The Green Mosque in Bursa: Inside the world of The Tortoise Trainer
Our journey begins with one of Turkish art’s most celebrated works, The Tortoise Trainer by Osman Hamdi Bey. The painting depicts a robed dervish attempting to train tortoises in a dilapidated, tiled chamber inspired by the architectural elements of Bursa’s Green Mosque. It is a work rich in symbolism. What many viewers do not realize is that the figure in The Tortoise Trainer is not an imagined dervish but a carefully constructed persona. Osman Hamdi Bey used himself as the model, just as he did in many of his other works.
As with the architectural setting of Bursa’s Yeşil Camii, he relied on a collection of photographs to achieve accuracy in both figure and environment. The Arabic inscription above the window, “Şifa’al-kulûb likâ’al Mahbûb,” meaning “The healing of hearts lies in union with the Beloved, the Prophet Muhammad,” is reproduced directly from the mosque, deepening the contemplative atmosphere of the scene. While the painting is often interpreted as a satire on the slow pace of Ottoman reforms, its architectural elements are drawn from a historical reality.
Hamdi Bey drew inspiration from the upper floor of Bursa’s Green Mosque for this scene. Built in the 1420s by Sultan Mehmed I, the mosque is famed for the turquoise-glazed tiles that give it its name.
Travelers today can step into the very space that inspired the artist’s vision. Above the location that corresponds to where the dervish stood in the painting, you can still see the pointed archway and the window with the inscription. Standing in the quiet of this chamber, with the morning light filtering through the intricate tile work, the centuries seem to dissolve. You can almost sense the presence of the artist, patient and contemplative, studying the timeless beauty of early Ottoman architecture.
The Galata Tower: moonlight and romance
Few cities have bewitched painters quite like Istanbul, and few skylines possess the nocturnal magic that 19th-century artists discovered here. Ivan Aivazovsky, one of the great masters of light and atmosphere, visited the city eight times between 1845 and 1890. Among the works from these visits is Nighttime View of Istanbul from Tepebaşı, a glowing panorama of the city under moonlight.
In this painting, the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to the Galata Tower rising above the ridge of Pera. To its left stand Nusretiye Mosque and, further along, Defterdar Mosque. In the distance, the Asian shore stretches from Üsküdar toward Fenerbahçe, forming a soft dark line against the illuminated water. On the right side of the composition, the monumental forms of Topkapı Palace, Hagia Irene, Hagia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque anchor the scene, each gently picked out by moonlight.
Today, the nighttime view from Tepebaşı is no longer as open or accessible as it once was, but the closest modern vantage point is from the northwest, looking toward the brilliantly illuminated Galata Tower. At night, the tower glows like a beacon above Karaköy, echoing its prominent silhouette in Aivazovsky’s painting. From this angle, the Golden Horn curves gently to the left, dotted with ferries and framed by the hills of Beyoğlu. Across the water, the silhouette of the Historical Peninsula creates the same layered skyline that Aivazovsky captured under moonlight.
Hagia Sophia: Inside a timeless temple
For centuries, Hagia Sophia has drawn artists who sought to capture its overwhelming scale. Among the most important visual records is the 1852 lithograph created by Louis Haghe after drawings by Swiss architect Gaspare Fossati, who oversaw the building’s extensive restoration between 1847 and 1849. Their plate, General View of the Great Nave, Looking West, presents the interior with extraordinary precision. Worshippers appear as tiny figures beneath the colossal arches, while the immense dome soars above them in serene majesty. The image conveyed to Europe not only the architectural complexity of Hagia Sophia but also its nearly incomprehensible vastness.
Stepping into Hagia Sophia today, you encounter the same breathtaking immensity Fossati recorded. As sunlight filters through the windows beneath the dome, it animates the gold mosaics, marble panels, and monumental calligraphic medallions. Centuries of Eastern Roman and Ottoman history coexist in the light that shifts through the enormous space. Standing beneath the 55-meter-high dome, you feel yourself become one of those small figures in Fossati’s composition, dwarfed by the architecture yet connected to a continuum of faith, empire, and artistry.
The Maiden’s Tower: Painting light on the Bosphorus
The American painter Sanford Robinson Gifford visited Istanbul in the mid-19th century and was immediately drawn to one of its most poetic landmarks: the Maiden’s Tower, long romanticized in Europe as “Leander’s Tower.” In his painting, Gifford sets the tower against a vast, glowing expanse of sea and sky. The subtle gradations of light, typical of the Hudson River School, turn the Bosphorus into a sheet of molten silver. The tower rises quietly at the center, solitary yet luminous, its reflection trembling on the water.
Gifford was less interested in architectural detail than in mood. His Istanbul is atmospheric, almost dreamlike: a meeting of myth, twilight, and drifting light on the strait. It is a real view, yet it feels as though the painter has caught the Bosphorus between breath and stillness.
To see the Maiden’s Tower as Gifford saw it, the best vantage point is from the water itself. Board a ferry or small boat and head south along the Bosphorus, toward the Sea of Marmara. As the vessel glides into open water, the tower appears similar to it in the painting: standing alone in the strait, surrounded by shifting reflections and framed by the soft, distant skyline of Istanbul. From this angle, away from the shore, the tower feels suspended between continents and currents. The light changes with every minute, playing across the waves just as Gifford captured more than a century ago.
The Hippodrome: empire echoes in the heart of the city
In 1861, the French painter Fabius Brest set up his easel in one of the most historically charged spaces of Istanbul: the At Meydanı, known to the ancient world as the Hippodrome of Constantinople. His painting reveals a sunlit, open square where daily life unfolds against remnants of imperial grandeur. Around the center rises the Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius, its smooth granite surface catching the afternoon light.
Brest was fascinated by the coexistence of antiquity and Ottoman life. His figures such as vendors, pedestrians, and guards move casually among monuments that had witnessed chariot races, imperial ceremonies, and the rise and fall of empires. The composition is calm but monumental, showing how the square remained a living space even as its ancient purpose faded.
A visit to Sultanahmet Square brings Brest’s painting to life instantly. The layout is almost unchanged. The Obelisk of Theodosius still rises sharply against the skyline, its hieroglyphs as crisp as ever. Today, the space is filled with café scents, strolling visitors, and echoes of prayer from the nearby Blue Mosque. Street vendors offer simit and roasted chestnuts where Byzantine charioteers once thundered past cheering crowds. The ancient columns and monuments that dot the square stand as quiet witnesses to this continuity. If you pause in the middle of the square, away from the bustle, you can still sense the same layered time that captivated Brest.
A painting in a museum is an image, but a painting in Türkiye is an invitation. Whether it is the quiet dignity of the Green Mosque in Bursa, the moonlit silhouette of Galata Tower, the breathtaking immensity of Hagia Sophia, or the layered history of Sultanahmet Square, these locations allow you to step through the frame and into the masterpiece.
As you explore these storied places, you will find that art truly imitates life. Or perhaps, in this magnificent place, it is the other way around. Ready to step into the canvas? Book your flight to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and discover the landscapes that have inspired centuries of art.
