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DR MICHAEL SCOTT:
The world's ancient cities
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still contain many surprises
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and treasures
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hidden from view for centuries.
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Now, with the latest scanning technology,
I'm going to reveal
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the secrets of three of the most
fascinating cities on Earth.
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Cairo - the gateway to Egypt's
ancient wonders.
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Athens - the birthplace of democracy.
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And, in this programme...
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...Istanbul - the dramatic crossroads
between Asia and Europe.
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For over 2,500 years,
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the East has met the West,
here, in Istanbul,
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the strategic mid ground
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fought over by some
of the world's mightiest empires.
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Romans, Christian crusaders
and Muslim Turks
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all battled to control this place.
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It was once the biggest city on Earth...
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OK.
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...but many of its ancient treasures
are invisible...
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Oh!
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...buried deep beneath the surface
of the city.
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- I imagine rats.
- GUIDE: Be careful.
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Whoa!
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I'll be working with our 3D scanning team
to explore palaces...
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...fortresses...
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...and aqueducts.
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We'll uncover the forgotten
Roman chariot track...
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- This was the track right here?
- Yes.
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...reveal the genius of the city's
ancient engineers...
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Incredible.
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...and explore a masterpiece
of Islamic innovation.
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And I'll be using virtual reality
to see the city in a totally new way.
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Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
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This is Istanbul as even the locals
may never have seen it before.
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Welcome to invisible Istanbul.
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Istanbul...
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...the bridge between two continents.
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And I'm arriving on the mighty waterway
that put this city on the map.
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I'm on the Bosphorus, one of the busiest
shipping lanes in the world.
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Behind me, to the north, is the Black Sea
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and in front of me is the Mediterranean.
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On my left is Asia
and on my right, Europe.
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People coming and going from every point
of the compass converge here.
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And straddling this waterway
is the city of Istanbul.
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Istanbul's strategic position
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made it irresistible to the great powers
of the ancient world.
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2,500 years ago,
it was the Greek town of Byzantium.
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The Romans transformed it
into the city of Constantinople.
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Then, in 1453,
it became the Islamic city of Istanbul.
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As Napoleon put it,
"If the world were a single state,
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"then this city would be its capital."
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Istanbul's tempestuous history
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has created one of the most vibrant cities
on the planet.
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There's evidence of that turmoil
all over the city.
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Even the city's most famous places
have their battle scars.
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The Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy
Wisdom of Christ, was built by the Romans.
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For hundreds of years,
it was the biggest cathedral in the world.
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Modern buildings
often only last for decades.
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I'm going to find out how the Hagia Sophia
is still standing after 1,500 years.
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The height of this dome, the sense
of air and space is just extraordinary.
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When it was built,
in the sixth century AD,
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this was the tallest dome in the world -
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55 metres above my head.
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And the people of the time
talked about the way
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that it seemed to reach
for the very sky itself.
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This building dominated the landscape
of sixth-century Constantinople
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and left its people in awe.
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Two previous versions of the Hagia Sophia
were destroyed by fire.
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So the Emperor Justinian made this one
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into a massive statement
of Roman power and endurance.
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The dome of the Hagia Sophia
has faced earthquakes, riots
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sieges and conquest.
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Our scanning team,
led by architect Matt Shore,
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is trying to find out how it survived.
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- Matt, good to see you.
- Michael.
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How are you doing?
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- This is Tom.
- Hi. Tom. Nice to see you.
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Great to see the scanner
is already in action.
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Yep, we've been going all morning.
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So, are we going to be able to get
an answer to the question, you know,
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that always strikes me here, which is -
how is this building still standing?
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Yeah, I mean, that's the plan.
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So, the scanner is firing away
over a million points a second.
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We're going to create a model
of this entire space
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that has over a billion points in it.
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Wow! So, we're going to be able
to visualise this whole thing,
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this enormous, enormous structure,
and get... Maybe unravel the mysteries?
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- That's the plan, that's...
- Well, we've been talking big.
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But if I can steal you away from Tom
for a second if he's in charge...
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He looks like he's got it under control.
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I've got something small to show you
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which is my favourite thing
in this entire place.
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OK. Let's go.
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After 1,500 years,
the history of Justinian's cathedral
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has become entangled with legend.
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Justinian spared no expense
on this building, right?
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He had stuff brought in from Africa,
from Asia
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and, of course, across the Mediterranean,
and these are his doors.
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These are the Emperor's doors,
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and the story goes that they're actually
made from bits of Noah's Ark.
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OK.
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Yeah, but, I mean, what he wanted to be
was the new Solomon...
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Yeah.
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...and builder of the first temple
of Jerusalem,
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and, supposedly, the story goes
that when he walked into this place,
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when it was finished,
he said, you know,
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"I have outdone thee, Solomon."
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But this is what I came to show you.
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- This is the important bit.
- This hole?
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- This hole, right?
- OK.
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And the story goes...
These are the Emperor's doors.
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- This is where the guards stood.
- OK.
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And these holes in the ground are...
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- Years of footsteps.
- Years and years.
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Hours and hours of the guys standing here
on guard.
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So, if you want to be kind of in the shoes
of the people from the past, right?
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You can't get much better
than a place like this.
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It kind of reminds me of the pacing
round the scanner that we do.
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- Our little circles, around and around.
- (MICHAEL LAUGHS)
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On that note, I probably should let you
get back to it, right?
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I probably should.
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- I'm going to head off this way.
- Thank you for sharing.
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- Good to see you.
- Good luck.
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In the 15th century, the Hagia Sophia
was converted into a mosque
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and, later, these minarets were added.
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(BIRDS SQUAWK)
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It was a church for just over 900 years,
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and it was a mosque for just under 500,
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and now, it's been a museum
for just over 80.
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Its strategic position between
Europe and Asia has placed it
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at the centre of a religious
and political tug-of-war
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that continues to this day.
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The Hagia Sophia embodies
the city's turbulent history.
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Istanbul will always be pulled
between East and West,
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it will always have to make a choice
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as a result of geopolitics
and internal change.
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To get evidence of how history
has changed the city,
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Matt and his team
are going to create a 3D map
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of the heart of Istanbul.
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MATT: We're going to employ a process
called photogrammetry.
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Taking thousands and thousands
of individual photographs...
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...and we pump all of those images in
and use very clever algorithms.
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Then, we're able to compute a really,
really accurate 3D model of Istanbul.
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MICHAEL: The model will show us a city
built, destroyed and transformed
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over the last two millennia.
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And by scanning the Hagia Sophia
inside and out,
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we'll discover how it, too,
has survived against the odds.
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And the first scans are coming in now.
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Matt, how are you doing?
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How are you doing, Michael?
Good to see you.
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Can't wait to see Istanbul
in all her glory. There she is!
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- And there we go.
- (WHISPERS) Wow!
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- So, this is our photogrammetry model.
- Wow!
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Unbelievable.
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And at the very centre of all of that,
as well - Hagia Sophia.
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And there it is.
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And the really interesting stuff comes
when we get ourselves in...
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(MICHAEL LAUGHS) We just went
inside the building!
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Now that's something... I mean, you can't
do that in real life, can you?
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You can't fly through a wall
whenever you fancy it.
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Just incredible.
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But what do you think
the scans have been able to reveal
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that we couldn't possibly have known
when we were there?
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Well, I mean, even inside the scans, your
eye is always drawn up to the dome here.
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And if we start to navigate our way
up there, actually,
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immediately, we start to see
some slightly strange inconsistencies.
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So, the dome is not circular any more.
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You get these lumps and bumps in,
and what that is,
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we're seeing the effects of earthquakes
over the years.
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But, I mean, it looks as clear as day
on that scan,
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that there's a big bump area at the top
and at the bottom,
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but that wasn't visible to us at all in...
when we were there in reality.
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No, I think it's not filling in any of
the gaps that you do with your eye
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and, actually, this gets more revealing
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when we start to take ourselves outside,
and just skim the building here.
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So what we're left with here,
is just the inner skin of the dome,
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and check out some of these lumps
and bumps.
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Yeah, and they're not just flaws, as well,
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I mean, there's an amazing amount
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of ingenuity and solution
that's on display here as well.
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So, you're faced with these
incredible situations,
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earthquakes trying to pull
this building apart.
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So, 26 years after it was first
constructed, the dome collapsed.
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One of the first techniques
that was used to...
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...when they rebuilt this dome
was the series of ribs
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that you can see here,
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taking the weight down
to this circular beam.
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And then these crucial
triangular structural pieces.
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These are called pendentives.
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And these transfer the weight from
the circle at the bottom of the dome
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to four points,
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and they turn this structure
from a spherical structure
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into a square structure.
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So, they take that load in four positions
down to the ground here.
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And when you're there,
in the building, you don't
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think about any of that,
cos your eye is completely taken
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to the beautiful angels.
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It feels like the angels are literally
holding up...heaven, aren't they?
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- They're holding up the roof.
- Yeah.
