Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Sarayi (Topkapi Palace) is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of Istanbul. The place is between the Marmara Sea, Istanbul Bosphorus, and Golden Horn(Halic). Topkapi Sarayi is one of the city’s breathtaking structures, and you should visit it.
The palace was made with the order of Mehmet The Conqueror between the years 1460-1478. After these years, Topkapi Palace was used as the main palace of Ottoman sultans until the 19th century, and they also adjusted the building with different areas. The total area of Topkapi Palace is more than 700.000 square meters. The empire’s administrative, educational and artistic center for nearly four hundred years until the 31st Ottoman sultan and was also the sultans’ residence.
After the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Topkapi Palace was converted into a museum. It is an essential act in Turkish history because Topkapi Palace has become the first museum of the Turkish Republic. Topkapı Palace is one of the largest museum palaces in the world with its structures, architecture, collections, and approximately 300,000 archive documents.
You can access more information about Topkapi Palace from their website.
Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı)
The Grand Bazaar is a historical marketplace surrounded by shops with domes and roofing that Fatih The Conqueror constructed.
Due to its aesthetically pleasing layout, the Grand Bazaar, whose foundation was established in 1461, resembles a giant-sized labyrinth. The ancient commercial district, which contains more than 3600 businesses and roughly 60 streets, has a total size of 30,700 square meters. It can be described as Istanbul’s leading tourist destination in both a commercial and touristic sense.
Additionally, there are a variety of businesses in the bazaar where the item is offered for sale in 97 different category categories. Among these establishments are a health center, a police station, branches of every bank, and a post office.
Galata Tower
Galata Tower was built by the Genoese during the Byzantine Empire. After the Byzantine Empire, the building was used as a dungeon first and turned into a fire watchtower.
The Galata Tower museum features artifacts from all eras of Istanbul, which has been inhabited from prehistoric times and served as the capital of three major empires for over sixteen centuries. One of the most stunning panoramic views of Istanbul can be found on the top level of the Galata Tower, which until the middle of the 20th century, was among the tallest structures in Istanbul. On UNESCO’s short list of world heritage sites is the tower.
You can access more information about Galata Tower from their website.
Basilica Cistern
To supply Istanbul with water, the Basilica Cistern was constructed in 526–527. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I built this vast underground cistern, which the populace referred to as the “Basilica Palace” due to the marble columns coming out of the water and appearing to be endless.
It serves as a museum and event space now. It is situated southwest of Hagia Sophia, close to the Million Stone, which the Byzantine Empire recognized as the geographic center of the world. Dan Brown’s suspense and mystery book Hell, published in 2013, focused on the cistern.
You can access more information about Basilica Cistern from their website.
Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1617 by order of Ottoman Sultan I. Ahmed. The reason behind the name Blue Mosque is the decoration with blue, green, and white colored Iznik tiles, and the decoration of semi-domes and the big dome with hand-drawn works predominantly in blue. The Blue Mosque name is usually used by foreign visitors. The Turkish people call it Sultan Ahmet Mosque.
It is one of the biggest buildings in Istanbul. It consists of a mosque, madrasahs, sultan’s pavilion, shops, Turkish bath, fountain, tomb, hospital, primary school, almshouse, and rental rooms. The structure also is Turkey’s first mosque with six minarets.
Hagia Sophia
Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia served as a mosque and was formerly a basilica, cathedral, and museum. Between 532 and 537, Justinian I, the Byzantine emperor, constructed it. It was turned into a mosque by Mehmet, The Conqueror, after the Ottomans conquered Istanbul in 1453. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk transformed it into a museum in 1934 and remained until 2020. The status of a museum was removed in 2020, and Hagia Sophia became a mosque.
The construction of Hagia Sophia involved 10,000 laborers, and Emperor Justinian I reportedly spent a fortune on it. Also, one of the reasons behind the Hagia Sophia’s amazing architecture is that some of the columns, doors, and stones used to construct this very old edifice came from earlier buildings and temples.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum
The foundation of the Istanbul Archeology Museum is the Museum-I Hümayun, which is made up of archaeological items gathered up until that point in the Hagia Eirene Church. On the other hand, the Archeology Museum stands out as one of the uncommon buildings constructed as museum buildings in the world for its time.
Three primary areas compensate for the complex of museums known as the Istanbul Archeology Museums. Museums of archaeology, ancient oriental artifacts, and tiled kiosks. The earliest museum in Turkey, Istanbul Archeology Museum, has collections of around a million objects from many civilizations imported from the imperial realms.
You can access more information about the Istanbul Archaeological Museum from their website.
Dolmabahce Palace
The largest palace in Turkey is called Dolmabahçe Palace. It contains 6 bathrooms, 68 restrooms, 44 halls, and 285 rooms.
The palace was built with Western architectural styles like Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical while adhering to the heritage of Ottoman palaces and the peculiarities of Turkish homes.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lived, worked, and died in the palace for four years following the Republic’s proclamation, from 1927 to 1938.
You can access more information about the Istanbul Archaeological Museum from their website.
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art was founded because of the eagerness to share Turkey’s art understanding and creativity with the society’s cultural identity. The museum is the first modern and contemporary art museum and one of Istanbul’s most fascinating art foundations. Istanbul Modern includes works of art and productions in photography, design, architecture, and new media.
All visitors are encouraged to participate and fall in love with art through the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and educational initiatives.
You can access more information about the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art from their website.