Places to Visit in İznik: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Traces

Reading the layers of history in İznik

The art and history records in İznik gather around the city walls, the gates, religious buildings, museums, a tomb, a hammam and tile workshops. Based on the period and building descriptions in the records, this guide brings the sites together under three headings. Because the same building may have had different uses at different times, the headings are not a strict classification but a suggested reading for planning a visit. All the records can be viewed on the explore page.

If you would like to add the open areas around the lake to your plan, you can look at the guide to a day around Lake İznik. If you are assessing a property within this fabric, conservation boundaries are a separate matter; HANIGA follows these checks on the buyer’s behalf.

The route headings are there so that the period and use information recorded for the buildings can be read side by side. A gate in the town center, an obelisk on the outer side and a ruin in the lake may call for different conditions on the same day. For that reason the order given here should not be thought of as a required visiting sequence. Each site’s address and short description carries its context on its own. Current information on visibility, access and visiting arrangements needs to be verified from the site’s own record.

Roman traces and the city walls

Two focal points associated with the Roman period in the records lie outside and near the town center. İznik Dikilitaş (İznik Obeliski) is described as a locally made Roman obelisk rising among the fields toward Elbeyli, in the direction of the village of İnikli. İznik Roma Tiyatrosu is the record of a theater north of the city walls, built on vaults, where excavation continues.

The İznik Surları around the town are noted as the encircling line associated with the ancient and Byzantine periods. İstanbul Kapı to the north appears with the description of a northern city gate with three passages. Lefke Kapı to the east is recorded as an inscribed gate in corridor form. To the south, Yenişehir Kapı is listed as the gate on the south side of the ancient city, and to the west Göl Kapı as the tower remains of the collapsed western gate.

• The city wall and gate records can be read one by one by following the directions of the town.
• The obelisk record points toward Elbeyli, and the theater record to the north of the city walls.
• For location details it is appropriate to look at each site’s own record page.

The gate and city wall records can be used to read the directions of the town. İstanbul Kapı is associated with the north, Lefke Kapı with the east, Yenişehir Kapı with the south and Göl Kapı with the west. These four separate records show that the encircling line of city walls is not a single piece but can be approached from different points. The theater and the obelisk are cited in the records with different location notes. When planning, looking at the directions for each location gives a clearer frame.

The Byzantine and early Christian layer

İznik Ayasofya Orhan Camii in the center is described as a central building used as a church, a council hall and a mosque. Böcek Ayazma Kilisesi in Yeni Mahalle is recorded as an underground domed Byzantine baptistery and sacred spring. For Koimesis Tes Theotokos Kilisesi, which stands in the area known in the center as Hristiyan Mahallesi, the information given is that floor remains are what survives today.

Recorded in the lake, east of the area named Senato Sarayı, İznik Gölü Su Altı Bazilikası (Aziz Neophytos Bazilikası) is described as a three-aisled early Christian basilica under the water. For the buildings under this heading, access and visibility conditions should be considered together with the current notes on the record pages.

The records under the Byzantine and early Christian heading occupy different locations between the center and the lake. Ayasofya Orhan Camii is cited with a central location, Böcek Ayazma Kilisesi with a Yeni Mahalle address, and Koimesis Tes Theotokos Kilisesi with a note on the former Hristiyan Mahallesi in the center. The Su Altı Bazilikası is recorded as being in the lake and offshore. This distribution makes separate visit preparation necessary for each site.

Ottoman buildings, museums and tile production

Hacı Özbek Camii in the bazaar is recorded as the oldest Ottoman mosque with an inscription. Yeşil Cami, near Lefke Kapısı, is described as an early Ottoman mosque known for its tile-clad minaret. II. Murad Hamamı in Mahmut Çelebi is a double hammam building, while Kırgızlar Türbesi outside Yenişehir Kapısı is the record of a tomb cited for its sarcophagi and hand-painted decoration.

Nilüfer Hatun İmareti (Türk İslam Eserleri Müzesi), northwest of Yeşil Cami, is listed as an imaret that today serves as a museum building. İznik Müzesi on Sultan Orhan Caddesi is recorded as a museum presenting the finds of the İznik excavations in chronological order.

Three separate records relating to tile production lie in the center and around the bazaar. Süleyman Paşa Medresesi (Çiniciler Çarşısı) is described as the tile bazaar where the workshops are located today. İznik Çini Eşref Eroğlu Atölyesi is a family workshop producing İznik tiles over a wood fire; İznik Mavi Çini appears as a workshop and contact point in Selçuk Mahallesi. İznik Vakfı Atölyeleri (İznik Eğitim ve Öğretim Vakfı) in Mahmut Çelebi is likewise recorded as foundation workshops producing tiles.

The Ottoman building records, together with the museum and workshop records, show not only historic buildings but also current records related to tile production in the same section. The imaret, the hammam, the mosque and the tomb appear separately in the records as different building types. The workshops and the bazaar point to addresses associated with production. The section therefore makes it possible to read a period without limiting it to a single building type.

This guide uses the short descriptions in the records to draw a connection between the periods. Before a visit it is appropriate to check the current information on each building’s and workshop’s own page.

Information was verified on the compilation date. We recommend calling the venue before visiting.