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And if I actually just pull us back
outside the building here,
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I can actually slice this building up.
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So, we have our dome here.
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We also have these two big half domes
on the side here,
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and what that does
is expand that space out.
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So, when you walk inside,
you really feel this enormous volume.
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But even these clever structural systems
weren't quite enough.
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So over the years, a series of buttresses
have been added to every side.
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And they're holding it all together,
right?
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Yeah. They're stopping things
from splaying out.
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MICHAEL: Our scans can also give us
a better idea
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of what the building looked like
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before the minarets were added
in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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I mean, that makes this scanning
such a fantastic tool, doesn't it,
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for historians, or architects,
or engineers?
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It's giving you the life story
of this building,
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with all the lumps and bumps
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and wrinkles that that brings.
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The Roman city of Constantinople was named
after its founding emperor, Constantine,
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and the Hagia Sophia
was its spiritual heart.
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The Emperor's seat of earthly power
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was built right next to the cathedral.
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The Great Palace - a vast, luxury complex
in the heart of the city.
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This was home to Rome's Byzantine emperors
for nearly 700 years.
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Today, people drive past the old palace
walls without a second thought.
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But they were once
one of Constantinople's glories.
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This, well, rather romantic ruin
is the Palace of Boukoleon
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and it was part of the great complex
of palaces here in Istanbul.
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And when it was built in the fifth
century, the sea came right up here.
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So this was the summer residence,
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the seaside annexe, if you will,
of the imperial family.
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And when it was built, they said that
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it was designed to evoke the admiration
both of strangers
233
00:14:24,901 --> 00:14:27,541
and of their own subjects, and...
I can buy that.
234
00:14:27,581 --> 00:14:32,381
This place had 500 rooms,
all with gold mosaics.
235
00:14:32,421 --> 00:14:34,381
I'd be pretty gobsmacked.
236
00:14:34,421 --> 00:14:36,021
And yet, today...
237
00:14:36,061 --> 00:14:37,261
Well...
238
00:14:37,301 --> 00:14:39,821
...that is the best bit that's left.
239
00:14:45,061 --> 00:14:49,141
I've been told I can find a way
into the Boukoleon Palace through here.
240
00:14:51,701 --> 00:14:54,821
This feels like something entirely
sort of dystopian.
241
00:14:54,861 --> 00:14:57,061
- There's a train line over here...
- (TRAIN HORN HOOTS)
242
00:14:57,101 --> 00:14:58,621
...I'm in somebody's garden...
243
00:15:00,261 --> 00:15:01,781
...and here...
244
00:15:05,861 --> 00:15:07,181
...we're back in the palace!
245
00:15:09,061 --> 00:15:13,461
This is... It's like nature has
completely taken over this world.
246
00:15:13,501 --> 00:15:16,901
But we have to imagine what this place
would have been like in its glory.
247
00:15:16,941 --> 00:15:22,701
This, a grand, echoing state room
with marble mosaics -
248
00:15:22,741 --> 00:15:26,741
the treasures and statues beyond measure.
249
00:15:26,781 --> 00:15:30,101
And gorgeous, huge windows
looking out to sea.
250
00:15:32,461 --> 00:15:35,181
It must've been quite a sight to behold.
251
00:15:46,061 --> 00:15:48,781
Our graphic gives us an idea
of the grandeur
252
00:15:48,821 --> 00:15:51,021
of this magnificent building -
253
00:15:51,061 --> 00:15:54,781
just one part of the Great Palace complex.
254
00:16:04,341 --> 00:16:08,261
Everywhere you go in this part
of Istanbul, you stumble upon the remains
255
00:16:08,301 --> 00:16:09,861
of the Great Palace.
256
00:16:09,901 --> 00:16:11,661
(THEY CHAT)
257
00:16:11,701 --> 00:16:15,901
Ferudun Özgümüs, professor of art history
at Istanbul University,
258
00:16:15,941 --> 00:16:18,621
is taking me to see
one of the most recent discoveries.
259
00:16:18,661 --> 00:16:20,701
But there are some examples
of some of the old...
260
00:16:20,741 --> 00:16:23,741
I want to show you under this building
in the carpet shop.
261
00:16:23,781 --> 00:16:24,821
In the carpet shop?
262
00:16:24,861 --> 00:16:26,781
- In the carpet shop, yes.
- OK.
263
00:16:26,821 --> 00:16:28,741
There was an old building
stood here once...
264
00:16:28,781 --> 00:16:29,781
Uh-huh.
265
00:16:29,821 --> 00:16:33,381
...and when they demolished
the old building in 2002,
266
00:16:33,421 --> 00:16:35,501
they unearthed, I don't know,
by coincidence,
267
00:16:35,541 --> 00:16:38,341
one of the major discoveries
of our work in Istanbul.
268
00:16:38,381 --> 00:16:40,661
Oh, OK. Down the basement. OK.
269
00:16:42,941 --> 00:16:45,101
- We've been through the carpet shop...
- Yes.
270
00:16:45,141 --> 00:16:47,341
- ...and now...
- And now a travel agency.
271
00:16:47,381 --> 00:16:50,781
(LAUGHING) Now a travel agency! OK!
272
00:16:50,821 --> 00:16:53,261
- And now for the kitchen section.
- The kitchen, OK. Right.
273
00:16:53,301 --> 00:16:56,021
And now from the kitchen section,
we're going deeper.
274
00:16:56,061 --> 00:16:58,701
OK. It feels like a weirdly domesticated
275
00:16:58,741 --> 00:17:00,901
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
right now.
276
00:17:00,941 --> 00:17:02,261
Exactly.
277
00:17:02,301 --> 00:17:04,461
But I'm going to show you something
very interesting.
278
00:17:04,501 --> 00:17:05,501
Ooh!
279
00:17:05,541 --> 00:17:08,661
Going down, deeper and deeper,
and I want to show you...
280
00:17:08,701 --> 00:17:09,981
What's this?
281
00:17:10,021 --> 00:17:12,381
That's a very interesting mosaic floor.
282
00:17:12,421 --> 00:17:13,941
Came to light 2002.
283
00:17:15,061 --> 00:17:17,861
It was a part of a church,
and the church itself was a part
284
00:17:17,901 --> 00:17:20,261
of the Great Palace
of Constantine the Great.
285
00:17:22,621 --> 00:17:25,821
Our 3D map shows the position
of today's carpet shop
286
00:17:25,861 --> 00:17:28,701
inside the walls of the Great Palace.
287
00:17:30,821 --> 00:17:33,421
This must have been an exquisite church.
288
00:17:35,021 --> 00:17:37,661
This is from the late seventh century -
mosaic floor...
289
00:17:37,701 --> 00:17:39,941
And it's beautiful.
What stunning condition!
290
00:17:39,981 --> 00:17:42,341
And not only this one,
and we have something special
291
00:17:42,381 --> 00:17:46,461
that all Eastern Orthodox Churches have,
which is deeper...
292
00:17:46,501 --> 00:17:48,661
- Deeper? We can go down deeper?
- Yes, exactly.
293
00:17:48,701 --> 00:17:49,701
I mean, literally,
294
00:17:49,741 --> 00:17:53,341
we're going down through the layers
of the past here, aren't we? Lead on!
295
00:17:53,381 --> 00:17:55,701
(DOOR RUMBLES)
296
00:17:57,181 --> 00:17:59,221
- So, we're going down.
- Deeper.
297
00:17:59,261 --> 00:18:00,581
Oh, my Lord!
298
00:18:00,621 --> 00:18:02,261
(MICHAEL WHISPERS) Oh!
299
00:18:02,301 --> 00:18:05,781
So, we're underneath the seventh-century
Byzantine church floor?
300
00:18:05,821 --> 00:18:06,901
Yes.
301
00:18:07,941 --> 00:18:09,461
(MICHAEL WHISPERS) Wow, what a space!
302
00:18:09,501 --> 00:18:12,661
And what I want to show you
particularly is...
303
00:18:14,261 --> 00:18:16,101
So, this is what we've come
all this way for?
304
00:18:16,141 --> 00:18:17,541
- Yes.
- Uh!
305
00:18:17,581 --> 00:18:19,981
So, this is a, what, a freshwater spring?
306
00:18:20,021 --> 00:18:24,421
And that's Byzantine, and Byzantine
springs are very rare in Istanbul.
307
00:18:24,461 --> 00:18:26,181
And that water looks so clear!
308
00:18:27,221 --> 00:18:29,061
And what's this?
We've got an image here...
309
00:19:02,781 --> 00:19:06,581
How extraordinary.
I mean, this makes this a very valuable...
310
00:19:19,501 --> 00:19:23,381
Our scan shows nearly nine metres
of layered history
311
00:19:23,421 --> 00:19:26,541
from the ancient spring
up through the Great Palace
312
00:19:26,581 --> 00:19:28,861
to the carpet shop in the modern city.
313
00:19:44,221 --> 00:19:47,061
(MAN SPEAKS IN TURKISH)
314
00:19:47,101 --> 00:19:48,301
Can I have one?
