It is one of the best known bazaars of its kind. It was established by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 15th century, expanded during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) and reestablished according to the current plan in 1701.
It is a vast complex including 4000 shops and a large number of ateliers, restaurants, coffeehouses and mosques. The Grand Bazaar was hit by a number of fires, the last of which happened in 1954. Its two main gates in Nuruosmaniye and Beyazit are (...)full story

Beylerbeyi Palace
In the original wooden palace of Beylerbeyi, which was built by Sultan Mahmut II, his son Sultan Abdülmecit personally tested the new invention by Samuel Morse, the telegraph, in 1847. He immediately issued a royal patent to Morse, the world’s first patent for the telegraph. The palace later burned down, and Sultan Abdülaziz had a new one built in its place by his architect Sarkis Balyan. Many famous guests, such as French Empress Eugenie, Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, (...)full story

The Grand Rue de Pera of the 19th and early 20th centuries was the focus of İstanbul’s society life. The elite would shop in the stores along the avenue, meet in European style cafes and visit the theater and cinema - but all this would last only until sunset.
The avenue would then be taken over by neighborhood toughs and surrender to the night life of a red light district shot through with passion and brutality.
Some of the contradictions of Pera have been reconciled, most glossed (...)full story

Constructed in 1348 by the Genoese, it was initially called the Jesus Tower and was designed to enhance the security of the Galata neighborhood and the surrounding area. When the Ottomans captured the city about a century after the construction of the Galata Tower they converted it first into a prison and later into a fire observation tower as its 60 m height lent itself ideally to this use.
The reform-minded Ottoman Sultan Mahmut II rebuilt the Tower that had been damaged by subsequent (...)full story

Leander’s Tower is a unique site along the Bosphorus, jutting from the rocky terrain a little off the coast of Üsküdar. There are many myths as to its origins and the best known one is an allegory on the indomitable ways of fate. The story has it that the Byzantine king commissions the construction of the tower to defeat the evil omen that his daughter will be killed by a snake. He hides his daughter in this tower located off the shore which no creeping animal can approach. Yet one day a (...)full story

The Aynalikavak Mansion
This residence, which is on the same side of the Golden Horn as the Camialti and Taskizak docks, was built at the beginning of the 17th century. It stands right beside a grove called Hasbahçe and took its existing form at the beginning of the 19th century under the rule of Sultan Selim III. Aynalikavak is the biggest mansion in the Golden Horn and the only one in the area that remains today.
Closed to visitors.
Hidiv Mansion
The residence of Hilmi Pasha, the Khedive (...)full story

Archeological Museum
The building was constructed by the architect Vallaury through the efforts of the first scientific museum organizer of Turkey, Osman Hamdi Bey, and was opened to public in 1891. The museum displays objects from Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire and the numerous civilizations of Anatolia and nearby regions including ancient Egypt.

Osman Hamdi Bey Yokusu, Gülhane
Tel: (0212) 520 7740 / 520 7741
Asiyan Museum
This museum is the former residence of famous Turkish poet (...)full story

A Turkish bath, or hamam as it is alternatively known, is indicative not only of the culture of leisure of the Ottomans but also of their inventiveness in this regard. It represents a sensuous approach to the cleansing of the body and the ability to harness technology to this end.
It offers a multi-layered cultural and sensual experience starting from the moment you step into the so-called glass case in which the dressing rooms and the fountain are located. The hamam is heated through the (...)full story

A Turkish bath, or hamam as it is alternatively known, is indicative not only of the culture of leisure of the Ottomans but also of their inventiveness in this regard. It represents a sensuous approach to the cleansing of the body and the ability to harness technology to this end.
It offers a multi-layered cultural and sensual experience starting from the moment you step into the so-called glass case in which the dressing rooms and the fountain are located. The hamam is heated through the (...)full story

As of early spring 2003 it is possible to find a miniature version of the historic sites of İstanbul, Anatolia and former Ottoman provinces in one spot in Istanbul, namely Miniatürk. Coupled with the distinction of being most rapidly completed miniature park in the world, it boasts of a record number of visitors since it opened in March.
Located along the nostalgic Golden Horn, Minitürk is expected to contribute to the rehabilitation of the historic neighborhood in which it sprawls (...)full story

"The Bosphorus can be described as an avenue of water surrounded by mansions one more beautiful than the other. Believe me, if fate had granted you one of these, you would never think of leaving to your last day."
The mansions described with such admiration by French poet/author Lamartine in the 19th century are those that were built right by the sea (“yalı” in Turkish) and had boathouses below, and which have become world-famous as the "seaside mansions of the Bosphorus."
After the (...)full story