The many religious buildings here and the cemeteries whose occupants include many members of the Ottoman royal family make it a place of pilgrimage. From Eyüp let us fly south like the doves to Cibali, passing through Ayvansaray, Balat and Fener, with their clustered mosques, churches and synagogues built by the local Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Bulgarian communities of these districts. In the era of Ottoman splendour these districts grew wealthy with the empire, and altered character according to whichever communy'si power tipped the scales. The name Golden Horn is attributed by some to legend and by others to the colour of the inlt'sr waters at sunset. The same waters also gleamed gold in the flames of the terrible fires that raged so often through the city, sparked off by candles that illuminated the gold leaf of icons, oil lamps left unattended in houses, or caulking material allowed to smoulder in the dockyards.

A pigeon perched on the roof of Balat Jewish Hospital takes wing for Fener to the south, home to the Orthodox Patriarchate and to the aristocratic Byzantine families who were granted privileges by the Ottomans after the conquest. The well-educated upper-class Greeks who lived here were employed by the Ottoman palace as interpreters, administrators, teachers and diplomats. The ordinary people meanwhile were sailors, shipbuilders, artisans or merchants. At the Greek Lycée for Boys, whose imposing chateau-like building dates from 1881, the curriculum included ancient Greek, Latin, philosophy, astronomy, chemistry, French and Italian. The only Byzantine church where services are still held today is the Church of Mary of the Mongols, a Byzantine princess sent to marry a Mongol prince who returned to Istanbul after a series of tragedies.