315
00:19:49,381 --> 00:19:50,381
Thank you.
316
00:19:50,421 --> 00:19:53,581
The Emperor Constantine moved
the capital of the Roman Empire here
317
00:19:53,621 --> 00:19:55,021
in the fourth century.
318
00:19:55,061 --> 00:19:56,301
Yes!
319
00:19:56,341 --> 00:19:59,821
And he wanted to make a city
to outshine Rome.
320
00:20:02,621 --> 00:20:07,741
He went on a building spree - churches,
palaces, public baths and a library.
321
00:20:11,381 --> 00:20:15,021
And within a century
the population soared...
322
00:20:16,181 --> 00:20:19,021
...from 20,000 to 200,000.
323
00:20:25,141 --> 00:20:28,901
The Romans were brilliant
at creating public places
324
00:20:28,941 --> 00:20:31,741
where the whole city could come together,
325
00:20:31,781 --> 00:20:33,741
everyone from the Emperor downwards.
326
00:20:33,781 --> 00:20:36,261
Think...the Colosseum in Rome.
327
00:20:36,301 --> 00:20:40,501
And here, in Constantinople,
that place was the Hippodrome,
328
00:20:40,541 --> 00:20:42,461
the chariot-racing track.
329
00:20:42,501 --> 00:20:46,181
And I've come to meet someone
who knows this place inside out.
330
00:20:47,141 --> 00:20:49,061
- Kerim?
- Hi, Michael.
331
00:20:49,101 --> 00:20:51,181
(KERIM SPEAKS IN TURKISH)
332
00:20:51,221 --> 00:20:54,381
Shall we explore?
I can't wait to find out more about this.
333
00:20:54,421 --> 00:20:55,661
KERIM: It's my pleasure.
334
00:20:57,621 --> 00:21:01,461
Only these walls remain
but there's enough to see how impressive
335
00:21:01,501 --> 00:21:03,861
the Hippodrome must have been.
336
00:21:03,901 --> 00:21:05,061
Where are we now?
337
00:21:05,101 --> 00:21:08,381
We are now in front of
the monumental façade
338
00:21:08,421 --> 00:21:11,141
of the Hippodrome's curved end,
339
00:21:11,181 --> 00:21:12,821
- called Sphendone.
- Ah.
340
00:21:12,861 --> 00:21:16,261
Would there have been entrances this end?
341
00:21:16,301 --> 00:21:17,701
Yeah. Here, look.
342
00:21:17,741 --> 00:21:22,181
You can here see the...
the vaulted archways
343
00:21:22,221 --> 00:21:24,541
forming the entrances and exits.
344
00:21:25,821 --> 00:21:27,221
Now walled up.
345
00:21:32,781 --> 00:21:36,661
The Hippodrome once dominated
ancient Constantinople.
346
00:21:38,421 --> 00:21:40,901
This was the social centre of the city...
347
00:21:42,101 --> 00:21:45,821
...holding twice as many spectators
as Rome's Colosseum...
348
00:21:46,861 --> 00:21:49,661
...and even more
than today's Wembley Stadium.
349
00:21:52,261 --> 00:21:54,741
But little remains of the racetrack.
350
00:21:57,061 --> 00:22:01,421
Can we get a sense of what this place
would have been like on race day?
351
00:22:01,461 --> 00:22:03,541
Where would the spectators
have been sitting?
352
00:22:03,581 --> 00:22:05,661
Where would the chariots have been racing?
353
00:22:05,701 --> 00:22:08,701
So, we can estimate that...
354
00:22:08,741 --> 00:22:11,581
...the road running around today's square
355
00:22:11,621 --> 00:22:15,501
was almost perfectly following
the line of chariot-racing track.
356
00:22:15,541 --> 00:22:17,301
- This was the track right here?
- Yes.
357
00:22:17,341 --> 00:22:20,981
So we have to imagine the chariots
coming right at us now at full pelt!
358
00:22:22,061 --> 00:22:23,981
- Let's move out of the way, quickly.
- It's fantastic...
359
00:22:24,021 --> 00:22:26,901
But that sense of, what, up to
100,000 people, something like that,
360
00:22:26,941 --> 00:22:28,621
- chanting, screaming...
- Yes, you're right.
361
00:22:28,661 --> 00:22:30,461
...kind of all cheering on their teams.
362
00:22:30,501 --> 00:22:32,261
- Yes.
- Wow.
363
00:22:32,301 --> 00:22:34,781
What a place!
And the Emperor watching over it all, huh?
364
00:22:34,821 --> 00:22:36,461
Yeah, he was.
365
00:22:36,501 --> 00:22:39,701
And I've got something else
to show you in the underground.
366
00:22:41,621 --> 00:22:43,701
So, Kerim, where are we going?
367
00:22:43,741 --> 00:22:49,301
Yeah, you will see the substructure
of the Hippodrome, Michael.
368
00:22:49,341 --> 00:22:51,781
- We're going in here?
- Yes.
369
00:22:51,821 --> 00:22:54,581
I guess this is a place
the public don't get very often, right?
370
00:22:54,621 --> 00:22:55,781
No.
371
00:22:55,821 --> 00:22:57,581
Come. Follow me.
372
00:22:57,621 --> 00:22:58,621
OK.
373
00:23:02,301 --> 00:23:06,741
Now I see why you told us
to bring torches.
374
00:23:06,781 --> 00:23:09,541
- Yeah.
- Wow. What a space!
375
00:23:09,581 --> 00:23:10,781
What do you think?
376
00:23:10,821 --> 00:23:13,141
Amazing. Where are we?
377
00:23:13,181 --> 00:23:15,181
This is the substructure of the seating.
378
00:23:15,221 --> 00:23:18,261
So underneath all those spectators
cheering away?
379
00:23:18,301 --> 00:23:19,421
Yes, exactly.
380
00:23:19,461 --> 00:23:23,381
And there's tunnels - you can go
this way. There's tunnels that way.
381
00:23:23,421 --> 00:23:25,661
My God, it's a rabbit warren down here.
382
00:23:25,701 --> 00:23:29,221
- Yeah, you'd better follow me.
- OK. I'll definitely follow you.
383
00:23:29,261 --> 00:23:32,461
I guess we have to imagine
people were getting to their seats,
384
00:23:32,501 --> 00:23:33,621
- all the services....
- Yes.
385
00:23:33,661 --> 00:23:36,021
What else happened down here,
do you think?
386
00:23:36,061 --> 00:23:40,661
There's also a story about this concealed
space used as a prison or for...
387
00:23:40,701 --> 00:23:42,981
- ...for the execution.
- Wow.
388
00:23:43,021 --> 00:23:48,261
For instance, we know from the sources,
Justinian II was tortured
389
00:23:48,301 --> 00:23:51,261
by his rebellious subjects
in the seventh century.
390
00:23:51,301 --> 00:23:52,901
It happened probably here.
391
00:23:52,941 --> 00:23:58,861
To repay his despotic rule, they sliced
off his nose and cut out his tongue.
392
00:23:58,901 --> 00:24:01,661
And after banishing for ten years,
he returned.
393
00:24:01,701 --> 00:24:03,141
MICHAEL: He returned?
394
00:24:03,181 --> 00:24:06,821
KERIM: Having to hide behind
a solid golden mask replacing his nose,
395
00:24:06,861 --> 00:24:11,941
he continued ruling over the population
until his own army turned on him.
396
00:24:11,981 --> 00:24:16,621
This time, they cut off his head
to make sure that he wouldn't come back.
397
00:24:16,661 --> 00:24:17,781
MICHAEL: Amazing.
398
00:24:19,581 --> 00:24:22,661
And what's through here?
My God, you can go...
399
00:24:23,701 --> 00:24:26,221
There's tunnels,
there's ways here, here...
400
00:24:27,541 --> 00:24:29,741
There's a doorway here, Kerim? What's...?
401
00:24:29,781 --> 00:24:31,181
Yeah. See it yourself.
402
00:24:31,221 --> 00:24:33,301
- Through here.
- Go on, go ahead.
403
00:24:33,341 --> 00:24:34,941
I'll go ahead, shall I? OK.
404
00:24:38,741 --> 00:24:40,101
Wow! OK.
405
00:24:42,261 --> 00:24:44,301
Er...Kerim?
406
00:24:44,341 --> 00:24:47,221
I think we're going to need
a lot more gear.
407
00:24:48,861 --> 00:24:50,221
(GRUNTS)
408
00:25:00,461 --> 00:25:02,061
Well, don't I feel good?
409
00:25:03,181 --> 00:25:06,341
To be honest, I feel like
a trussed-up chicken but...
410
00:25:06,381 --> 00:25:08,861
I think I'm ready. Kerim?
411
00:25:08,901 --> 00:25:11,261
- OK, let's go.
- OK, let's do this.
