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Key Attractions
Haghia Sophia
Haghia Sophia, known to the Turks as Aya Sofya and literally translated as ‘Church of Divine Wisdom’, is generally considered the finest extant example of Byzantine architecture in the world, although many of its interior columns were pilfered from pre-Christian temples. Consecrated in 537AD, its vast dome rises to 56m (183ft), designed to appear suspended in space and thus representative of heaven. Two other churches were built on the spot but were destroyed and Haghia Sophia remains a testament to the vision of Emperor Justinian and the sixth-century Greek mathematicians who were able to apply the latest developments in geometry to architecture. So impressed was Mehmet the Conqueror that when he took the city in 1453, he dedicated it as a mosque to Allah and it remained so until declared a museum at the founding of the secular Turkish Republic. Fortunately, many of the late Byzantine mosaics remain, as do the huge circular shields from the Ottoman period containing calligraphy of Koranic verses. The museum is now divided into two parts – the church and the mosaic gallery – each requiring a different ticket.
Sultanahmet, in front of Topkapi Palace
Tel: (212) 522 1750.
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1630.
Admission: US$9 (museum); US$9 (mosaic gallery).
Topkapi Palace
Mehmet the Conqueror originally built Topkapi Palace as a summer residence and the seat of government over the acropolis of pre-Christian Byzantium. It was his great grandson, Süleyman the Magnificent, who decided to consolidate home, harem, state administration and military personnel at Topkapi in the 16th century. In keeping with the Ottomans’ nomadic Central Asian origins, the complex looks more like a walled city of tent-like pavilions than a royal fortress. At its height, the palace spread over the whole of Seraglio Point to the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara and had 3000 residents.
Sultans abandoned it for the more European Dolmabahçe Palace, in 1855. However, the sumptuous jewels of the original treasury (including the Topkapi Dagger, the 86-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond and gold-plated throne of Murat III), the armoury, the display of silk ceremonial robes, the Chinese and Iznik ceramics, holy relics and the collection of manuscripts and miniatures, all convey the extent of the Ottoman lifestyle at its peak. The harem, which once housed up to 300 concubines, is only open to guided tours and requires a separate ticket, available for purchase inside the complex. However, it is not at all glamorous and somewhat similar to a lavishly decorated women’s prison. Topkapi requires at least half a day for a full visit.
Seraglio Point, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 512 0480.
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0900-1730 (winter); Wed-Mon 0900-1900 (summer).
Admission: US$9; US$9 (harem tour).
Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque)
The Blue Mosque was built during the reign of the young Sultan Ahmet (1603-1617), as Islam’s answer to Haghia Sophia. To this day, the magnificent mosque is the symbol and centre of religious demonstrations. It takes the name ‘blue’ from the quantity of Iznik tiles that dominate the interior, giving a cooling effect, as well as the blue light that shines through more than 250 windows. From the small dome at the entrance gate to the vast central dome – some 43m (14ft) high and 23.5m (77ft) in diameter – architect Mehmet Aga’s intention was to lift all eyes heavenward, even from a distance. The Imperial Loge is covered with fine latticework and the mihrab (prayer niche) contains a piece of sacred black stone from the Ka’aba in Mecca. During the summer months, there is a Son et Lumière show at dusk. The Imperial Pavilion also contains a state-run carpet museum with Usak, Bergama and Konya samples, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Hippodrome, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 518 1330 (carpet museum).
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours, except during some prayer times; Tues-Sat 0900-1600(carpet museum).
Great Palace Mosaic Museum
The small Mosaic Museum, tucked behind the Blue Mosque amid an alleyway full of tourist shops, contains all that is left of the magnificent flooring of Bucoleon Palace. This was the Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors, which once covered the area from the Hippodrome to Haghia Sophia and down to the harbour. Discovered in the 1950s, these mosaics depict mythological and hunting scenes, including that of two men subduing a tiger. They are thought to date from the reign of Justinian (527-565AD) or even earlier and to have been part of the walkway between the royal apartments and the imperial seats (kathisma) at the Hippodrome.
Arasta Bazaar, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 518 1205.
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Wed-Mon 0930-1630.
Admission: US$2.
Turk ve Esleri Müzesi (Turkish and Islamic Art Museum)
The early 16th-century palace of Süleyman the Magnificent’s most able Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, is now the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, which contains more than 40,000 items dating from the earliest Islamic period of the seventh century to the 19th century. It is famed for its carpet display, which contains fragments of 13th-century Selçuk rugs and examples of Turkish carpets depicting Holbein paintings and other works by various European masters. Further highlights include Ottoman Koran cases and stands, illuminated manuscripts and tiles. In the basement, there is an exhibition of the evolution of the Turkish house – from nomadic tents to 19th-century palaces with floor plans and furnishings.
