Kamil Pasha

Here are some photos of the tile murals inside Taksim and Levent stations on the Istanbul Metro. These are just a selection; there are many more murals, all spectacular. The bottom scene shows the fall of Constantinople (Christian Byzantium) to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The top scene is of the Ottoman city after the conquest.

The middle scenes are: To the left, Rumeli Castle, built by Mehmet II as part of his siege of Constantinople, blocking access to the city from the Bosphorus. To the right, a fanciful interpretation of the 1513 map of the known world drawn up by the Ottoman mariner Piri Reis. (The Piri Reis mural is in the Levent station.)

Tags: Istanbul //