412
00:25:14,221 --> 00:25:18,181
Kerim is going to show me how
the Hippodrome was cleverly adapted
413
00:25:18,221 --> 00:25:20,541
to help the city survive.
414
00:25:21,741 --> 00:25:23,661
I clip on...
415
00:25:30,981 --> 00:25:33,621
(SPLASHING)
416
00:25:33,661 --> 00:25:34,981
Is it cold?
417
00:25:36,261 --> 00:25:39,101
- Oh! OK.
- Be careful.
418
00:25:39,141 --> 00:25:41,461
OK. Yes, the steps are slippy.
419
00:25:41,501 --> 00:25:44,781
It feels like there's quite a few rocks
under our feet but...
420
00:25:44,821 --> 00:25:47,461
(TAPPING)
421
00:25:47,501 --> 00:25:49,661
Wow, this place is huge!
422
00:25:49,701 --> 00:25:51,101
KERIM: Yes.
423
00:25:51,141 --> 00:25:52,181
MICHAEL: It's extraordinary.
424
00:25:52,221 --> 00:25:55,261
But how are we suddenly
in such an enormous space?
425
00:25:55,301 --> 00:26:00,701
KERIM: Yeah, because this vaulted chamber
was converted into a cistern.
426
00:26:00,741 --> 00:26:03,741
Probably in the sixth century.
427
00:26:03,781 --> 00:26:07,101
So they completely just repurposed
this entire...
428
00:26:07,141 --> 00:26:09,541
- Yes, exactly.
- ...area? Wow.
429
00:26:11,381 --> 00:26:13,621
The city is surrounded by the sea,
430
00:26:13,661 --> 00:26:16,941
but it has very few sources
of fresh water.
431
00:26:16,981 --> 00:26:19,301
Saving every drop was essential.
432
00:26:20,941 --> 00:26:24,421
So the Romans transformed
the Hippodrome's passageways
433
00:26:24,461 --> 00:26:26,981
into this massive reservoir.
434
00:26:27,021 --> 00:26:31,181
This vaulted space alone
could hold ten million litres
435
00:26:31,221 --> 00:26:34,421
to save the city
in times of siege or drought.
436
00:26:36,581 --> 00:26:40,701
And all thanks to the Roman invention
of waterproof cement.
437
00:26:41,701 --> 00:26:45,061
KERIM: This is the hydraulic plaster,
the waterproof plaster.
438
00:26:45,101 --> 00:26:47,661
MICHAEL: It's good plaster!
It's still here.
439
00:26:47,701 --> 00:26:49,061
KERIM: Yeah.
440
00:26:49,101 --> 00:26:50,381
MICHAEL: Amazing.
441
00:26:50,421 --> 00:26:55,541
How full do you think this place
could have been of water
442
00:26:55,581 --> 00:26:57,421
when it was in use?
443
00:26:57,461 --> 00:27:03,221
So the levels of the hydraulic plaster
here might indicate
444
00:27:03,261 --> 00:27:05,501
the maximum storage level for us.
445
00:27:05,541 --> 00:27:08,261
MICHAEL: So, I mean, this place could
have been absolutely full of water
446
00:27:08,301 --> 00:27:09,541
right to the top?
447
00:27:09,541 --> 00:27:13,341
KERIM: It is possible, yes, and probably
connected with the water supply lines
448
00:27:13,381 --> 00:27:14,421
of the city.
449
00:27:15,501 --> 00:27:21,661
This was one of the large cisterns
of Constantinople.
450
00:27:21,701 --> 00:27:24,141
- This was one of the largest?
- Yeah.
451
00:27:24,181 --> 00:27:30,461
Actually we have...more than
200 cisterns identified.
452
00:27:30,501 --> 00:27:34,061
These water tanks
came in all shapes and sizes.
453
00:27:34,101 --> 00:27:39,461
Tiny ones for single families, and massive
ones like this for whole neighbourhoods.
454
00:27:41,781 --> 00:27:44,341
MICHAEL: And so where would
the water here have been going?
455
00:27:44,381 --> 00:27:49,301
KERIM: This area was
the Great Palace of Constantinople.
456
00:27:49,341 --> 00:27:51,781
So this was used by the Great Palace.
457
00:27:53,821 --> 00:27:57,941
We can keep going till that wall,
till it blocks our way.
458
00:27:57,981 --> 00:28:02,261
So we cannot continue any further.
But the cistern continues that way.
459
00:28:02,301 --> 00:28:04,141
MICHAEL: Oh, I see.
So the wall goes halfway up,
460
00:28:04,181 --> 00:28:07,101
but actually this chamber
continues around on the...
461
00:28:07,141 --> 00:28:09,661
- KERIM: It continues, yes.
- MICHAEL: ...on the other side.
462
00:28:09,701 --> 00:28:14,941
So, Kerim, what's this channel here
going curving off to the right?
463
00:28:14,981 --> 00:28:16,261
KERIM: This might indicate
464
00:28:16,301 --> 00:28:22,461
the connection between an Ottoman
fountain built in front of the façade.
465
00:28:22,501 --> 00:28:25,221
So, it was built in the 16th century.
466
00:28:25,261 --> 00:28:28,621
Then we can say
that the cistern stayed in use
467
00:28:28,661 --> 00:28:31,981
at least for 1,000 years
after the sixth century.
468
00:28:32,021 --> 00:28:35,261
So it's converted in...
The Hippodrome's been here since,
469
00:28:35,301 --> 00:28:38,181
well, since the first centuries AD
in different forms,
470
00:28:38,221 --> 00:28:40,701
converted into a cistern
in the sixth century...
471
00:28:40,741 --> 00:28:41,741
Yes.
472
00:28:41,781 --> 00:28:45,421
...and still being used as a cistern
at least in the 16th century?
473
00:28:45,461 --> 00:28:46,581
Exactly. Yes.
474
00:28:46,621 --> 00:28:50,701
A thousand years here of water
just kind of around us.
475
00:28:50,741 --> 00:28:56,941
So it's also proves the continuous
needs of stored water in the city.
476
00:28:56,981 --> 00:28:59,181
Thank you.
Thank you for showing it to me.
477
00:28:59,221 --> 00:29:00,701
You're very welcome, Michael.
478
00:29:01,861 --> 00:29:03,141
Let's go back.
479
00:29:07,061 --> 00:29:10,781
As the scan team goes to work
inside the Hippodrome,
480
00:29:10,821 --> 00:29:13,221
Tom also finds it hard going.
481
00:29:13,261 --> 00:29:16,341
TOM: We're obviously carrying
some extremely expensive equipment.
482
00:29:16,381 --> 00:29:19,621
The last thing we wanted to do
was fall into that stagnant water
483
00:29:19,661 --> 00:29:22,501
that's clearly stood there for years.
484
00:29:22,541 --> 00:29:26,021
You do kind of worry about
what wildlife could be under your feet.
485
00:29:26,061 --> 00:29:29,701
Rats. Dead birds.
Guano all over everything.
486
00:29:32,821 --> 00:29:36,901
MICHAEL: Our scans show how a structure
built for entertainment was transformed
487
00:29:36,941 --> 00:29:38,861
into a life-saving reservoir.
488
00:29:42,301 --> 00:29:44,741
Now it's largely forgotten...
489
00:29:44,781 --> 00:29:47,941
...except by those who know
invisible Istanbul.
490
00:29:56,061 --> 00:30:01,101
With a rapidly growing population,
improvised water storage wasn't enough.
491
00:30:02,141 --> 00:30:05,661
Constantinople used
Roman engineering genius
492
00:30:05,701 --> 00:30:07,301
on an even grander scale.
493
00:30:12,981 --> 00:30:16,421
There's no better place
from which to witness the miracle
494
00:30:16,461 --> 00:30:21,221
of Roman hydraulic engineering
than right here, having a cup of tea -
495
00:30:21,261 --> 00:30:24,061
because I am surrounded by an aqueduct.
496
00:30:26,861 --> 00:30:28,781
This is the Valens Aqueduct,
497
00:30:28,821 --> 00:30:32,341
the major route bringing
fresh drinking water into the city.
498
00:30:32,381 --> 00:30:37,301
The Romans needed their aqueducts to be
as straight and as efficient as possible
499
00:30:37,341 --> 00:30:40,661
and that meant conquering
the very landscape.
500
00:30:40,701 --> 00:30:42,021
Here we're between two hills,
501
00:30:42,061 --> 00:30:45,581
and the Roman solution
is to build a bridge between them.
502
00:30:45,621 --> 00:30:48,421
So, this thing goes 30 metres
up into the air
503
00:30:48,461 --> 00:30:52,221
and over a kilometre
across from one hill to the other.
504
00:30:52,261 --> 00:30:53,461
And as a result,
505
00:30:53,501 --> 00:30:58,021
even the modern metropolis of Istanbul
has to bend around it.
506
00:31:02,101 --> 00:31:03,861
Hi, Jim. How are you doing?
507
00:31:05,261 --> 00:31:09,581
The man to tell us about it is Professor
James Crow from Edinburgh University.
