Tourist Attractions & Monuments Istanbul

It is one of the city's most famous and visible monuments, located on Galata Hill in the heart of Beyoğlu. The enemy of the time was Venice, to such an extent that John VI Cantacuzene accepted the Genoese request to build a tower in 1348. Designed as the main tower of the Galata fortifications and 68 m high, it offers an exceptional panoramic view of the historic city. Beheaded from its top two floors after the conquest of the city in 1453, the tower was used as a prison under Mehmed II the Conqueror. Shaken by the 1509 earthquake, the fortifications and tower were restored by the architect Hayrettin. It is found in the roles of observatory and fire tower. Ravaged by a fire in 1794, it was once again taken in hand and was given a new floor and a new headdress. It is from the top of this tower, it is said, that Hazerfan Ahmet Çelebi set off in the 18th century, equipped with two large wings that he had made, succeeding in landing, not on the other side of the Bosporus as the legend says, but probably on the other side of the Golden Horn. For a time impressed by this feat, the sultan, under religious pressure who did not see it with a very positive eye, exiled Çelebi to the borders of the Empire. Refurbished between 1965 and 1967, the tower has become one of the city's main tourist attractions. At its top is the panoramic restaurant of the Beltur chain. The view is simply exceptional!

During the Byzantine period, it was a market where Venetians and Genoese came to sell rare spices, hence its other name spice market. Built on an L-shaped plan, it has four main entrances and more than 100 shops where a thousand and one spices, honeys, cheeses, from all the Turkish provinces, flowers, aphrodisiac mixtures, dried meats and even domestic animals are traded. Restored in 1943, this market is strongly imbued with the oriental atmosphere with its colours and smells, much more exotic than that of the Grand Bazaar, which has become the centre of jewellers and carpet merchants. That being said, jewellers are gaining a little more ground each year.

Be sure to visit the adjacent streets outside the bazaar. Pass on the left the flower and bird market to get lost in the alleys at the back. The many itinerant merchants present a very picturesque world where electronic devices, tools, perfumes are sold in a jumble... If you want to buy Turkish coffee, you can go to the Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi. No need for an address, the shop is in front of the market, on the right wing: just follow the smell. If there's a problem, ask, the whole neighborhood knows it. Coffee is sold by weight: you go to the counter from the outside and choose one of the packages that are ready for sale.

Built between 1543 and 1548, the most important buildings in this complex are the mosque, considered Sinan's first masterpiece and the Prince's mausoleum. Sinan himself calls it a "learning work" when his reputation is well established. It is dedicated to Mehmed and his brother, Cihangir, who died in 1549. This work will allow Ottoman architecture to adopt a new conception of the placement of the central space, which will later become a school. Dominating all the other buildings in the complex in height and mass, the Prince's Mosque is built around a central square space. Sinan used new elements in the mosque's exterior architecture: a cascade of domes collapses into perfect symmetry and balance. A feeling of weightlessness emerges from the whole. The central dome, combined with the half-domes, reinforces this impression. This mosque earned Sinan his title of Master Architect. With this construction, he laid the foundations of Ottoman religious architecture.

The courtyard, located to the north, and whose surface area corresponds exactly to the space of the prayer room. It is covered by 16 domes. A fountain of ablutions, surmounted by a dome, was erected in its middle during the time of Murad IV. The Prince's mausoleum, with its architecture, ceramic tiles, stucco windows covered with stained glass, is an imposing building. This tomb was built of limestone, marble, green and pink porphyry. The ceramic tiles that cover the entire mausoleum, from the ground to the top of the dome, are sparkling in colour. The wooden cage, surrounding Prince Mehmed's catafalque, is supported by four ivory-inlaid pillars with geometric motifs.

The mausoleum of Rüstem Paşa, was built in 1561 by Sinan. The ceramic tiles consist of calligraphy in thuluth script reproducing verses from the Koran. The mausoleums of Ibrahim Paşa of Bosnia, Prince Mahmud, Sultans Hatice and Fatma, Destari Mustafa Paşa, as well as other tombstones are located in the outer courtyard. The medersa consists of bedrooms and a classroom arranged around a courtyard. The hospice is topped by a dome. The caravanserai stands on the road leading to the current Vefa High School. The elementary school is a space with a single dome, arranged on the side of the caravanserai.

History. The Istanbul Modern project began in 1987 with the first international exhibition of contemporary art, now known as the Istanbul International Biennale. In 2003, the 4th warehouse on the Galata pier, near the Mimar Sinan Academy of Fine Arts, hosted the 8th Istanbul Biennale and attracted attention. After Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the then Prime Minister, had given his approval for the reassignment of the site, the dry goods warehouse belonging to the Turkish Maritime Organisation was transformed into a temple of modern art.

