Balat
Balat, Fatih, Türkiye
When Spain expelled its Jewish population in 1492, Sultan Bayezid II did something that no other European ruler was willing to do — he invited them in.
Basilica Cistern
1 Yerebatan Cd., Cagaloglu, Fatih, 34110, Türkiye
Beneath the busy streets of Sultanahmet, 336 marble columns rise from still water in an underground cathedral that was never meant for worship.
Blue Mosque
7 At Meydani Cd., Cankurtaran, Fatih, 34122, Türkiye
The Blue Mosque exists because of a misunderstanding — or so the legend goes.
Chora Church
18 Kariye Bostani Sk., Kariye, Fatih, 34087, Türkiye
If the Hagia Sophia is Istanbul's most famous Byzantine interior, Chora is its most beautiful.
Dolmabahçe Palace
Vişnezade, Dolmabahçe Cd., Beşiktaş
When the Ottoman sultans decided that Topkapi Palace was too medieval for their tastes, they did not simply renovate — they built the most extravagant palace in Europe and placed it directly on the Bosphorus waterfront.
Eyüp Sultan Mosque
Eyüp Sultan, Camii Kebir Cd., Eyüpsultan
Outside of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, this may be the holiest site in the Islamic world.
Galata Tower
Bereketzade, Galata Kulesi, Beyoğlu
In 1638, a man named Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi reportedly strapped on a pair of wings, launched himself from the top of this tower, and glided across the Bosphorus to land in Üsküdar on the Asian side — making what might have been the first intercontinental flight in history, two and a half centuries before the Wright brothers.
Grand Bazaar
22 Kasnakcilar Sk., Unkapani, Fatih, 34134, Türkiye
If a shopping mall and a medieval city had a child, it would be the Grand Bazaar.
Hagia Irene
8 Sehsuvar Bey Ck., Kadirga, Fatih, 34126, Türkiye
Hagia Irene is hiding in plain sight.
Hagia Sophia
1 Ayasofya Meydani, Topkapi, Fatih, 34122, Türkiye
For nearly a thousand years, this was the largest enclosed space on Earth.
Hippodrome of Constantinople
Sultan Ahmet Cami, Cankurtaran, Fatih, 34122, Türkiye
Stand in what is now Sultanahmet Square and try to imagine 100,000 people screaming at chariot races.
Istanbul Archaeological Museums
Cankurtaran, Fatih, Türkiye
This museum complex holds over one million artifacts and somehow remains one of the most undervisited major museums in the world.
Istiklal Avenue
Istiklal Cd., Dolapdere, Beyoğlu, 34433, Türkiye
A 1.
Kadıköy
Kadikoy, Türkiye
Before Istanbul was Istanbul, before Constantinople was Constantinople, there was Chalcedon.
Maiden's Tower
Salacak, Üsküdar, Türkiye
A tiny tower on a tiny island in the middle of the Bosphorus, and it has been making people cry for two thousand years.
Pera Palace Hotel
52 Mesrutiyet Cd., Galatasaray, Beyoğlu, 34430, Türkiye
The Pera Palace was built in 1892 for a very specific clientele: passengers arriving on the Orient Express who needed somewhere suitably glamorous to stay at the end of the world's most famous train journey.
Pierre Loti Hill
20 Karyagdi Sk., Eyup, Eyüp, 34050, Türkiye
A French naval officer fell in love with this city so completely that Istanbul named a hill after him.
Princes' Islands
93 Carkifelek Cd., Buyukada, Adalar, 34970, Türkiye
The Princes' Islands got their name the hard way.
Rumeli Fortress
Yahya Kemal Cd., Hisar Ustu, Sariyer, 34470, Türkiye
Sultan Mehmed II built this fortress in just four months, and it changed the course of history.
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
62 Halicilar Cd., Hasanhalife, Fatih, 34080, Türkiye
Finding this mosque is half the adventure.
Spice Bazaar
92 Erzak Ambari Sk., Sirkeci, Fatih, 34116, Türkiye
The Spice Bazaar smells like history.
Süleymaniye Mosque
1 Profesor Siddik Sami Onar Cd., Tahtakale, Fatih, 34116, Türkiye
Mimar Sinan called the Süleymaniye his "journeyman work" — not his masterpiece, just his proof of competence.
Taksim Square
Taksim Meydani, Taksim, Beyoğlu, 34437, Türkiye
The name gives the game away.
Theodosian Walls
Topkapı, Fatih
For a thousand years, these walls were the most formidable fortification system in the world, and they worked.
Topkapi Palace
Cankurtaran, 34122 Fatih
For nearly four hundred years, this sprawling complex on Seraglio Point was the nerve center of an empire that stretched from Budapest to Baghdad.
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