Overlooking Seraglio Point, at the mouth of the Golden Horn, the Sultanahmet quarter extends across the first hill of the city, the fiefdom of Ancient Byzantium and the political and cultural heart of the Byzantine and Ottoman cities. Few places in t..

This jewel of the 17C has retained its vocation as a place of worship, hence the requirement to remove one’s shoes before entering inside. The goal of the architect here was to surpass the elegance of the Aya Sofya basilica, an aim which was achieved..

The harem with its eunuchs was a place of great intrigue, luxury and exquisite pleasure, and here in the harem of Topkapi Palace visitors are plunged into a mythical Orient of a thousand and one treasures and as many fantasies. Lattice-work screens f..

This highly comprehensive museum is dedicated to Antiquity. Visitors are greeted by a Roman statue of Bes holding a headless lion. Don’t miss the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great (5C BC), decorated with bas-reliefs, descriptions of battles and hunt..

Chora means “outside the walls”, and refers to the fact that this 11C church was originally surrounded by countryside – the garden behind the church acts as modest reminder of this fact and is a pleasant place to rest after admiring the finest mosaic..

The construction of this mosque was commissioned by the sultan Suleymen the Magnificent to the most talented of the architects of the 16C, Sinan, with the aim of surpassing the Aya Sofya basilica, a goal that he achieved. Perched on the third hill of..

The symbol of Byzantine glory at its zenith, and a sanctuary designed on an extraordinary scale, the 6C Aya Sofya basilica was converted into a mosque in the 15C and then a museum in 1934. Although a little clumsy in style when viewed from the exteri..

What the Ottomans called Yerebatan Sarayi (Sunken Palace) is in fact a 6C Byzantine underground cistern that supplied water to the palace of the emperor Justinian. Clever plays of light coupled with the background dripping of water add to the theatri..

Designed by the great Sinan, the 16C imperial architect appointed to the service of the sultans, the Rüstem Pasa mosque has the typical charm of a quiet place of worship. It is justly famous for its Iznik ceramics, the traditional blue tones of which..

Located on the east bank of the Golden Horn, Beyoglu is the focus of intellectual life in Istanbul, as well as what remains of the capital’s former glamorous lifestyle. In this district, the city is keen to showcase Turkey’s modernity, enabling it to..

Visitors interested in culture and contemporary art will want to head to the city’s modern art museum, Istanbul Modern (IM), which occupies a former customs’ warehouse on the banks of the Bosphorus, and which has been superbly redesigned by the artis..

With its unusual cocktail of styles, such a popular feature of the 19C, the Dolmabahçe Palace is a mix of both neo-Classical European influences and Orientalism. Such eclecticism can leave visitors somewhat perplexed, a feeling enhanced by a tour of ..

The city’s covered Grand Bazaar is an extraordinary world all of its own with some equally extraordinary statistics: 2 000 shops, 60 restaurants, mosques, fountains and banks, all of which are located in a maze of vaulted alleyways teeming with goods..

Nestling among the poplar trees, the village of Soganli remains largely unspoilt. The same is true of the isolated valley in which it lies, with its fanciful landscapes of steep basalt cliffs and phantasmagorical human- or animal-shaped rocks. The ta..

This museum is housed in the former residence of Ibrahim Pasa; this son of a Greek slave became the grand vizier of Suleyman the Magnificent. Its rooms, arranged around a central garden, house a number of splendours of decorative Islamic art from the..

Aya Sofya in miniature, the 6C Küçük Ayasofya mosque has retained its authentic charm despite its various restorations. First a church, and then a mosque, it retains a great feeling of serenity. Its unusual plan defies symmetry: an irregular octagon ..

The small Sokollu mosque was built by Sinan in 1571. Entry is via an extraordinary covered staircase that leads to the inner courtyard, embellished with a traditional sadirvan (ablutions fountain). Despite its slender appearance and the half-light ..

The Ceramics Museum occupies a charming 15C building that was originally part of the harem of the Topkapi Palace. Its façade is covered in an attractive blue and white calligraphic frieze. Often ignored by visitors, this small museum is well worth a ..

The Grand Bazaar district is home to a number of caravanserai ( hans ) where merchants and their caravans of camels would have stayed in the past. Nowadays converted into warehouses, workshops and boutiques, these hans are hives of activity, often ..

The area between St Saviour-in-Chora and Fatih is very much a working class district. Washing hangs from windows and you’re more likely than not to come across a passer-by with a lamb in tow, or an old man heading up one of the district’s narrow stre..