Visit. While waiting for the end of the construction of the new Karaköy building, the museum is temporarily located at Beyoğlu The central staircase from the ground floor, with a video room and a photo exhibition, provides access to the first floor painting collections. The latter, most of which are private, include paintings by Turkish artists inspired by the Western style. The collections are changing to achieve a resolutely modern style. Upstairs, visitors are invited to have a drink in a café with a superb view of the Bosphorus. It is also possible to eat there, as the evening menu is much more elaborate and therefore more expensive. In the museum area you will find many welcoming terraces to drink tea after your visit. A museum not to be missed!

This museum is located in the heart of the historic city, a few steps from the old covered market. What makes it unique is that it was built in such a way as to directly integrate the mosaic pavements discovered in the courtyard of the former Byzantine Grand Palais. This complex would be one of the most important preserved today. The quality of these remains, dated from 450 to 550, is remarkable. The subjects covered concern daily life, nature or mythology.

It is one of the most famous panoramas of Istanbul and yet, one never tires of admiring and photographing it: the mosque in the foreground, the Bosphorus and the suspension bridge in the background... The building is located on the tip of the Defterdar, on the European side of the Bosphorus, in the Ortaköy district. Commissioned by Abdülmecid, it was completed in 1853 by the architect Garabed Balian. We usually call it by the name of the neighbourhood, its real name being Mecidiye Camii.

Located in the garden of the Topkapı Palace, this museum is highly recommended for archaeology lovers. Several renovations have been made to enhance some of the museum's pieces. When we learn that the museum was awarded a prize by the Council of Europe in 1991 for the centenary of its foundation, we are not surprised. The neoclassical style of the museum was built by the architect Alexandre Vallauri, the son of a French pastry chef, in 1881 at the request of Osman Hamdi Bey, the father of Turkish museology. It opened its doors under the name "Müze-i Hümayun" (Imperial Museum) in 1891. It is said that the architect was inspired by the sarcophagi of Alexander the Great and the Weeping Women to give the façade the silhouette we know today. Expanded several times, it contains a large collection of pieces amassed from the four corners of the empire, more than a million objects representing almost all eras and civilizations.

Main building. It rises on two levels. Impressive, the first level is that of the sarcophagi and statues. The first pieces on display come from the royal necropolis of Sidon (Lebanon): sarcophagi of the family of King Tabnit, sarcophagus of the Mourners, sarcophagus of Lycian, sarcophagus of the Satrape, considered a masterpiece of Ionian art... the major piece is the so-called Alexander sarcophagus, dating back to the 4th century BCC. Representing scenes of battle between the Macedonians and the Persians, one had believed to find (finally) the tomb of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedonia). It turned out that it was in fact that of Abdalonymos, friend and king of Sidon enthroned by Alexander, but the name remained. The sarcophagus of Meleager is equally impressive. There follow sections with busts, including those of Hermes, Emperors Constantine I the Great and Marcus Aurelius, statues and statuettes including those of Emperors Hadrian and Augustus, Alexander the Great, Zeus, Poseidon, Artemis and Apollo, and bas-reliefs. Among the beautiful sculptures, one can admire the one of the ephebe of Tabnit, king of Sidon. On the first floor are exhibited works in carved or sculpted stone giving an idea of the daily life in Antiquity: Anatolian gourds and jugs from the ancient Bronze Age, clay statuettes from ancient Ionia, red-figured vases from the^5th and 6th centuries, coins, seals, medals... There is also a library containing more than 70,000 books.

Secondary building. Here, the four levels are reserved for thematic exhibitions. We start with Istanbul through the ages, including a section on Thrace and Bithynia. This is followed by Anatolia and Troy, Cyprus and the Middle East (Syria-Palestine).

Museum of Ancient Oriental Works (Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi). It is in fact a wing of the museum to which it belongs. Located just to the left, the building was built in 1883, also on the initiative of Osman Hamdi Bey to become the School of Fine Arts (Sanayi-ı Nefise). It was later turned into a museum and was completely renovated in 1974. Works from Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Arabia are displayed on the first floor. There are also objects from Sumerian and Akkadian cultures. The tablets of the Treaty of Kadesh (1269 B.C.), the oldest historical document relating to the sealing of an agreement between Hittites and Egyptians, the colossal statue of a Neohittite king discovered at the site of Zincirli, and the stele of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin are among the unique works of art in the museum. Also worth seeing are the glazed brick reliefs depicting bulls and snake-headed dragons from the Ishtar Gate in Babylon, from which the famous processional route decorated with lions started. This is one of the eight gates of the city, representing various real or imaginary animals. The museum also has important archives, including more than 75,000 cuneiform tablets.

