Things to do in Istanbul
Istanbul's most prominent attractions are of the architectural variety, a selection of formidable and historical structures that make sightseeing in Istanbul educational as well as visually rewarding. Sightseeing in Istanbul offers attractions such as the Hagia Sophia, a huge museum and former cathedral, that is adorned with stunning mosaics. Another iconic Istanbul attraction is the Blue Mosque, with its graceful minarets and tiered domes. The 1st century Sunken Palace is supported by hundreds of underground columns, an essential Istanbul landmark. While sightseeing in Istanbul, Galata Tower offers visitors a 360º panoramic view of the old town. Nearby, the 5th century Land Walls stand testament to the city's resistance of its 1453 conquest by the Ottoman Empire. The Covered Bazaar, or Kapali Carsi, is the oldest and biggest enclosed bazaar in the world, a must-see while in Istanbul.
Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)
The massive Hagia Sophia is one of Istanbul's most popular attractions, famous for its impressive size, remarkable architecture, and beautiful mosaics and frescoes. It was commissi…
Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)
The massive Hagia Sophia is one of Istanbul's most popular attractions, famous for its impressive size, remarkable architecture, and beautiful mosaics and frescoes. It was commissioned as a cathedral in the 6th century and remained the most important church in Christianity for over 900 years. In the 15th century Mehmet II conquered the city and converted it into a mosque, adding the minarets and fountains. It functioned as such for the next 481 years until the founding of the secular Turkish Republic in 1934, when it was declared a museum. Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest Byzantine buildings in the world, and the vast interior, with its huge, soaring dome, is extraordinary. The interior contains different features from its time as a cathedral and then as a mosque, including incredible Byzantine mosaics, icons, and marble columns, a mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca), and Islamic calligraphy inscriptions on the dome from the Ottoman period.
Website www.muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/ayasofya
Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
Commonly known as the Blue Mosque, the Sultan Ahmet Camii is one of the most striking structures on the Istanbul skyline. Constructed as an Islamic rival to the Hagia Sophia in 160…
Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
Commonly known as the Blue Mosque, the Sultan Ahmet Camii is one of the most striking structures on the Istanbul skyline. Constructed as an Islamic rival to the Hagia Sophia in 1609, its tiers of magnificent domes and six graceful minarets are immediately distinguishable. It is one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture and is still used by hundreds of worshippers. The interior is splendidly decorated with thousands of blue and white Iznik tiles embellished with traditional Ottoman flower patterns, and it is this special feature that gives the mosque its name. Its design of successively descending smaller domes, soaring columns, and 260 stained glass windows leaves a lasting impression of graceful accord and open space. At the back of the mosque is a Carpet and Kilim Museum exhibiting antiques from all over Turkey.
Website www.sultanahmetcamii.org
Topkapi Palace Museum
Built by Mehmet the Conqueror as a sultan's palace, the Topkapi Sarayi consists of a collection of buildings arranged around several interconnecting courtyards. Situated on one of …
Topkapi Palace Museum
Built by Mehmet the Conqueror as a sultan's palace, the Topkapi Sarayi consists of a collection of buildings arranged around several interconnecting courtyards. Situated on one of the seven hills of Istanbul with uninterrupted views over the Bosphorus River and the Golden Horn, it was the seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost four centuries. Home to nearly 3000 people, it served as a royal residence, harem, administration building, and military barracks. One of the most popular sections is the harem, once the quarters of about 300 women who were the sultans' wives and concubines, and their children. Visitors can view the apartments, halls, and terraces of the harem, and see the lavish royal bedchamber and imperial hall. No expense was spared in decorating the palace and its exquisitely designed rooms, intricately detailed fountains, and splendid treasury housing one of the greatest collections of treasure in the world. It affords insight into the opulent lifestyle of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.
Website www.muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/topkapi
Turkish and Islamic Art Museum
The grand 16th century palace of the sultan's Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasa, today houses the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, containing what many consider to be the greatest collecti…
Turkish and Islamic Art Museum
The grand 16th century palace of the sultan's Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasa, today houses the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, containing what many consider to be the greatest collection of Islamic artefacts in the world. The palace itself was the finest private residence ever built in the Ottoman Empire. From its supreme position overlooking the Hippodrome, the sultan could enjoy excellent views of the celebrations in the square below. The museum is well laid out and contains more than 40,000 examples of Selcuk, Mamluk, and Ottoman Turkish art, including ceramics, Koran cases, calligraphy, textiles, metalwork, and illuminated manuscripts. Its antique carpet exhibit is renowned, with the carpets, kilims, and prayer rugs forming one of the richest and oldest collections in the world.
