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Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque was founded by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I and constructed by the architect Sedefkar Mehmet Aga in 1609–1616.
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Best Highlights in Istanbul - page is guiding you where to spend and which higlights to visit in Istanbul during you trip.
Explore Istanbul’s museums, palaces and historic landmarks. Choose a highlight to discover its story and plan your visit.
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Spice Market
Spice Market is Istanbul’s second-largest bazaar, constructed in the same complex as Yeni Camii. There are six gates, which make it an attractive exterior.
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Anatolian Fortress
Anatolian Fortress is the first Ottoman architecture in Istanbul. It was variously called “Yenice Hisar”, “Akca Hisar”, “Guzelce Hisar”.
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Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar has around 4000 shops and over 60 alleyways, covering a huge labyrinth in the city center.
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Hippodrome
Hippodrome site always has a view of vast open spaces, and however far one may look, one may see the sky. The structure as a whole is broad and imposing.
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Chora Church
St. Teodius built Chora Church in 534 during the reign of Emperor Justinian. The monastery was restored by the empress Maria Dukaina in the 11th century.
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Maiden's Tower
Maiden's Tower, the king, built the tower so that his daughter would be far away from the land and avoid the snake. But the prophecy did not stop following.
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Galata Tower
Galata Tower was used as a watchtower for many years. Because the Galata Tower was the highest construction in Istanbul with 67 m length.
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Ciragan Palace
Ciragan Palace, During the Second Constitutional Monarchy, Sultan Mehmet Resat allowed the parliament to hold their meetings in this building.
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Bayezid Mosque
Bayezid Mosque, according to some modern architects it is the beginning of classical Ottoman architecture. The mosque is located near the Grand Bazaar.
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Kucuksu Pavilion
Kucuksu Pavilion was built by Sultan Abdulmecid in 1857 and asked to design in Baroque style to architect Garabet Balyan and his son Nicogos Balyan.
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Ortakoy Mosque
Ortakoy Mosque challenges the grand Ottoman Mosques with its two tiny minarets, elegant gothic, rococo architecture.
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Ahrida Synagogue
Ahrida Synagogue, The synagogue is located in the Balat neighborhood of Istanbul, and it is the biggest one among Balat’s synagogues.
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Ashkenazi Synagogue
Ashkenazi Synagogue, Well-known for the European style façade Synagogue was built by the Austrian origin Askenazis in 1900 in Istanbul's Galata neighborhood.
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Uskudar
Uskudar is located near the Bosphorus, on the Asian side, and also it is one of the most historical districts of Istanbul.
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St. Stephen Church
St. Stephen Church, in 1898, church was completed and inaugurated by Exarch Joseph. The church’s skeleton is made of steel and covered by metal boards.
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Balat and Fener
Balat and Fener are one of the oldest neighborhoods of Istanbul, located by the Golden Horn, on the European side in the Fatih district.
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Kuleli Military School
Kuleli Military School was established in 1845 with the name ‘Mektabi Fununu Idadiye’ at Macka, now Istanbul Technical University is located there.
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Caferaga Madrasah
Caferaga Madrasah was built by the famous architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th c. that the madrasah is an art school today
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Church of Saint Mary of Mongols
Church of Saint Mary of Mongols was built by the Byzantine Emperor Maurikios Sopatra and her friend Eustolia at the beginning of the 7th century.
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Etz Ahayim Synagogue
Etz Ahayim Synagogue is in the Ortakoy neighborhood of Istanbul near the Bosphorus Bridge. The name Etz Ahayim means “the tree of life” in Roman traditions.
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Galata Bridge
Sultan Mehmed constructed Galata Bridge in the 15th century; after a while, it was demolished. Sultan Bayezid asked for a Project from Leonardo da Vinci.
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Golden Horn
Golden Horn is one of the best natural harbours globally; it was once the centre for the Byzantine and Ottoman navies and commercial shipping interests.
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Galatasaray Island
Galatasaray Island was used as a coal store and hired by a ship transport company. In 1957, they bought this and renovated it that you can see it on Bosphorus.
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Hidiv Pavilion
Hidiv Pavilion was commissioned by the last “Hidiv” (governor of Egypt) Abbas Hilmi Pasha and designed by the Italian architect Delfo Seminati in 1907.
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Istiklal Street
Istiklal Street is one of the most popular places in Istanbul. The Istiklal lies between Galata Tower and Taksim Square.
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Madame Tussauds Istanbul
Madame Tussauds Istanbul is located in Istiklal Street (Taksim). The museum gives you a chance to make you meet with your celebrities and popular famous people.
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Pammakaristos Monastery
Pammakaristos Monastery was built during the Komnenian reign as a Middle Age Byzantine church and was added with late Byzantine architecture.
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Gulhane Park
Gulhane Park (Rose House or Garden) is located in the Historical Peninsula of Istanbul on The Topkapi Palace's western edge.
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Sultanahmet Square
Sultanahmet Square is located at the heart of Istanbul where The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, etc.
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Suleymaniye Mosque
Suleymaniye Mosque was built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1551-1557. The mosque was designed by the famous architect Mimar Sinan.
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Fatih Mosque
The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II built Fatih Mosque The mosque between 1463 and 1470 after the conquest of Constantinopolis in 1453.
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Pierre Loti Hill
Pierre Loti Hill was a French officer who lived in Istanbul couple of years. He loved Istanbul and the Turks so much that he did not want to leave Turkey.
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Istanbul Yeni Mosque
Istanbul Yeni Mosque was started by the Ottoman sultan Murad III’s wife Safiye Sultan in 1597 and completed by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI’s mother in 1665.
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Kanlica
Kanlica is located in the Beykoz district and near the Bosphorus, even though Kanlica is less populated than the other neighborhoods.
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Valens Aquaduct Istanbul
The Roman Emperor Valens built Valens Aquaduct Istanbul in the 4th c. A.D. The Romans provided water for the citizens via aqueducts and filled the cisterns.
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Beylerbeyi Palace
The Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz built Beylerbeyi Palace in 1861-1865. The architects are Sarkis and Agop Balyan brothers. It was a summer palace.
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Yedikule Dungeons
Yedikule Dungeons is located in the Fatih district of Istanbul near the Sea of Marmara. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II built the fortress in 1458.
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Bosphorus
Bosphorus is the strait name that connects Europe to Asia and connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. The Bosphorus Bridge was built between the years 1973.
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Cengelkoy
Cengelkoy neighborhood is part of Üsküdar district, located near the Bosphorus and between Beylerbeyi and Vaniköy neighborhoods.
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Kadikoy
Kadikoy is a popular destination where situated by the Sea of Marmara on the Asian side of Istanbul. Perhaps, Kadıköy might be the first settlement in Istanbul.
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Kuzguncuk
Kuzguncuk neighborhood of the colorful wooden Turkish houses, tv-series, kiosks, yalıs, mosques, churches, and beautiful narrow cobblestone paved streets.
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Princes Island
Princes Island is one of the four islands of Istanbul and the largest one. The history dates back to the Hellenistic period.
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