Earthenware Kiosk (Çinili Köşk). Built in 1472 under Mehmed II the Conqueror, much older than the other two buildings in the museum, it was originally designed as a pavilion for the sultan's relaxation in the Topkapı Palace compound. It is one of the earliest examples of Ottoman civil architecture in Istanbul. Mehmed II had three kiosks built in the palace gardens in three different styles - Persian, Greek and Turkish - symbolizing the three worlds of which he was now the master. The Tiled Kiosk, built in the Persian style, is the only one that remains today. Its decoration was entrusted to master ceramists from Khorasan, who used monochrome techniques in the Timurid tradition. It was from this pavilion that the Sultan watched his pages play djirit, the ancestor of polo. The Earthenware Kiosk was refurbished and attached to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in 1981, and now displays an outstanding collection of Iznik and Kanakkale ceramics, as well as Seljuk works. The museum has over 2,000 pieces. The façade of the pavilion, with its marble portico supported by 14 columns and its gallery covered with ceramic tiles, is worth a visit. But the building itself is interesting.

Holy places generally have a well-dosed mixture of mysticism and supernaturalism. While Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror (Fatih), savours the fall of Constantinople, his tutor sees in his dreams the location of a tomb where Abu Ayub al-Ansari, one of the Prophet Mohammed's faithful companions and standard bearers, would be buried. He died during the first siege of Constantinople in 670 and was buried by his army not far from the land walls, in a place that was gradually falling into oblivion. As a result, the Eyüp Mosque is one of the most important holy places in Islam. The Conqueror is therefore doubly rewarded: a mythical city with his record of achievements and a divine sign that solidifies the foundations of his reign! The complex has undergone transformations over the years. It consists of a mosque, a mausoleum, a medersa, a refectory hospice and a double hammam. The current mosque was built between 1798 and 1800, at the time of Selim III. The rectangular mihrab(niche), which projects outwards, is covered with a half dome. The courtyard of the mosque is bordered by a peristyle overhung by thirteen domes. This courtyard, with its plane trees where storks come to make their nests and the hundreds of pigeons that fly around, is one of the backdrops of the city's typical scenography. The chambers of the medersa are located on the side parts of the courtyard. The refectory building is arranged around two spaces also covered with domes. The mausoleum of Eyüp Sultan is an octagonal stone monument, surmounted by a dome and a brass gate allows pilgrims to see the gold inlaid shrine that contains one of Islam's relics: a footprint of the prophet Mohammed's foot found in the seraglio's treasure of Topkapı The blue and white ceramic tiles and stained glass windows in the mausoleum are from the 16th century. A calligraphic frieze circles the inner drum of the monument. In its centre, there is a large chandelier and a blue carpet. Other tombstones or sarcophagi of historical value are located in the cemetery. At the same time, great viziers and ordinary citizens of the Ottoman Empire wished to be buried alongside the saint, giving birth to the great cemetery of Eyüp. The first mosque built after the Ottoman conquest of the city, it is a popular and revered place of pilgrimage.

Perhaps one of the only metro lines in the world with only two stations... Linking the two historic districts of Galata, at the bottom, and Péra, at the top, it is in fact more than just an underground funicular. The entrance to Karaköy is a stone's throw from the bridge; at the top, at Beyoğlu, on Tünel Square. The Tünel, 570 m long, was built between 1871 and 1876 by the French engineer Eugène-Henri Gavand. With an average of 181 trips and 10,000 to 12,000 passengers per day, the journey takes 90 seconds.

The very heart of Beyoğlu, Avenue de l'Indépendance (formerly Grand Rue de Péra) is one of the most famous streets in the city, known for its nostalgic tramway and above all its frenetic animation, both in terms of shops and nightlife. Thousands of shops, cafés, bars and restaurants follow one another on the avenue and adjacent streets. Those who know Barcelona and its Ramblas will not be out of place. The buildings date for the most part from the 19th century, we feel very far from Istanbul mosques, and very close to the great European capitals.

Miniatürk is a summary of all the most beautiful monuments in the country, grouped on a site of some 60,000 m². In total, 134 models reduced to 1/25th, the must-see models of Istanbul of course, but not only: Greek remains, sites of the Ottoman Empire, Anatolian landscapes... Almost everything is there: Bosphorus bridge, Galata tower, vestiges of Hittite civilization, Pamukkale or even Saint Sophia, all this small world meets a few meters from each other. It's the largest miniature city in the world! Ideal for children.