508
00:31:11,261 --> 00:31:14,101
MICHAEL: Farther than it looks
from down the bottom, actually!
509
00:31:14,141 --> 00:31:16,141
JIM: Yes. It's wonderful
when you get up here, don't worry.
510
00:31:16,181 --> 00:31:20,741
Jim's been mapping the ancient city's
water supply system for decades.
511
00:31:20,781 --> 00:31:22,941
MICHAEL: Thank you very much!
512
00:31:24,221 --> 00:31:27,101
Oh, what a view already!
And the sun! (LAUGHS)
513
00:31:27,141 --> 00:31:28,141
JIM: Welcome to...
514
00:31:28,181 --> 00:31:31,861
MICHAEL: I might leave my jacket here.
This is...fabulous. What a place!
515
00:31:31,901 --> 00:31:32,941
JIM: Yep.
516
00:31:34,141 --> 00:31:39,421
Jim, I feel like I'm flying above
the streets below us.
517
00:31:39,461 --> 00:31:41,621
But this is the aqueduct.
Where was the water going?
518
00:31:41,661 --> 00:31:44,901
Well, within this,
there are big channels.
519
00:31:44,941 --> 00:31:47,581
They are nearly as tall as you,
as wide as that,
520
00:31:47,621 --> 00:31:52,021
and they carry the water from
huge distances to the west of the city,
521
00:31:52,061 --> 00:31:54,501
into the city to fill its cisterns
and its fountains.
522
00:31:54,541 --> 00:31:57,861
So, Jim, how have you discovered
this network?
523
00:31:57,901 --> 00:32:02,461
Well, before we started, we knew there was
this very long system outside of the city
524
00:32:02,501 --> 00:32:05,301
but it was over 20 years of fieldwork,
525
00:32:05,341 --> 00:32:08,621
looking at old maps,
a whole range of things, and then
526
00:32:08,661 --> 00:32:12,101
talking to lots of people in villages,
having lots of cups of tea,
527
00:32:12,141 --> 00:32:15,221
finding out where these structures are
and the channels are,
528
00:32:15,261 --> 00:32:19,221
because it's a deeply forested area -
it's like working in a jungle almost.
529
00:32:19,261 --> 00:32:20,941
And suddenly these great bridges
530
00:32:20,981 --> 00:32:24,021
will appear out in deep-sided valleys
covered in trees.
531
00:32:24,061 --> 00:32:25,581
I've got an image of Indiana Jones
already!
532
00:32:25,621 --> 00:32:27,461
Well, I don't know.
533
00:32:27,501 --> 00:32:32,381
It was quite fun to do. But at the same
time, we were then able to map the system,
534
00:32:32,421 --> 00:32:36,421
project the whole length and assess
how long this system extends
535
00:32:36,461 --> 00:32:38,461
into the countryside
and away from the city.
536
00:32:38,501 --> 00:32:40,781
And are we thinking about
a water system here
537
00:32:40,821 --> 00:32:42,821
as sophisticated as that of Rome?
538
00:32:42,861 --> 00:32:46,341
Certainly as sophisticated.
And in some ways it surpassed Rome
539
00:32:46,381 --> 00:32:49,021
in terms of the engineering skills
that were needed.
540
00:32:49,061 --> 00:32:50,861
And engineers, modern engineers,
541
00:32:50,901 --> 00:32:53,301
when we talk to them about it,
are just astonished.
542
00:32:53,341 --> 00:32:56,181
They cannot understand
how these guys were capable of it.
543
00:32:59,941 --> 00:33:03,781
Our scans help show how the water flowed
through two great channels
544
00:33:03,821 --> 00:33:05,821
inside the aqueduct bridge.
545
00:33:08,901 --> 00:33:13,021
The water went into 209 cisterns
across the city.
546
00:33:14,821 --> 00:33:17,821
Some improvised,
like the one in the Hippodrome,
547
00:33:17,861 --> 00:33:19,461
some purpose-built
548
00:33:19,501 --> 00:33:21,341
and some as big as a football pitch.
549
00:33:23,141 --> 00:33:27,141
They were fed by two aqueducts
coming from forest springs
550
00:33:27,181 --> 00:33:29,421
up to 200 kilometres away.
551
00:33:31,061 --> 00:33:34,581
With over 580 kilometres of channels,
552
00:33:34,621 --> 00:33:38,221
this was the longest and most
sophisticated water system
553
00:33:38,261 --> 00:33:39,861
of the Roman world.
554
00:33:44,981 --> 00:33:46,981
It helped transform Constantinople
555
00:33:47,021 --> 00:33:49,181
into one of the richest cities
in the world.
556
00:33:58,581 --> 00:34:01,901
But such a wealthy
and strategically important city
557
00:34:01,941 --> 00:34:03,421
was vulnerable to attack.
558
00:34:04,621 --> 00:34:07,741
The Romans surrounded the city
with walls
559
00:34:07,781 --> 00:34:09,901
that were said to be impenetrable.
560
00:34:11,301 --> 00:34:15,261
Attila the Hun, Arabs, Bulgars, Russians
all met these walls
561
00:34:15,301 --> 00:34:18,661
in their attempts to lay siege
to the city of Constantinople.
562
00:34:20,261 --> 00:34:23,341
Enemies attacking by land faced a moat,
563
00:34:23,381 --> 00:34:24,821
a wall,
564
00:34:24,861 --> 00:34:26,701
a no-man's-land
565
00:34:26,741 --> 00:34:31,221
and then a second wall -
15 feet thick and 40 feet high.
566
00:34:34,901 --> 00:34:40,021
The land walls alone stretch nearly
four miles across the peninsula,
567
00:34:40,061 --> 00:34:44,141
with nine massive gates
and 96 towers like these.
568
00:34:49,901 --> 00:34:51,701
They completed a ring of stone
569
00:34:51,741 --> 00:34:55,621
from the harbour inlet,
known as the Golden Horn, to the sea.
570
00:34:56,981 --> 00:35:01,301
No-one managed to break through
these walls for centuries.
571
00:35:03,221 --> 00:35:05,981
In fact, their most dangerous opponent
over the centuries
572
00:35:06,021 --> 00:35:08,861
were the earthquakes
that this area is prone to.
573
00:35:08,901 --> 00:35:10,781
Earthquakes damaged these walls
time and again,
574
00:35:10,821 --> 00:35:13,701
and time and again the citizens came back
575
00:35:13,741 --> 00:35:17,181
to rebuild them bigger, better
and stronger than ever before.
576
00:35:22,341 --> 00:35:24,581
But nothing lasts forever.
577
00:35:29,981 --> 00:35:32,861
So far, our scans have recorded ruins
that tell the story
578
00:35:32,901 --> 00:35:36,221
of the rise of Constantinople.
579
00:35:37,341 --> 00:35:42,781
The ruins of the once-glorious Palace
of Boukoleon also record its decline.
580
00:36:00,821 --> 00:36:03,661
This was once a chapel
581
00:36:03,701 --> 00:36:07,821
and it's now, according to the signs
on the walls, the home of Hasan,
582
00:36:07,861 --> 00:36:10,261
who's decorated it. Well...
583
00:36:10,301 --> 00:36:13,981
...it's kind of like my daughter
would decorate it, really.
584
00:36:15,101 --> 00:36:17,221
It's a home...of sorts.
585
00:36:20,541 --> 00:36:22,021
This palace was destroyed
586
00:36:22,061 --> 00:36:24,501
when Christians turned on one another.
587
00:36:26,021 --> 00:36:29,261
There'd been religious disputes
between the Roman Catholic world
588
00:36:29,301 --> 00:36:31,861
and the Byzantine Empire
for hundreds of years.
589
00:36:33,861 --> 00:36:38,741
And in the end, Western crusaders
found Constantinople's riches
590
00:36:38,781 --> 00:36:40,501
just too much of a temptation.
591
00:36:41,821 --> 00:36:45,381
This palace was damaged and rebuilt
many times in its history.
592
00:36:45,421 --> 00:36:49,421
But its final death knell was in 1204
593
00:36:49,461 --> 00:36:53,621
when Western, European crusaders
led by the city of Venice
594
00:36:53,661 --> 00:36:56,461
came here and destroyed the city
595
00:36:56,501 --> 00:36:59,821
and took this beautiful place
down with them.
596
00:37:06,141 --> 00:37:11,061
The Western invaders stayed
in Constantinople for over 50 years.
597
00:37:12,821 --> 00:37:15,661
They desecrated
Eastern Orthodox churches,
598
00:37:15,701 --> 00:37:17,741
destroyed the ancient library
599
00:37:17,781 --> 00:37:22,061
and looted the Great Palace complex,
leaving them in ruins.
600
00:37:27,621 --> 00:37:31,821
The clash between the Eastern
and Western wings of Christianity
601
00:37:31,861 --> 00:37:33,901
tore Constantinople apart.
