Historic Sites in Istanbul

Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. It was formerly a church (360–1453) and a museum (1935–2020). The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". From its dedication in 360 until 1453, Hagia Sophia served as the cathedral of Constantinople in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, except for the period 1204–1261 when the Latin Crusaders installed their own hierarchy. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it served as a mosque, having its minarets added soon after. The site became a museum in 1935, and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.

Istanbul

Istanbul

The walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built.

The walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

The walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

The Aqueduct of Valens was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Construction of the aqueduct began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II and was completed in 373 by the Emperor Valens. The aqueduct remained in use for many centuries. It was extended and maintained by the Byzantines and the Ottomans.

Rumelihisarı or Boğazkesen Fortress is a medieval Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the European banks of the Bosphorus. The fortress also lends its name to the immediate neighborhood around it in the city's Sarıyer district.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Anadoluhisarı, known historically as Güzelce Hisar is a medieval Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey on the Anatolian (Asian) side of the Bosporus. The complex is the oldest surviving Turkish architectural structure built in Istanbul, and further gives its name to the neighborhood around it in the city's Beykoz district.

The Obelisk of Theodosius is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III, first erected during the 18th dynasty of Egypt. It was re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Küçüksu Pavilion, Littlewater Pavilion a.k.a. Göksu (Skywater) Pavilion, is a summer pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey, situated in the Küçüksu neighborhood of Beykoz district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus between Anadoluhisarı and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. The pavilion was used by Ottoman sultans for short stays during country excursions and hunting.

The Column of Arcadius was a Roman triumphal column in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople built in the early 5th century AD. The marble column was historiated with a spiralling frieze of reliefs on its shaft and supported a colossal statue of the emperor, probably made of bronze, which fell down in 740. Its summit was accessible by an internal spiral staircase. Only its massive masonry base survives.

Istanbul

The Tiled Kiosk is a pavilion set within the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and dates from 1472 as shown on the tile inscript above the main entrance. It was built by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II as a pleasure palace or kiosk. It is located in the most outer parts of the palace, next to Gülhane Park. It was also called Glazed Kiosk.

Istanbul

Yoros Castle is a ruined castle dating back to Byzantine times that stands above the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, to the north of Joshua's Hill, in Beykoz district, Istanbul, Turkey. It is commonly referred to as the Genoese Castle, due to Genoa’s possession of it in the mid-15th century.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Yıldız Clock Tower, is a clock tower situated next to the courtyard of the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque, in Yıldız neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey at the European side of Bosphorus.

Istanbul

Istanbul

The Monument of Liberty, in the Şişli-Mecidiyeköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, is a memorial in honour of the soldiers killed defending the Ottoman Parliament against rebel forces during the 31 March Incident.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

The Ibrahim Pasha Palace is an Ottoman imperial court residence of Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha. It is located in Sultanahmet Square of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. Currently, the building is mainly used as the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Rüstem Pasha Medrese is a former medrese, located in Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Ottoman statesman and grand vizier Rüstem Pasha, and built by court architect Mimar Sinan in 1551.

Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion is a historic presidential residence located offshore in the Sea of Marmara in the Florya neighborhood of the Bakırköy district in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Basketmakers' Kiosk, also known as Basketmakers' Palace, named after the Sepetçiler Roma, is a former Ottoman pleasure palace located on the southern shore of Golden Horn's mouth at Sarayburnu in the neighborhood of Sirkeci in Istanbul, Turkey.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul

The Procession Kiosk is a 16th-century historical building into the outer walls of the Gülhane Park next to Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It was used by the Ottoman sultans to receive the salute of processing janissary as well as a pleasure locale. The building is situated across the Sublime Porte.

Istanbul

Arter is a contemporary art museum in the Dolapdere district of Istanbul, Turkey.