Five Places to Visit in Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in the country of Turkey and is the most populous one. The city was founded around 660 BC on the Sarayburnu promontory as Byzantium, from there on the Istanbul has developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. The city of Istanbul is known as the fifth-most-popular tourist destination in the world with approximately 11.6 million foreign visitors arrived in Istanbul in 2012. The city has a lot to offer to its visitors ranging from historic sites and the city’s beautiful mosques and many more religious buildings that you must gaze upon from your own eyes to appreciate.

There are so many places to see and visit in this city and here’s our list of five places to visit in Istanbul.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Istanbul by jocksyboy

1. Hagia Sophia – This place used to be a former Greek Orthodox Church and was later became an imperial mosque, now it is a museum in Istanbul. The place is really majestic and the architecture is very beautiful and is also has some beautiful mosaics that can be found inside the museum. This is probably be one of the most iconic and popular building structure not only in Turkey but also in the whole world.

You can visit the museum in the hours of 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, Tuesday through Sunday and the entrance fee will cost you 25 TL.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Hagia Sophia by Alaskan Dude

2. Sultan Ahmed Mosque – The mosque was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. The mosque is a historic mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is also popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. The mosque is very beautiful with its one main dome, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. A very gorgeous mosque and a must see.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Blue Mosque by Jorge Lascar

3. Grand Bazaar – The bazaar is located in the walled city in the district of Fatih, The Bazaar in the city is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attracts a lot of visitors ranging between 250,000 and 400,000 people that go to the bazaar daily. A must visit if you enjoy shopping or just wander around the bustling bazaar.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Grand Bazaar by exfordy

4. Topkapi Palace – This is a large palace in Istanbul that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years of their 624-year reign. The palace is now a major tourist attraction and houses some of the important holy relics of the Muslim world that includes Muhammed's cloak and sword. A very beautiful palace and once you go inside you’ll feel like you went back in time because of the feel of the place and its architecture.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Topkapi Palace by Rev Stan

5. Basilica Cistern – This place is known to be as the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, there is a Medusa column bases that can be located in the northwest corner of the cistern, the bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the visage of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown.

Photo Credits (Flickr CC): Basilica Cistern by mahaz

These are just some of the places that you can see in Istanbul. There are more places to see and there are plenty of things to do so go on and pay a visit to this beautiful city.

Have you been to Istanbul? Feel free to share your tips and recommendations.