Istanbul Sights

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Hagia Sofia

Sultanahmet a.k.a. Blue Mosque

With its long history at the center of empires, Istanbul offers a wealth of historic and religious places to take in. The bulk of these are located in Sultanahmet-Old City, including the Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and the Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque). Galata has the Galata Tower and the Galata Whirling Dervish Hall, while the Bosphorus has a number of waterside palaces where where you can admire what money could buy in times gone by. These places are all on the "must-see" list of Istanbul. Other districts also have a number of less significant, but interesting nonetheless, sights.

Church of St. Savior in Chora is an example of a church somewhat out of the traditional center, but is an absolute must see. Mindblowing frescoes and mosaics cover the entire inside of this church. An impressive section of Theodosian walls is right next to the church.

Long ignored for their bad connotation with the Tulip era of 1700s, a period of ostentation and costly parties conducted by state elite amidst large gardens full of tulips (and also when the first bulbs were introduced to the Netherlands from Istanbul, by the way), which was later accused of economic destruction and the eventual dissolution of Ottoman Empire, tulips have regained much of their former popularity in the last decade and now serve as some sort of symbol of both Istanbul and the whole Turkey. They bloom around April and May and while they can be seen on many avenues of the city wherever there is enough space for planting at the sides and the centre strip of the road, if you are after admiring and/or photographing large patches of tulips with relatively exotic varieties, head to Sultanahmet Park and Gülhane Park in Sultanahmet; Emirgan Park near the northern Bosphorus neighbourhood of Emirgan; or Çamlıca Hill in Asian Side.