Straddling Europe and Asia,Turkey´s largest city (pop. around 16½ million) is onewith a long history of culture and history dating back to the Neolithic Age, with an astonishing menu for visitors of mosques, palaces, ancient bazaars and more. Here are ten of the ones you shouldn´t miss:
Hagia Sophia
Its name meaning "Holy Wisdom" in Greek, this masterpiece of Byzantine engineering (below) was inaugurated in 360 under the emperor Justinian, and its huge dome (102 feet or 31 meters in diameter) covered the world´s largest enclosed space in the world for more than 1,000 years. Hagia Sophia was an Orthodox cathedral from then until 1453 (except for 57 years in the 13th century when it was Roman Catholic), when the invading Ottoman Turks converted it into a mosque and replaced its Christian features with Islamic ones. The eight-year-old Republic of Turkey turned it into museum in 1935, and today visitors can pass through the Imperial Gate to the central nave and look up at the majestic interior of the dome and its inlaid ceiling. The marble on the wall of the nave of the main church extends to the upper reaches of the art gallery, while the walls of the inner natex and the side naves are all covered with marble of various colors taken from various regions of the Byzantine Empire. In the courtyard is a pure fountain inscribed with a palindrome in Greek which means: "washing not only the face, but also the sin." Its library was built in 1739 and contains ancient tiles and carved wooden shelves. Over the centuries it has been damaged by earthquakes, fires, and riots and has required a lot of repairs and restoration, but it´s still a beautiful building, and some have dubbedit the eighth wonder of the world.
Blue Mosque
So called because of the blue tiles on its dome and upper interior, it was inaugurated in 1619 and is officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (for the ruler during whose rule it was built). Its priceless treasures include 20,000 tulip-designed tiles as well as 200 stained glass windows, all with intricate designs. The Blue Mosque is still an active place of worship today, so visitors need to carefully plan when they come, as they are not allowed induring the five daily prayer times for Muslims. Also, everyone who goes in must take off their shoes and women must cover their hair.
Suleymaniye Mosque
Located on Istanbul´s Third Hill, it was built in 1550 under Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Similarly, this mosque is indeed majestic, combining the best architecture of the Ottoman Empire and its predecessor Byzantium, and its dome was the highest dome in the empire. Over the years it has been extensively damaged, including a fire during the First World War, when the garden was used as a weapon store, and was restored in the mid-20th century. The mosque has four minarets as part of its tribute to Syleyman, the fourths Ottoman ruler after the conquest of Constantinople.
Galatata
Overlooking the Istanbul skyline, in the Beyoglu district, this stone tower was built in 1348 as part of the citadel of the Geonese colony that existed here between 1273 and 1473, and it and offers beautiful views of the Old City and surrounding areas. Also known as Christ´s Tower, it rises nine stories (67 meters/219 feet) and its top floor is home to a café, a restaurant and a nightclub, all of which can be reached by elevator.
Topkapi Palace
For nearly four centuries, this magnificent palace was official residence of the sultans who ruled the Ottoman Empire, and was one of the largest palaces. In 1924 it became a museum with most of its buildings open to the public and a large collection of imperial art, porcelain, jewelry, manuscripts and other treasures. Important artifacts include the famed Topkapi Dagger, with a handle including emeralds and a clock, and housed in a long, mostly gold scabbard adorned with small, rose-cut diamonds. The palace also contains distinguished Islamic artifacts, including the alleged sword and cloak of the Prophet Muhammed. There are four main courtyards and several outbuildings. The first courtyard is called the Gatekeeper's Court, where elite palace soldiers stood guard, with a magnificent fountain and the Byzantine church of Hagia Irene, built under Emperor Justinian in 548 (it survived because it was used as a warehouse and imperial armory by the Ottomans). The second courtyard is a lush green space, surrounded by the former imperial harem and the Tower of Justice, as well as hospitals and kitchens, which prepare thousands of meals every day. The third courtyard contains the warehouse and the Ahmed III Library, but it´s closed to visitors. The fourth courtyard, the inner sanctuary of the sultan, is known as the Tulip Gardens and is decorated with mother-of-pearl, tortoise inlays, and exquisite blue and white Iznik tiles. Other palace architectural features include marble stairs and reflecting pools.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum
One of the Tukery´s most important museums is actually three in one: the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Ancient Orientals, and the Museum of the Tile Pavilion. Together they contain more than one million objects from civilizations around the world. It was established in 1891 as the first Turkish museum and is located on the grounds of Topkapi Palace. The history of Tiled Kiosk can be traced back to 1472. The museum contains thousands of precious artifacts, including the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great.
Grand Bazaar
With 5,000 shops, this 565-year-old structure (below) is one of the world´s largest indoor markets and receives more than 250,000 visitors every day, including jewelry (in the section called the Cevahir Bedesten), carpets that may or may not fly, spices, antiques, hand-painted ceramics, antique furniture and decor items, and old coins. It´s also home to two mosques, four fountains, and a pair of hammams (steam baths).
Dolmabahce Palace
Luxury, luxury and beauty are just adjectives used to describe this palace, which was built to replace Topkapi and has been compared with the Palace of Versailles. Turkey’s most charming palace was built in the 19th century using 14 tons of gold leaf, combining traditional Ottoman architecture with European-style neoclassical, Baroque and Rococo styles. It was the home of the six sultans from 1856 to 1924 and the location of the largest Bohemian crystal chandelier in the world, a gift from Queen Victoria. The environment of Dolmabahce Palace is amazing: it was built along the coastline of the Bosphorus.
Chora Church
Chora Church may not be off the beaten track, but tourists say that the beautiful Byzantine art is well worth visiting. The magnificent mosaics and frescoes depict the life of Jesus and his mother Mary. Known as the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, it is described as one of the most beautiful surviving works of Byzantine architecture. Chora dates back to the time of Constantine and was a monastery in the early days. A few centuries later, it was turned into a mosque and converted into a museum in 1948.
Cathedral Water Tank
The Basilica Cistern has been providing water for the residents of Istanbul since it was built by the Roman Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century. The visit made travelers admire the technology used by the ancient Romans to build this very advanced architectural wonder. The underground water tank just a few steps from the Blue Mosque was built on the site of a cathedral built in the third century. The water tank is called the sunken palace and can hold 2.8 million cubic feet of water. The water tank is one of the places used in the James Bond thriller "Love from Russia" filmed in 1963.
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