Website www.muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/tiem
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Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi)
The oldest and biggest enclosed bazaar in the world, Kapalicarsi is one of the most enticing and mesmerizing attractions in Istanbul. Also known as the Grand Bazaar, it consists of…
Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi)
The oldest and biggest enclosed bazaar in the world, Kapalicarsi is one of the most enticing and mesmerizing attractions in Istanbul. Also known as the Grand Bazaar, it consists of a vast labyrinth of twisting streets crammed with more than 4,000 shops, teahouses, Turkish baths, mosques, storehouses, and fountains. It's a fascinating experience to wander around the alleyways, looking at and bargaining for an array of goods and services. Here visitors can find almost anything, from meerschaum pipes, carpets, jewellery, and Turkish delight, to textiles, spices, clothing, and hand-painted ceramics. Protracted bargaining over a cup of tea is an important institution. Built during the rule of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461, the bazaar grew by covering an increasingly large area of shops and streets with roofs, arches, and domes. Eventually it became the centre of trading during the Ottoman Empire. Caravans of silk traders traditionally stayed here and rested their camels while selling their merchandise, and many of these caravanserais still exist as storehouses today.
Website www.kapalicarsi.com.tr
Sunken Palace
Also known as the Underground Cistern or Yerebatan Saray, this eerie cavern was built by Constantine the Great around 532 AD and is supported by 336 columns below ground. Once as a…
Sunken Palace
Also known as the Underground Cistern or Yerebatan Saray, this eerie cavern was built by Constantine the Great around 532 AD and is supported by 336 columns below ground. Once as a location for the James Bond film, , today the cavern sees tourists crossing over 2 acres of 12 inch deep water on wooden walkways, taking in the occasional art exhibit or intricate designs on the columns themselves. There is a pleasant little cafe above where the eyes can adjust over some tea.
Website www.yerebatansarnici.com/
Galata Tower
The Galata Tower is a medieval stone tower in the Galata, Karakoy quarter of Istanbul, sitting north of the Golden Horn inlet to the Bosphorus. Called Galata Kulesi in Turkish, it …
Galata Tower
The Galata Tower is a medieval stone tower in the Galata, Karakoy quarter of Istanbul, sitting north of the Golden Horn inlet to the Bosphorus. Called Galata Kulesi in Turkish, it was erected as a bastion for the walls of the 14th century colony of Galata. One of the city's most striking landmarks, the high cone-capped cylinder dominates the skyline and offers panoramic vistas of Istanbul's historic peninsula and old town. Today it is a sought-after conference venue, offering fine dining at its restaurant and belly dancing displays in its very own night club.
Website www.muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/galatakulesi
Dolmabahce Palace
The Dolmabahce Palace was home to six Sultans from 1856, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924. The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdulm…
Dolmabahce Palace
The Dolmabahce Palace was home to six Sultans from 1856, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924. The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdulmecid Efendi, before a law in 1924 transferred the ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the new Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers and enacted some of his most important works here. Ataturk spent the last days of his medical treatment in this palace, where he died in 1938. The palace has an ostentatious interior of crystal chandeliers, while the exterior of the palace has a vast and beautiful garden.
Istanbul Dolphinarium
Kids on holiday in Istanbul will jump at a chance to visit the dolphinarium. Its six pools are home to a collection of dolphins and seals, as well as white whales and walruses. Chi…
Istanbul Dolphinarium
Kids on holiday in Istanbul will jump at a chance to visit the dolphinarium. Its six pools are home to a collection of dolphins and seals, as well as white whales and walruses. Children will have the opportunity of a lifetime to swim with the dolphins and learn about sea life while they're there. The restaurant and cafe are great places for a snack or lunch break and there is also a gift store to buy a souvenir to cap off a visit.
Website www.istanbuldolphinarium.com
Museum of the History of Science and Technology
The Museum of the History of Science and Technology is located in the Gulhane Park, one of the most beautiful areas of Istanbul. It extends over 3500 square meters along the old pa…
Museum of the History of Science and Technology
The Museum of the History of Science and Technology is located in the Gulhane Park, one of the most beautiful areas of Istanbul. It extends over 3500 square meters along the old palace wall, on the former stables of the Sultan's Has Ahirlar. In front of the entrance, the visitor encounters a large globe, which is a reconstruction of one of the most important achievements of the Islamic scientific tradition. Decades of intensive research in the history of Arabic-Islamic manuscripts were necessary as a preparation for the creation of the wealth of objects in the museum. Visitors to the museum can obtain unique insight into the Islamic scientific tradition by looking at the details of the exact replicas of the scientific and technical achievements from the ninth through the seventeenth centuries.
Website www.ibttm.org
Hippodrome
The ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople was built between 200 and 300 as a stadium for horse racing, chariot racing, and other amusements. Seating up to 100,000 people, there isn'…
Hippodrome
The ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople was built between 200 and 300 as a stadium for horse racing, chariot racing, and other amusements. Seating up to 100,000 people, there isn't much remaining of the structure today. Now the site of the Hippodrome in Istanbul is a beautiful public park with a few remaining columns hinting at its grand past. The Obelisk of Tutmosis III, the Basilica Cistern, the Fountain of Wilhelm II, and the Serpentine and Constantine Columns are popular landmarks within the park, which also offers free wireless internet.