602
00:37:33,941 --> 00:37:36,541
By the 15th century,
Constantinople's population
603
00:37:36,581 --> 00:37:39,381
was no more than 70,000 people.
604
00:37:39,421 --> 00:37:44,741
Its power, its glory days were behind it.
It was a shell.
605
00:37:45,901 --> 00:37:48,261
And it would only get worse.
606
00:37:48,301 --> 00:37:50,941
By 1452, the city of Constantinople
607
00:37:50,981 --> 00:37:54,101
was all that was left
of the Eastern Roman Empire.
608
00:37:55,661 --> 00:37:57,901
It was a tiny Christian island
609
00:37:57,941 --> 00:38:01,421
surrounded by
the Muslim Turks' Ottoman Empire.
610
00:38:02,941 --> 00:38:05,621
The Turks had the city at their mercy.
611
00:38:09,101 --> 00:38:12,501
Constantinople had to find ways
to survive alone.
612
00:38:15,421 --> 00:38:19,341
Packed with cisterns and with good
agricultural land within the walls,
613
00:38:19,381 --> 00:38:23,221
the citizens of Constantinople
were well prepared for any siege,
614
00:38:23,261 --> 00:38:26,021
and it's a tradition
that still continues today
615
00:38:26,061 --> 00:38:28,541
with the gardens here around me
that are using
616
00:38:28,581 --> 00:38:32,741
the old moat and even the space
in between the city walls
617
00:38:32,781 --> 00:38:34,901
to cultivate their fruit and veg.
618
00:38:37,181 --> 00:38:40,341
But while the people of Constantinople
grew their own food
619
00:38:40,381 --> 00:38:43,101
and rationed their precious water,
620
00:38:43,141 --> 00:38:46,181
the Ottoman Empire
was tightening its grip.
621
00:38:51,061 --> 00:38:55,941
With the city surrounded,
supplies could only enter by ship.
622
00:38:57,261 --> 00:39:01,261
The Turkish leader Sultan Mehmet
built this fortress to stop them.
623
00:39:10,181 --> 00:39:13,301
It guarded the narrowest point
on the Bosphorus,
624
00:39:13,341 --> 00:39:17,381
less than 800 metres
from his fort on the Asian side.
625
00:39:21,181 --> 00:39:23,741
Today, this place is known as
Rumelihisarı,
626
00:39:23,781 --> 00:39:26,181
which means "the fortress of the Romans",
627
00:39:26,221 --> 00:39:28,261
because we're on the European side,
628
00:39:28,301 --> 00:39:32,701
and when Mehmet came and built
this fortress, this was Roman land.
629
00:39:32,741 --> 00:39:36,341
But its original name is Bogazkesen.
630
00:39:37,581 --> 00:39:41,821
Now, that means "the cutter of
the Bogaz" - the Bosphorus, the river.
631
00:39:41,861 --> 00:39:46,261
But, in Turkish,
the same word means "throat".
632
00:39:46,301 --> 00:39:51,221
This place was intended
to cut the throat - of the Bosphorus
633
00:39:51,261 --> 00:39:54,421
and of the people
of the city of Constantinople.
634
00:39:57,061 --> 00:40:00,021
The main tower of Rumelihisarı fortress
635
00:40:00,061 --> 00:40:03,981
was a strategic command post
for Mehmet's whole operation.
636
00:40:05,461 --> 00:40:07,261
Its secrets are locked away,
637
00:40:07,301 --> 00:40:10,621
but local historian Ali Zirek
is taking us to see them.
638
00:40:10,661 --> 00:40:12,861
- Amazing. Do you have the key?
- Yes.
639
00:40:25,221 --> 00:40:29,861
I'm really curious to find out
what this tower was used for
640
00:40:29,901 --> 00:40:32,781
and Ali's taking me up to the top
to find out.
641
00:40:45,861 --> 00:40:50,141
(LAUGHS) What a room! What a space, Ali!
642
00:40:50,181 --> 00:40:51,701
What went on here? Do we know?
643
00:40:56,821 --> 00:41:02,941
So we're in a place where Mehmet
may have conceived his final plans
644
00:41:02,981 --> 00:41:05,141
for taking Constantinople?
645
00:41:06,701 --> 00:41:10,901
There's the heavy smell
and weight of history in this room.
646
00:41:10,941 --> 00:41:12,181
It's extraordinary.
647
00:41:18,541 --> 00:41:23,261
Our scans allow us to really
get under the skin of Mehmet's HQ.
648
00:41:24,661 --> 00:41:28,381
As we rise through
the tower's seven storeys,
649
00:41:28,421 --> 00:41:31,541
a war machine of ruthless efficiency
is revealed.
650
00:41:34,501 --> 00:41:38,341
With walls up to seven metres thick
651
00:41:38,381 --> 00:41:40,901
that protect Mehmet's council chamber.
652
00:41:42,581 --> 00:41:45,581
Crenellated lookout positions.
653
00:41:45,621 --> 00:41:47,981
Arrow slits and firing positions.
654
00:41:49,581 --> 00:41:51,141
Toilets.
655
00:41:51,181 --> 00:41:52,701
Grain storage.
656
00:41:55,061 --> 00:41:57,861
Living quarters
for up to 400 soldiers.
657
00:41:59,581 --> 00:42:01,701
Armouries bristling with their weapons.
658
00:42:02,901 --> 00:42:07,061
A chute to drop boiling oil
onto an invader at the front door.
659
00:42:07,101 --> 00:42:12,261
And an unrivalled view to guard
the narrowest part of the Bosphorus.
660
00:42:16,181 --> 00:42:20,461
The tower also holds an ancient
remnant of Constantinople's defence.
661
00:42:21,621 --> 00:42:22,981
What is this?
662
00:42:23,021 --> 00:42:24,501
Was this...?
663
00:42:24,541 --> 00:42:27,781
Was this the chain across the...?
664
00:42:29,061 --> 00:42:30,101
For the Golden Horn?
665
00:42:30,141 --> 00:42:33,021
- ALI: Yes.
- MICHAEL: The Golden Horn chain?
666
00:42:33,061 --> 00:42:34,301
Wow!
667
00:42:35,501 --> 00:42:37,141
My God, it's still so solid.
668
00:42:38,661 --> 00:42:40,581
That's incredibly heavy.
669
00:42:42,341 --> 00:42:45,461
No wonder it worked so well
for so long.
670
00:42:45,501 --> 00:42:49,181
This iron chain is the stuff of legend.
671
00:42:49,221 --> 00:42:55,141
For centuries, the chain was stretched
across the inlet known as the Golden Horn
672
00:42:55,181 --> 00:42:56,501
in times of danger.
673
00:42:57,861 --> 00:43:02,421
Now, it stopped Mehmet's ships
from reaching the heart of the city.
674
00:43:02,461 --> 00:43:03,941
But...
675
00:43:03,981 --> 00:43:05,861
Mehmet had a genius solution.
676
00:43:05,901 --> 00:43:08,501
He ordered logs greased in olive oil
677
00:43:08,541 --> 00:43:12,181
to be laid across the landscape
in a road
678
00:43:12,221 --> 00:43:17,421
that would allow his ships
to be dragged across into the estuary,
679
00:43:17,461 --> 00:43:20,221
thus getting around the great chain.
680
00:43:20,261 --> 00:43:26,541
And on 22nd April, 1453,
Mehmet's fleet made its way across
681
00:43:26,581 --> 00:43:30,141
to take up position to besiege
the city of Constantinople.
682
00:43:33,061 --> 00:43:37,181
The Byzantine Christian forces
were down to around 5,000
683
00:43:37,221 --> 00:43:39,861
against an Ottoman army of 200,000.
684
00:43:42,421 --> 00:43:44,581
The women, children, old and sick
685
00:43:44,621 --> 00:43:48,181
took refuge behind the great doors
of the Hagia Sophia.
686
00:43:51,181 --> 00:43:53,861
For 53 days, Mehmet bombarded the city
687
00:43:53,901 --> 00:43:57,301
with some of the most advanced
artillery in the world.
688
00:44:03,541 --> 00:44:06,421
On the 29th of May, 1453,
689
00:44:06,461 --> 00:44:10,181
the legendary walls of Constantinople
were finally breached.
690
00:44:13,421 --> 00:44:16,781
The invading army closed in
on the Hagia Sophia.
691
00:44:19,221 --> 00:44:20,821
They smashed down the doors.
692
00:44:22,661 --> 00:44:26,621
The cowering Christians were raped,
slaughtered and enslaved.
693
00:44:26,661 --> 00:44:28,661
(SCREAMING AND SHOUTING)
694
00:44:30,781 --> 00:44:34,381
Mehmet himself lamented
the devastation.
695
00:44:34,421 --> 00:44:37,861
"What a city we have given over
to plunder and destruction."
696
00:44:41,341 --> 00:44:44,781
The final metamorphosis
of the Roman Empire -
697
00:44:44,821 --> 00:44:46,621
the Byzantine world -
698
00:44:46,661 --> 00:44:52,341
died less than 50 years before
Columbus discovered America.
