Inspired by true events, 'The Blue Hour' is a story of political intrigue and doomed love set in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire during the summer of 1876. All Prince Hamid and the Belgian glove-maker, Flora Cordier, want is to pursue their for...
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This is a map of Constantinople from the Byzantine period (395-1453 when the Ottomans invaded Constantinople). It pre-dates Hamid's era by hundreds of years. Still, I like to use it to imagine my characters' itineraries through the city because I haven't found a better map that shows important structural landmarks, the 7 hills of the city, the land- and seawalls (with the names of all the gates), the Hagia Sophia (and many more churches) and the different neighbourhoods.
Important buildings that are not included on this map are:
Hamid's home, Dolmabahce Palace which was only built between 1843-1856 (it is located on the shore of the Bosphorus, north-east of Galata on this map).
Pera was only developed in the 16th century; by the 19th century all Western embassies were located there, in the lush hills above Galata (the old harbour established by Genoese tradesmen in the 13th century).
Mosques (erected by the Muslim conquerors after 1453).
Topkapi Palace (the old palace of Sultans built by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1459 on the site of the Acropolis on the first hill).
The Porte (also known as the Sublime Porte and the Ottoman seat of government), in 1876 an Italian-styled office building, just west of Topkapi Palace area, on the other side of Alemdar Caddesi street.
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