Hippodrome 46, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 518 1805.
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1630 (winter); Tues-Sun 0900-1730 (summer).
Admission: US$2.
Archeoloji Müzeleri (Archaeological Museums)
Istanbul’s Archeology Museums are so-called because they are located in three separate buildings, which were once part of the Topkapi Palace complex. The main building was constructed to house the finds of 19th-century archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey, in particular the famous fourth-century Alexander sarcophagus discovered at the royal necropolis of Sidon in Lebanon. It also houses other early classical artefacts, such as the facade of the Temple to Athena from Assos, Byzantine mosaics and sarcophagi, as well as an archaeological display of Istanbul. The Çinili Kösk (Tiled Pavilion), near the entrance, was built by Mehmet the Conqueror, in 1472, as a resting spot near the palace sports ground. Iznik tiles cover the interior and it also contains the 14th-century, royal blue Karaman Mihrab (prayer niche) and a collection of Iznik mosque lamps. Also near the main entrance, the Museum of the Ancient Orient contains artefacts from Egypt and Mesopotamia, including the Treaty of Kadesh, drawn up between the Egyptians and Hittites in 1269BC, as well as a magnificent frieze of a bull, from the Ishtar gate in Babylon.
Topkapi Palace, Seraglio Point, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 520 7740.
Transport: Tram to Gülhane or Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1630; subject to change, due to understaffing.
Admission: US$3.
Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica Cistern)
Sometimes referred to as the Sunken Palace, the Basilica Cistern was actually the reservoir for the prodigious quantity of water required for the Byzantine Great Palace and it is thought to date back to the reign of Justinian in AD532. It is a huge structure, measuring 140m (460ft) long and 70m (230ft) across and it still contains a few feet of water, over which wooden walkways have been constructed for visitors. The atmosphere is enhanced by low, eerie lighting and classical music. Many of the 336 columns supporting the cathedral-like ceiling have been recycled from pre-Christian temples – such as the Medusa heads that are used as column bases, which were pilfered from the Temple of Apollo in Didyma (Didim) and can be seen near the exit. Various theories, legends and superstitions surround these eerie gorgon faces from ancient Greek mythology. The cistern was used as a film set for the James Bond film, From Russia With Love (1963) and also functions as an atmospheric gallery space during the International Istanbul Arts Biennial (September-October 2003 and 2005).
Yerebatan Caddesi, Sultanahmet
Tel: (212) 522 1259.
Transport: Tram to Sultanahmet.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission: US$5.
Kariye Muzesi (Kariye Museum)
Originally, this was a church outside Constantine’s original city walls and so named the Church of St Saviour in Chora (literally ‘in the countryside’). The present church, however, dates from the 11th century and was designed during a post-iconoclastic renaissance of figurative religious art. It contains the finest example of Byzantine mosaic work in the city, as well as superb 14th-century frescoes depicting the Genealogy of Christ, the Life of the Virgin and Christ’s Ministry. Although the church was converted to a mosque after the Conquest, the mosaics were merely whitewashed over and thus have been preserved for display in this secular museum, which is no longer used for any religious purposes.
Kariye Camii Sokak, Edirnekapi
Tel: (212) 631 9241.
Transport: Bus 28, 86 or 90 towards Edirnekapi along Fevzi Pasa Caddesi.
Opening hours: Thurs-Tues 0930-1630.
Admission: US$4.
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace was built in the mid-19th century, as the Ottoman Empire was falling into decline and most of the economy and development of the country was in the hands of Europeans. The Sultans wished to appear more Western and the new palace was intended to put on a brave face for the world. Instead it nearly bankrupted the state treasury with its kitsch extravagance and much of it had to be financed by foreign loans. Today, it is in poor repair, which partially explains the high entrance fee. Highlights include the crystal staircase, the royal bathroom – made of silver and rare Egyptian alabaster – and the chandelier in the ceremonial room, rumoured to be the heaviest in the world. The palace is also full of gifts from foreign rulers. There are two separate guided tours – one to the ceremonial chambers and another through the harem and concubine’s quarters. Entrance to the palace is with a guided tour only.
Dolmabahçe Palace, Besiktas
Tel: (212) 258 5544.
Transport: Ferry from Eminönü to Besiktas.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri-Sun 0900-1500 (winter); Tues, Wed and Fri-Sun 0900-1800 (summer).
Admission: US$7.
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