699
00:44:52,381 --> 00:44:56,941
And, for the city of Constantinople,
a whole new chapter in its history.
700
00:44:56,981 --> 00:45:01,621
No longer Constantinople,
it was now known as Istanbul -
701
00:45:01,661 --> 00:45:06,261
an Islamic city,
capital of Mehmet's Ottoman Empire.
702
00:45:06,301 --> 00:45:08,101
The East now held sway.
703
00:45:16,381 --> 00:45:20,261
The best place to see how the city changed
is back at the Hagia Sophia.
704
00:45:23,141 --> 00:45:25,141
The cathedral became a mosque.
705
00:45:27,861 --> 00:45:31,261
Over time,
minarets were added on each corner.
706
00:45:32,901 --> 00:45:37,621
And these enormous panels were erected
to spell out the name of Allah,
707
00:45:37,661 --> 00:45:40,541
the Prophet Muhammad
and his grandsons.
708
00:45:43,621 --> 00:45:45,861
There were more subtle changes, too -
709
00:45:45,901 --> 00:45:50,061
these mosaic crosses were
concealed by Islamic decoration.
710
00:45:52,341 --> 00:45:56,261
But this was by far
a more important change.
711
00:45:56,301 --> 00:45:57,981
This was the mihrab,
712
00:45:58,021 --> 00:46:01,741
and it sits off-centre to the apse
behind it for a very good reason,
713
00:46:01,781 --> 00:46:04,381
because it points
in the direction of Mecca,
714
00:46:04,421 --> 00:46:08,261
and thus gives the direction in which
the Muslim faithful should pray.
715
00:46:11,141 --> 00:46:16,261
Now an integral part of the Muslim world,
the whole city was reborn.
716
00:46:21,421 --> 00:46:23,941
Sultan Mehmet is still known
as Fatih - the Conqueror -
717
00:46:23,981 --> 00:46:26,261
but he was also a builder.
718
00:46:27,541 --> 00:46:29,541
Mehmet rebuilt the city walls,
719
00:46:29,581 --> 00:46:33,661
repaired its water supply
and kick-started the city's economy
720
00:46:33,701 --> 00:46:37,101
by establishing this place,
the Grand Bazaar.
721
00:46:37,141 --> 00:46:39,261
Mmm. OK, it's not too bad.
722
00:46:39,301 --> 00:46:42,541
New people and new cultures
poured into the city.
723
00:46:42,581 --> 00:46:45,021
Too strong for you? (LAUGHS)
724
00:46:45,061 --> 00:46:47,741
Istanbul was now the capital
of the Ottoman Empire.
725
00:46:47,781 --> 00:46:50,741
...turns into that.
But I'm going to have a look around,
726
00:46:50,781 --> 00:46:53,261
and I'll come back. Thank you very much.
727
00:46:55,701 --> 00:46:58,261
My favourite place
in the Grand Bazaar?
728
00:46:58,301 --> 00:47:00,181
The barber's.
729
00:47:00,221 --> 00:47:01,621
People often ask,
730
00:47:01,661 --> 00:47:06,381
"What was the impact of Mehmet's victory
on the city of Constantinople?"
731
00:47:06,421 --> 00:47:10,901
And historians call it the worst
destruction in the history of mankind.
732
00:47:12,581 --> 00:47:14,621
But, at the same time,
733
00:47:14,661 --> 00:47:17,821
this was the beginning
of a new chapter for Constantinople,
734
00:47:17,861 --> 00:47:22,061
a chapter in which the city was going to
be bigger and better than ever before.
735
00:47:32,141 --> 00:47:36,461
Istanbul was transformed into
the bustling, energetic place
736
00:47:36,501 --> 00:47:41,301
it is today,
full of Asian
and European influences and tastes.
737
00:47:45,061 --> 00:47:48,021
Now this is balik ekmek.
738
00:47:48,061 --> 00:47:50,181
It's a fried fish sandwich,
739
00:47:50,221 --> 00:47:54,301
and it's the thing to eat down here
at Eminönü, near Galata Bridge.
740
00:47:54,341 --> 00:47:57,861
And, for my money, there's no better
place in Istanbul than here
741
00:47:57,901 --> 00:48:03,221
to feel the swirling mix
of cultures that defines this city,
742
00:48:03,261 --> 00:48:05,021
that jostles strongly,
743
00:48:05,061 --> 00:48:09,581
sometimes as roughly as the waters
that run through the heart of the city.
744
00:48:13,981 --> 00:48:16,221
As they developed the city further,
745
00:48:16,261 --> 00:48:20,501
the Ottoman Turks drew on
the learning of both East and West.
746
00:48:23,341 --> 00:48:28,981
Our 3D map shows us one of the greatest
Ottoman design innovations -
747
00:48:29,021 --> 00:48:32,261
a new mosque to outdo
the Hagia Sophia.
748
00:48:33,701 --> 00:48:34,981
The Süleymaniye Mosque.
749
00:48:37,661 --> 00:48:42,061
Built for Sultan Suleiman
the Magnificent in 1557,
750
00:48:42,101 --> 00:48:45,781
it remains an island of peace
to this day.
751
00:48:59,341 --> 00:49:03,781
People come to mosques
obviously to pray, but...
752
00:49:03,821 --> 00:49:09,381
...it's also about getting away from
the hustle and bustle of the world.
753
00:49:09,421 --> 00:49:13,941
And there's something also I absolutely
love about this kind of place.
754
00:49:13,981 --> 00:49:17,541
It brings together not just
people going in to pray,
755
00:49:17,581 --> 00:49:19,341
but the whole community.
756
00:49:19,381 --> 00:49:22,501
Kids are running around,
playing with their families,
757
00:49:22,541 --> 00:49:25,701
friends are catching up
to have a walk and talk.
758
00:49:25,741 --> 00:49:31,061
This is a place to get a little respite
and energy for the soul.
759
00:49:37,541 --> 00:49:41,661
The genius of the Süleymaniye Mosque
is found in its grand design
760
00:49:41,701 --> 00:49:43,381
and in its smallest detail.
761
00:49:46,021 --> 00:49:50,901
Much is invisible, but not to my guide,
architectural historian Olcay Aydemir.
762
00:49:52,261 --> 00:49:54,821
Oh, what a door! What an amazing...
763
00:49:57,981 --> 00:50:02,221
Oh! Olcay, this is incredible.
What a space!
764
00:50:05,381 --> 00:50:06,861
- I-I feel that.
- Yes, yes.
765
00:50:06,901 --> 00:50:10,021
I feel that you want to move towards
the centre of the space, don't you?
766
00:50:10,061 --> 00:50:12,181
It's extraordinary.
767
00:50:12,221 --> 00:50:13,301
The sense of...
768
00:50:15,741 --> 00:50:22,061
...of-of...just volume and-and, er...
light in here is just incredible.
769
00:50:27,781 --> 00:50:31,021
And, Olcay, I've noticed
that all of the lighting in here
770
00:50:31,061 --> 00:50:33,821
is very low compared to the ceiling.
771
00:50:33,861 --> 00:50:35,741
So, why? Is there a reason for that?
772
00:50:43,741 --> 00:50:48,301
So, it's designed to make us
again feel more comfortable here.
773
00:50:48,341 --> 00:50:50,461
- And I keep seeing shells.
- Yes.
774
00:50:50,501 --> 00:50:52,301
Ostrich eggshells?
775
00:50:53,381 --> 00:50:55,421
Are they just a decoration?
776
00:51:00,901 --> 00:51:03,461
- Ostrich shells drive away spiders?
- Yes, yes.
777
00:51:03,501 --> 00:51:05,901
Brilliant! Now that is a tip
for us all at home, right?
778
00:51:05,941 --> 00:51:08,301
Everyone needs an ostrich shell
in their house.
779
00:51:08,341 --> 00:51:11,341
- And it's all electric now...
- Yes.
780
00:51:11,381 --> 00:51:14,301
...but when the mosque was built,
this would have been candles?
781
00:51:16,501 --> 00:51:20,421
So we have to imagine, what,
thousands of glittering lights,
782
00:51:20,461 --> 00:51:23,021
keeping this place alight.
783
00:51:23,061 --> 00:51:27,101
And the other thing I was thinking -
if there were candles and oil lamps,
784
00:51:27,141 --> 00:51:29,661
there must've been lots of soot produced,
785
00:51:29,701 --> 00:51:33,101
and the ceiling
must have been black with soot.
786
00:51:34,861 --> 00:51:38,221
And yet the walls and ceiling
are pristine.
787
00:51:40,101 --> 00:51:44,581
It takes our scans to reveal
the mosque's ingenious solution -
788
00:51:44,621 --> 00:51:47,861
a ventilation system hidden in the walls.
789
00:51:49,781 --> 00:51:53,061
The soot from the lamps was drawn up
790
00:51:53,101 --> 00:51:57,181
through concealed funnels
into a secret room,
791
00:51:57,221 --> 00:51:59,341
where it stuck to the walls,
792
00:51:59,381 --> 00:52:03,381
and was made into ink
for sacred manuscripts.
