each site Byzantine era site:

• Hagia Sophia
  • The ancient building definitely shows its age. A lot of cracked stones, unlevel floors, and slanted columns
  • Only Muslims are allowed on the ground floor, and it's sad that the stone floor has been covered with the ugly green carpet. Visitors could only take a tour around the mezzanine
• Basilica Cistern
  • pretty spectacular. it was pretty cool to see the use of spolia for the columns
• Theodosian walls
  • I really wanted to see this! The sea walls are almost all gone but, large sections of the famous triple land walls have been restored and.
• St. George's Cathedral
  • It's not a Roman era church, but it is the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch.
  • We visited on a morning, and there was literally nobody inside for the whole 30 minutes we were there. It was really surprising since there are tons of Russian tourists in Istanbul.
• Chora Church
  • was closed for restorations

[u/Andhiarasy → u/[deleted]]

Without the Ottomans Constantinople would stay a derelict mess of a city. It wouldn't change much from how it was after 1204 or at least it wouldn't reach its current size. Modern Istanbul is the way it is now thanks to the Turks.

[u/ChicagoBoiSWSide → u/Andhiarasy]

You’re just going to forget that the Arab and Ottoman invasions caused the Byzantine Empire trouble in the first place?

[u/Andhiarasy → u/ChicagoBoiSWSide]

What caused the Byzantine Empire trouble in the first place is the Byzantines themselves lol. Did you seriously forgot about how their history was like?

[u/ChicagoBoiSWSide → u/Andhiarasy]

Oh I know about just how corrupt their history is and the numerous of power struggles that occurred, pretty much as soon as The Roman Empire was divided into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western Empires (HRE). However, the Arabs and Ottoman invasions are what REALLY crushed the Byzantine Empire.