TOPKAPI PALACE

TOPKAPI PALACE :is the symbol and the center of the Ottoman Empire. By Bogazici (Bosphorus) and the Marmara sea, It stands as an amazing building that was the great palace of the Ottoman Sultans. When Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror took Istanbul in 1453, he first ordered the construction of a new palace for this new Ottoman capital. This was to become the palace known as Topkapi. The palace is a collection of buildings arranged around a series of courtyards and has incredible collections of jewels, China, pieces of Ottoman and Islamic artwork .

SAINT SOPHIA MUSEUM

Saint Sophie(HAGIA SOPHIA MUSEUM);

It is known as the church of the Divine Wisdom. It was designed to show the strength and wealth of the Roman Emperors. Once it was the greatest Christian church in the world. Haghia Sophia, the "Church of Holy Wisdom", was built by the Emperor Justinianin the 6th century. It was, for nearly a thousand years, the largest enclosed spacein the world, and still seen as one of the world’s most important architecturalmonuments. It was used as church for 916 years, as mosque for 481 years and wasconverted into museum in 1935.

SULTANAHMET MOSQUE (THE BLUE MOSQUE)

Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque):It is also known as the Blue Mosque, because of its magnificient interior decorations of blue Iznik tiles. Outside of the mosque stands the turbe or the tomb of Sultan Ahmet. It is decorated with 17th century Iznik tiles. The Sultan was buried here along with his wife and three sons. It was built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet. It is considered to be the last example of Ottoman classical architecture.During the summer months, an evening light and sound show history of it

BASILICA CISTERN

BASILICA CISTERN: It was built in the fourth century and is one of the underground cisterns . It has been extensively excavated and renovated and is worth visiting and exploring while listening to the tunes of classical music. This extraordinary subterranean structure, built by Justinian in 532 and is the largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul. Now It is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions .The cistern was constructed using columns, capitals and plinths from ruined buildings, and its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite extraordinary. There are two columns in the northwestern corner supported by blocks carved into Medusa heads .

ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS

ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUMS: This is in close vicinity of Topkapi Palace, in the direction of Gulhane park entrance. There are many collections in the museum. From Egyptian and Assyrian empires to Roman and Byzantine statues, marvellous sarchophagi, and pieces of Temples. The rich collection of ancient art are brought from anicent sites all over Anatolia (Turkey). The Istanbul Archaeology Museums (Turkish: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) is a group of three archeological museums located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace.

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums.

1. Archaeological Museum (in the main building)

2. Museum of the Ancient Orient

3. Museum of Islamic Art (in the Tiled Kiosk).

It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history.

SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE

SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE : The Süleymaniye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the second largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. The Suleymaniye Mosque was built on the order of Sultan Suleyman (Suleyman the Magnificent).It was built by Mimar Sinan, the great architect, and completed in just eight years and The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1558.It is considered to be the most beautiful of all Imperial mosques in Istanbul. It dominates the skyline of the Golden Horn. Adjoining the mosque ,there are schools of theology, schools of Medicine, and a caravanserai.

View of Suleymaniye Mosque from Karaköy across the Golden Horn.

DOLMABAHCE PALACE

DOLMABAHCE PALACE : Dolmabahçe 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 Abdülmecid Efendi. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers and made some of his most important works here. Atatürk spent the last days of his medical treatment in this palace, where he died on November 10, 1938 This palace was located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait.

GRAND BAZAAR

GRAND BAZAAR : The Grand Bazaar (meaning Covered Bazaar) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily.

It is the world's biggest covered historic Bazaar. It is one of the most famous spots of Istanbul, always filled with crowds who come to both shop and see window-shop carpets, jewellery, leathers,handcrafts, home decoration items and many more. The construction of Grand bazaar began in 1455 and opened in 1461. It is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops.

TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ART MUSEUM

TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ARTS MUSEUM :It was the Palace of Ibrahim Pasa, now is a museum containing a large collection of Islamic artwork. The Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum is a museum located in Sultanahmet Square in Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey.It was constructed in 1524, the building was formerly the palace of İbrahim Pasha, who was the first grand vizier to Suleyman the Magnificent.The collection includes notable examples of Islamic calligraphy, tiles, and rugs as well as ethnographic displays on various cultures of Turkey,

BEYLERBEYI PALACE

BEYLERBEYI PALACE :It is located on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and slightly to the north of Dolmabahce Palace.It is right under the first bridge which connects Asia and Europe. The palace is a nice example of Ottoman architecture. Beylerbeyi means ‘Lord of Lords’. Beylerbeyi Palace was commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz (1830–1876) and built between 1861 and 1865 as a summer residence and a place to entertain visiting heads of state.

CHORA CHURCH (MUSEUM)

Chora Church;(Chora Museum) It is known also as St. Saviour, this church is famous for its mosaics. The second most important Byzantine church in Istanbul, has beautiful frescoes with the theme of death and resurrection. The church is situated in Istanbul, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood, which lies in the western part of the municipality of Fatih,In Istanbul. In the 16th century, the church was converted into a mosque by the Ottoman rulers, and it became a museum in 1948. The interior of the building is covered with fine mosaics and frescoes.

EYGPTIAN (SPICE) BAZAAR

SPICE BAZAAR: It is a small bazaar, known in Turkish as SPICE BAZAAR. As the name suggests that the shops have hundreds of different spices and different types of food, from caviars to pistachios. Istanbul's Egyptian (Spice) bazaar is at the southern end of the Galata Bridge, is filled with the fragrance of the exotic East. Spices, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, lokum (Turkish Delight) and other edibles fill most of the shops, though jewelry and other high-margin goods have begun to move in.

ANATOLIAN FORTRESSANADOLUHISARI (ANATOLIAN FORTRESS):

Anatolian Fortress is located on the Asian shore of the city ,Istanbul at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus Strait. Sultan Yildirim Bayezit built this fortress in 1395 on the ruins of an old temple dedicated to Zeus. The fortress is much smaller (7.000 m2 - 1,7 acres) in size when you compare it with Rumelihisari on the European side of Istanbul. Its towers are about 25 meters (82 feet) high with 2-5 meters (7-16 feet) tickness. The fortress was also named "Güzelce Hisar" in some historical documents. Today, Anadolu Hisari is an open air museum but only outer walls can be visited, and the road passes just through it.

RUMELI FORTRESS

RUMELIHISARI (RUMELI FORTRESS):

Rumeli fortress was built by the sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in four months only and directly opposite to Anatolian fortress in 1452 during preparation for the final attack on Constantinople, Byzantine Empire. The fortress is located at the narrowest section of the Bosphorus Strait .It had 4 main and 1 smaller gate, and 3 large and 1 smaller tower. From a small mosque inside, only its minaret survived. Rumelihisar suffered from big earthquakes but was always restored, final restoration was done in 1953 and opened as a museum. Today, the fortress is open to the public as an open-air museum and hosts many concerts and dramatic performances in its amphitheater usually during the summer months.

SAINT ANTONIO PADOVA CHURCH

SAINT ANTONIO PADOVA CHURCH: It is alternatively known as the Sant'Antonio di Padova Church and is the largest church of the Roman Catholic Church in Constantinople/Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on Istiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district.The original St. Anthony of Padua Church was built in 1725 by the local Italian community of Istanbul, but was later rebuilt.The church is considered a minor basilica and is run by Italian priests.

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