793
00:52:03,421 --> 00:52:06,341
Today, only graffiti remains.
794
00:52:11,661 --> 00:52:14,541
Another design secret
lies under our feet.
795
00:52:14,581 --> 00:52:15,981
OLCAY: Ah, strong.
796
00:52:16,021 --> 00:52:17,021
MICHAEL: Wow!
797
00:52:18,381 --> 00:52:20,581
- What are these tunnels?
- Channels.
798
00:52:24,901 --> 00:52:28,461
These tunnels keep
the building well aired today,
799
00:52:28,501 --> 00:52:33,941
but they originally brought drinking water
to the workers building the mosque.
800
00:52:35,621 --> 00:52:37,741
Ingenuity is everywhere.
801
00:52:37,781 --> 00:52:41,261
Here decoration doubles as sound baffling,
802
00:52:41,301 --> 00:52:43,861
so that everyone
can hear the sermon clearly.
803
00:52:47,301 --> 00:52:51,261
The Ottomans matched
the grandeur of the Hagia Sophia,
804
00:52:51,301 --> 00:52:55,541
and took its design and technology
to a whole new level.
805
00:53:00,941 --> 00:53:05,021
Sultan Suleiman had great ambitions
for the people of Istanbul.
806
00:53:08,341 --> 00:53:11,341
He created a complex
around the mosque
807
00:53:11,381 --> 00:53:16,101
to house a hospital, six schools,
Turkish baths,
808
00:53:16,141 --> 00:53:20,701
a travellers' inn, a bakery,
and a medical college.
809
00:53:23,221 --> 00:53:25,461
His goal was to make the mosque
810
00:53:25,501 --> 00:53:28,621
the centre of the city's
flourishing society.
811
00:53:35,981 --> 00:53:41,221
An important part of the mosque complex
is the imaret, or public kitchen.
812
00:53:43,501 --> 00:53:47,981
It fed over 1,000 of the city's poor
every day,
813
00:53:48,021 --> 00:53:50,341
through this tiny hole in the wall.
814
00:54:09,061 --> 00:54:11,301
Brilliant. What a brilliant system.
815
00:54:11,341 --> 00:54:14,901
So, it's a blind transfer -
I don't see them, they don't see me.
816
00:54:14,941 --> 00:54:16,221
Everyone is equal.
817
00:54:17,301 --> 00:54:18,581
And can I pick it up?
818
00:54:20,181 --> 00:54:21,421
How ingenious.
819
00:54:23,341 --> 00:54:27,421
This was a Sultan's mosque
meant for everyone.
820
00:54:27,461 --> 00:54:32,861
Suleiman's kitchen was designed to feed
Muslims, Christians and Jews alike.
821
00:54:32,901 --> 00:54:35,261
Today, it's a commercial restaurant.
822
00:54:49,341 --> 00:54:52,621
I've seen so many aspects
of ancient Istanbul
823
00:54:52,661 --> 00:54:55,621
hidden beneath the surface of the city.
824
00:54:59,821 --> 00:55:02,861
Now, I'm going to experience it
through virtual reality.
825
00:55:02,901 --> 00:55:04,941
- It's all green.
- It is all green, yeah.
826
00:55:04,981 --> 00:55:07,661
I recognise these. So, this is
the one-way ticket to Istanbul, huh?
827
00:55:07,701 --> 00:55:09,741
MATT: This is your helicopter. In you go.
828
00:55:11,181 --> 00:55:13,381
Wow! Hello, Istanbul!
829
00:55:13,421 --> 00:55:14,421
Here we go.
830
00:55:14,461 --> 00:55:16,261
MICHAEL: So this is the view
you were getting
831
00:55:16,301 --> 00:55:17,821
when you were up in the helicopter?
832
00:55:17,861 --> 00:55:20,781
MATT: Exactly. So if we start,
the Hippodrome...
833
00:55:20,821 --> 00:55:23,541
MICHAEL: Ah, the back end here, isn't it?
834
00:55:23,581 --> 00:55:25,581
And there's where
we went into the cistern.
835
00:55:25,621 --> 00:55:27,821
There's the staircase.
836
00:55:27,861 --> 00:55:32,501
And, wow, there we are with
all that mucky, dirty, rat-filled water.
837
00:55:34,181 --> 00:55:37,181
MATT: And then...
Then we stride across and...
838
00:55:37,221 --> 00:55:39,821
MICHAEL: And then...
Oh, I recognise down here. This is...
839
00:55:39,861 --> 00:55:43,101
- There she is.
- There she is. Hagia Sophia.
840
00:55:43,141 --> 00:55:46,301
And you can see the clear differences
between the minarets,
841
00:55:46,341 --> 00:55:49,141
all constructed at different times,
and then...
842
00:55:49,181 --> 00:55:53,461
(LAUGHS) ...I can hold the dome
of Hagia Sophia in my hands.
843
00:55:54,861 --> 00:55:57,021
- (MICHAEL LAUGHS)
- MATT: In we come.
844
00:55:57,061 --> 00:55:59,101
This is a perspective
that you'll probably be
845
00:55:59,141 --> 00:56:01,261
- a little more familiar with, actually.
- I am.
846
00:56:01,301 --> 00:56:04,461
And one of the wonderful things we can
do here, of course, is start to rise up.
847
00:56:04,501 --> 00:56:05,741
So...
848
00:56:05,781 --> 00:56:08,381
What? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
849
00:56:08,421 --> 00:56:10,621
We're flying through the air!
850
00:56:10,661 --> 00:56:12,901
The detail of the roof - it's beautiful.
851
00:56:14,741 --> 00:56:16,221
Oh, my Lord. Here comes the roof.
852
00:56:16,261 --> 00:56:19,101
Oh, whoa. OK. Slow, slow down.
853
00:56:19,141 --> 00:56:21,141
- MATT: You'll be fine.
- We're getting really...
854
00:56:21,181 --> 00:56:23,541
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
855
00:56:25,901 --> 00:56:27,141
MATT: So here we are.
856
00:56:28,901 --> 00:56:30,781
MICHAEL: And there... Oh, my God.
857
00:56:30,821 --> 00:56:33,301
We're on the top of the dome.
858
00:56:33,341 --> 00:56:37,941
MATT: You are standing on
the millimetre-thick skin of the top.
859
00:56:37,981 --> 00:56:40,021
- You can just walk... (LAUGHS)
- Yeah.
860
00:56:40,061 --> 00:56:42,621
I-I feel like
I want to walk really gingerly...
861
00:56:42,661 --> 00:56:45,781
- Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
- ...just in case I fall back through.
862
00:56:45,821 --> 00:56:48,421
MATT: And there may be
some sort of edge anywhere.
863
00:56:48,461 --> 00:56:51,421
MICHAEL: And there... God, you can see
the lumps and the bumps right there.
864
00:56:51,461 --> 00:56:53,301
- There's a massive lump.
- Yeah.
865
00:56:56,701 --> 00:56:58,301
What? Oh, there we go!
866
00:56:58,341 --> 00:57:00,901
You've sent me
flying through the air again...
867
00:57:00,941 --> 00:57:04,261
The Hagia Sophia
is like this whole city -
868
00:57:04,301 --> 00:57:08,461
it's been bashed about,
but it's always found a way to survive.
869
00:57:08,501 --> 00:57:10,861
MATT: ...our journey back down
to ground level.
870
00:57:10,901 --> 00:57:13,621
MICHAEL: This is extraordinary.
871
00:57:13,661 --> 00:57:14,661
Hello.
872
00:57:17,541 --> 00:57:21,821
Istanbul has endured by adapting
buildings like the Hippodrome
873
00:57:21,861 --> 00:57:24,821
to stay alive through droughts and war...
874
00:57:26,701 --> 00:57:31,301
...and kept fresh water flowing to
everyone through its elegant aqueducts.
875
00:57:36,181 --> 00:57:41,541
This is a city built upon layer
after layer of history and culture.
876
00:57:45,061 --> 00:57:49,301
And the people of Istanbul
have fought armies and earthquakes
877
00:57:49,341 --> 00:57:52,621
to preserve their home,
against all the odds.
878
00:58:00,661 --> 00:58:05,301
Istanbul is a city that's been
conquered, destroyed and rebuilt
879
00:58:05,341 --> 00:58:07,621
by both East and West.
880
00:58:07,661 --> 00:58:11,461
And, as a result,
in both its past and its present,
881
00:58:11,501 --> 00:58:16,701
it's a uniquely cosmopolitan melting pot
of cultures.
882
00:58:16,741 --> 00:58:19,661
My hope for the future is that,
883
00:58:19,701 --> 00:58:24,061
whatever grand shifts in power
between East and West there may be,
884
00:58:24,101 --> 00:58:28,381
Istanbul is allowed to keep
its unique personality.
71109
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